Sometimes when visiting an REC web page or listening to FCC.today, the podcast, you may get confronted with acronyms or expressions that may not always be familiar. To help decode what some may refer to as “Michiese”, here’s a list of the most common acronyms and other shorthand that is used within the REC Universe.
Updated March 7, 2025
2adj – Second adjacent channel
301 Section 301 of the Communications Act (used mainly in reference to unlicensed broadcasting)
307(b) Fair distribution of radio services
312(g) Silent period exceeding 365 days resulting in cancellation of license
3adj – Third adjacent channel
3rd R&O – Third Report and Order in MM Docket 99-25, adopted December 11, 2017
6th Recon – Sixth Order on Reconsideration in MM Docket 99-25, adopted June 30, 2013
6th R&O – Sixth Report and Order in MM Docket 99-25, adopted November 30, 2012 (Also referred to as the "Sixth Order")
807 Section §73.807 of the FCC Rules (distance separation for LPFM stations)
825 Section §73.825 of the FCC Rules (LPFM protection to Channel 6 TV stations)
A
ACL Applications of Concern List
Admin Order Report and Order in MB Docket 19-3, adopted December 10, 2019
Agr. Agreement
ALJ Administrative Law Judge
ALTC Assignment of License and Transfer of Control
AMR AM Revitalization
APA Administrative Procedures Act
ARN Application Reference Number (used in legacy CDBS applications)
ARS Amateur Radio Service
Assoc. Association
ATSC1 Advanced Television Standards Committee version 1 (Digital television standard used in the USA, transitioned from analog in 2009)
ATSC3 Advanced Television Standards Committee version 3 (US Digital television standard upgrade, first authorized in 2017 and in the process of being phased-in. Also referred to as "NextGen".)
Audio FCC Media Bureau Audio Division
B
Bc. Broadcasting
BCN Baja California Norte
BEAD Broadband Equity Access and Development program.
Bonus LPFM point factor for both main studio and local programming
BVI British Virgin Islands
C
CAP Common Alerting Protocol
CC of Calvary Chapel of __________.
CCVE Centro Cristiano Vida Eterna
CD Consent Decree
Cd. Ciudad
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
Chr. Christian
Cmty. Community
CNMI Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Co. County
CORES Commission Registration System
CPB Corporation for Public Broadcasting
CR Continuing Resolution (in the context of government shutdowns)
CRTC Canada Radio and Television Commission
Cy. City
D
DA Directional antenna
DIRS Disaster Information Reporting System
Dist Distance
DTS Distributed Transmission System (A method of providing a "mesh" of digital television coverage using multiple transmitters.)
DTV Digital Television
E
EAS Emergency Alert System
EB FCC Enforcement Bureau
EBS Educational Broadband Service (note: "EBS" may also refer to the "Emergency Broadcast System", which used to be the method of sending federal and local level alerts. That EBS was replaced by the Emergency Alert System (EAS)).
ECP Established Community Presence
Ed. Education/Educational
Ed. Statement Educational statement for NCE applicants
EIN Employer Identification Number (IRS)
eLMS Enhanced License Management System (operated by REC Networks)
EMA Email address
EMF Educational Media Foundation (K-Love, Air1)
ERP Effective Radiated Power
F
FB FM Booster
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FCC Rcd. FCC Record
FM6 Channel 6 LPTV station engaged in analog FM operations on 87.75 (also referred to as a “Franken FM”)
FNPRM Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
FO Forfeiture Order
Found. Foundation
FRN FCC Registration Number
FX FM Translator
G
GL Garbage List
GTI Great Translator Invasion (Auction 83, 2003 FM Translator filing window)
Guel Antonio Cesar Guel
Guevara Hector Guevara (Centro Cristiano Vida Eterna)
H
HAAT Height Above Average Terrain.
HD HD Radio, a product of Xperi.
HEFF Hispanic Educational Family Fundation (Cesar Guel)
"Homeland" FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB)
I
IB former FCC International Bureau (now known as the Office of International Affairs)
IC Industry Canada
IF Intermediate frequency (+/- 10.6 or 10.8 MHz).
IFT Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (the Mexico equivalent of the FCC)
Igl. Iglesia
IHM iHeart Media
Inst. Institute
IO Informal Objection
IPAWS Integrated Public Alert Warning System
ISD Independent School District
ITU International Telecommunications Union
L
L2C License to cover
LCRA Local Community Radio Act of 2010
LLC Limited liability corporation
LMS License Management System operated by the FCC
LOI Letter of Inquiry
LPFM Low Power FM
LPTV Low Power Television
M
MB FCC Media Bureau
MERP Maximum Effective Radiated Power
MHAAT Maximum Height Above Average Terrain (non fill-in translators)
MO&O Memorandum Opinion and Order
MX Mutually Exclusive
N
NAL or NALF Notice of Apparent Liability of Forfeiture
NCE Noncommercial Educational
ND Nondirectional antenna
NextGen see "ATSC3"
NGWS Next Generation Warning System (Grant program from FEMA, administrated by CPB)
NIPRB Notice of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting
NOUO Notice of Unlicensed Operation
NPO Non-profit organization
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Spectrum management for the Federal government and agency overseeing national communications infrastructure.)
NTSC National Television Standards Committee (often used to refer to the analog television technical standards prior to the transition to DTV/ATSC1)
nunc pro tunc Latin for "now for then". Unless specifically prohibited by the rules, applications that are dismissed for defects are given a one time opportunity to cure all defects on an amendment. If there are still defects, no additional amendments will be accepted.
O
OIA FCC Office of International Affairs (former FCC International Bureau)
OIG FCC Office of the Inspector General
OMB Office of Management and Budget (US Government agency)
OMD FCC Office of the Managing Director
OPM Office of Personnel Management (US Government agency)
P
P4R/PFR Petition for Reconsideration
Pledges Pledge promises from the LPFM point factor system (main studio & local programming)
PN Public Notice
POB Post office box
PRVI Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (normally in reference to the difference in the §73.807 distance separation requirements for this region)
PS Public Safety
PSHSB FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau
PTD Petition to Deny
R
R. Radio
RBPA Radio Broadcast Preservation Act of 2000
REC REC Networks
Recon. Reconsideration
Req Distance required
RF Radio frequency
R&O Report and Order
S
Sixth Order – Sixth Report and Order in MM Docket 99-25, adopted November 30, 2012
SOS Secretary of State (State agencies that recognize corporate entities, including nonprofits)
SS Short Spacing
STA Special Temporary Authority
Sunbiz Florida Secretary of State
T
Tabs Tabulations used for field values of directional antennas
Tech Order Report and Order in MB Docket 19-193, adopted April 23, 2020
TN Telephone number
TOWAIR FCC system used to determine if proposed tower structure requires registration.
TPO Transmitter Power Output
T/S Tentative Selectee
TV6 TV Channel 6
U
UA Urbanized area
ULS Universal Licensing System
USC United States Code
USD Unified School District
V
VFD Volunteer Fire Department
W
WMM Christ Pentecostal Church of the Worldwide Missionary Movement (CPC of the WMM)
WTB FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
