The FCC is clearing up several questions about its first-ever reserved-band FM translator filing window, including correcting an error in the rules it previously outlined for determining which applicants qualify for diversity-of-ownership points.

The Media Bureau acknowledges that its June public notice “erroneously stated” that the principal community contour for a noncommercial FM station should be measured using its 60 dBu contour when determining whether a translator applicant qualifies for two diversity-of-ownership points. The correct standard is 70 dBu.

Under the clarification issued Thursday, the 70 dBu principal community contour will be used for full-service commercial FM, noncommercial FM and LPFM stations when determining whether an applicant qualifies for diversity points.

To receive the two diversity-of-ownership points, an applicant must certify that the proposed translator’s 60 dBu contour doesn’t overlap the principal community contour of an existing full-service AM, FM or LPFM station in which the applicant or another party to the application has an attributable interest. It also cannot overlap the 60 dBu contour of an attributable existing non-fill-in translator. Applicants must provide either a contour map demonstrating there is no overlap or state that they have no attributable interests in nearby radio stations.

What’s Local?

The FCC is also providing new guidance on the three points available to an “established local applicant,” another potentially important factor when mutually exclusive applications are compared.

Existing rules require an applicant seeking the three points to have been local and established in the community it proposes to serve continuously for at least two years before filing. For a nongovernmental applicant, that means having its headquarters or campus within 25 miles of the community’s reference coordinates, or having at least 75% of its governing board members living within that radius.

But translators present the FCC with an unusual issue because, unlike full-power stations, they have no minimum community-of-license coverage requirement. The Bureau says that theoretically allows a translator applicant to propose a facility whose service area is completely disconnected from its identified community of license.

The FCC has now drawn a line. To qualify for the three established-local-applicant points, the proposed translator must provide at least a 60 dBu signal to some portion of its proposed community of license. An applicant whose proposed translator fails that test can still apply, but it cannot claim the three localism points.

Other Situations

The Bureau also clears up who can participate in several less straightforward situations. It says a broadcaster that is in the process of buying an eligible primary station will not necessarily need to wait until the FCC approves the deal before filing for a translator. A proposed assignee or transferee of an noncommercial AM or FM, or LPFM, may participate if the assignment or transfer application is already on file when the translator application is submitted. The proposed buyer must also request a temporary waiver of the rule requiring translator applicants to already be licensees or permittees of the primary station. Any translator filed under that provision counts against the proposed buyer’s application limit.

The FCC also confirms noncommercial FMs and LPFMs operating under time-sharing arrangements can apply. It says one or all of the stations participating in a time-sharing arrangement may seek translators, but each must file its own application. The stations cannot submit a joint application. They can agree to share a proposed translator, although each must still file separately, and the translator can operate only during the time slot authorized for the primary station it is rebroadcasting.

Fall Timeline

The FCC’s clarification comes two months after the FCC initially laid out procedures for the historic filing opportunity (MB Docket No. 26-20) and several weeks after the Bureau agreed to postpone the window amid concerns that community, college and Tribal broadcasters needed more time to prepare.

The window is now scheduled to open Nov. 4 and close Nov. 17. It also pushed back the accompanying filing freeze on LPFM, FM translator and FM booster minor modification applications to October 2.

Applicants can already begin filling out Form 2100, Schedule 349 in the FCC’s Licensing Management System. The comparative system becomes important when applications are mutually exclusive and cannot all be granted. In those cases, applicants can receive a maximum of seven points based on established local status, diversity of ownership, statewide network status and technical parameters.