2013 Low Power FM Filing Window is Now CLOSED!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2013
Low Power FM Application Window is Closed:
Prometheus Radio Project Helps Thousands to Seize the Airwaves
WASHINGTON DC -- On November 15, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) closed the 2013 Low Power FM Application window that allowed for new community radio stations to be licensed. Nonprofit groups, public safety organizations and Indian Tribes applied for Low Power FM (LPFM) stations on the FCC website. Applications were due by 3pm EST on November 15.
The deadline for this filing window was previously amended two times. The original filing window was slated to be October 15-29, 2013, but was postponed and then extended due to the government shutdown in October. The new deadline was moved to November 14, 2013 6:00pm EST, but as that deadline approached, technical difficulties on the FCC's website prohibited applicants from filing their forms. To allow for access to the site and database, the FCC extended the deadline to November 15, 2013 3:00pm EST.
This application window represents the last known opportunity communities nationwide had to apply for LPFM stations. Licensing opportunities were available for the first time in most of the Top 150 radio markets.
Prometheus led the grassroots coalition that pushed Congress to pass the Local Community Radio Act of 2010, which expanded community radio by directing the FCC to make more stations available nationwide and reversing an earlier law that kept stations out of urban areas.
Prometheus assisted over 1,000 groups nationwide in preparation of the application window through free website resources and webinars. Their engineering team worked one-on-one with over 300 groups to help them submit applications to the FCC. The missions of these stations include environmental protection, veterans' issues, serving immigrant and diaspora communities, healthcare access, and cultural preservation, among many more. Profiles of some of these groups can be found at www.prometheusradioproject.tumblr.com
Prometheus expects the FCC to release the first notice regarding Singleton applicants in early 2014 and to provide a list of applicants who are in competitive Mutually Exclusive groups shortly thereafter. Prometheus will continue to interpret the FCC's data and convey it to the public as it becomes available.
Singletons will be the first applicants eligible to pursue station building once they receive construction permits. Groups will have 18 months to build their stations and begin broadcasting, and Prometheus will provide direct support to many of these stations.
The over 800 low power stations currently on the air are run by nonprofits, colleges, churches, and emergency responders. Many, such as the Oregon farmworker station KPCN, offer local programming in languages other than English, often hard to find on the radio dial. KPCN, also known as Radio Movimiento, plays Spanish-language news and information, organizes voter registration drives, and plays traditional and contemporary music.
"In a media landscape dominated by national networks, low power FM is radio at its most local. These stations transmit less than 10 miles in any direction, but that small range can cover an entire town, suburb, or small city. In big cities, a low power station can reach hundreds of thousands of listeners," said Sanjay Jolly, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. "Since only local organizations are eligible to apply, low power stations can make radio relevant to the towns and cities where they broadcast."
Contact: Julia Wierski, Development & Communications Director at Prometheus Radio Project, jwierski [at] prometheusradio.org, 215.727.9620 x 545
