FCC Changes FM Table of Allotments Policy.. Bans The GTI Practice of "Channel Hopping"

The FCC has released a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) MB Docket 09-52 on Tribal and Rural issues. In this Order, the Commission has made some changes to policies related to the FM Table of Allotments as well as a change to how FM Translator applications are handled.

In the order, FM allotments that are proposed to be placed in an urbanized area or in an area that covers (or can be modified to cover) at least 50% of an urbanized area would be considered as serving the entire urbanized area and therefore would not receive a Section 307(b) preference. Section 307(b) of the Communications Act calls for the fair and equitable allocation of channels. The Commission has (4) different levels of priority when reviewing Table of Allotments cases. The presumption of urbanized area coverage can be rebutted with a compelling showing that not only the community is independent of the urbanized area but also of the community's "specific need for an outlet for local expression separate from the urbanized area and the ability of the proposed service to provide that outlet."

The FCC also looked at the practice of what we call "metro moves" where radio stations are moved away from smaller and rural communities and towards the urbanized areas. Under the new policies, the FCC will not allow a community of license change if it will create a white (no services) or gray (only one service) area. If the move will create the "first local transmission service" for a particular community, then the FCC will look at the move using the urbanized area process that we mentioned. The licensee will need to provide a detailed explanation of what public interest benefits would result if the move is made vs. staying where the station is at right now. Metro move proponents will now be required to not only show the gain area (the amount of population that currently do not receive the station who will receive it now, minus the population lost by the move), but also summarize the number of services those populations will receive if the application is granted and how the process will advance the Section 307(b) priorities. The FCC will also put significant weight against any proposed removal of a second local transmission service from a community of "substantial size" (7,500 or greater).

These changes are in the same spirit of REC's Table of Allotments policy statements during the Broadcasting Localism proceedings last decade. We are happy to see these changes have been made in order to stop the trend of metro moves at the expense of rural communities.

REC also applauds the FCC by taking an action in prohibiting "channel hopping" by FM Translator applicants. During the Auction 83 Great Translator Invasion window, a window for FM Translators in the non-reserved (92-108 MHz) band, it was noted that translator applicants were amending their applications and moving stations into the reserved band (88-92 MHz) to take advantage of the rules that allow reserved band FM Translators to be fed by methods other than over the air (the original "satellator" concept). The FCC has updated §74.1233 to reflect that channel changes between the non-reserved and reserved bands or vice versa, will be considered major changes.

There were also some administrative changes to how mutually exclusive AM broadcast applications will be handled. For more information, view the Order:
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0303/FCC-11-28A1...