The FCC approved twelve low-power FM construction permits this last week, bringing the grand total to 1839 new low-power FM stations authorized in the 2013 application window. All but one of the approved groups was in an MX group of applicants competing for a single frequency.
Six of these groups were able to move out of their MX groups by finding another LPFM-qualified frequency. This demonstrates again how it’s possible to resolve these competitions without timeshares, or by reducing the number of stations that must share a frequency, even in urban markets like Miami metropolitan area.
All of these applicants were in the third MX window–covering Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas–which closed on March 23, the deadline for submitting petitions to modify applications. The groups receiving construction permits are:
- Zoo Art Radio, Inc in Miami, FL – 103.9 FM
- All Media Services of America, Inc in Boca Raton, FL – 101.1 FM
- Iglesia Poder de Dios in Pharr, Texas – 100.7 FM
- Echo Broadcasting Network, Inc in Valdosta, GA – 104.7 FM
- Hollywood Brothers Helping Others, Inc in Fort Lauderdale, FL – 92.7 FM
- La Mision in Orlando, FL – 96.1 FM
One voluntary time share was approved on 95.9 FM for three stations in northern New Jersey: Gospel Light Prayer Church in Kearney, Preakness Valley United Reformed Church in Wayne, and Caribbean Sports International in Maplewood.
Finally, one group in Seattle, WA, was granted a construction permit on reconsideration. The application for Earth on the Air Independent Media had been dismissed for having a lapsed non-profit corporate status, but the group was able to demonstrate that Washington allows the retroactive reinstatement of that status. The applicant also successfully relocated out of an MX group.
LPFM Watch is a weekly feature on Radio Survivor appearing every Thursday.
