MEDIA BUREAU PROVIDES FURTHER GUIDANCE ON SETTLEMENT WINDOW FOR MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED IN THE DECEMBER 2023, LPFM FILING WINDOW
On March 15, 2024, the Media Bureau (Bureau) released a Public Notice to (1) identify by group all of the mutually exclusive (MX) applications submitted in the December 2023, filing window for Form 2100, Schedule 318 applications for Low Power FM (LPFM) new station construction permits, and (2) announce a 60-day period, until May 14, 2024, for MX applicants to enter into and file settlement agreements and/or to submit technical amendments to resolve conflicts and expedite the grant of applications filed in the recent LPFM window.
The purpose of this Public Notice is to clarify that MX applicants may, at this time, also submit time-share agreements to resolve conflicts. Time-share agreements may be partial or universal, but are limited to three MX applicants. Any time-share agreement must propose the grant of technically acceptable applications, and not create new application conflicts, or make conflicts worse. During this settlement period, time-share applicants are not required to be tied with the same or highest point total in the MX group. Any time-share agreement filed for the purpose of point aggregation is prohibited at this time.
Any time-share agreement must be in writing, signed by each time-share proponent, and satisfy the following requirements:
The proposal must specify the proposed hours of operation of each time-share proponent;
The proposal must not include simultaneous operation of the time-share proponents; and
Each time-share proponent must propose to operate for at least 10 hours per week.
Finally, we remind applicants that when considering whether to enter into a settlement or time-share agreement with another MX applicant, the Commission is the official, and only, source for determining and awarding comparative points to MX applicants. Applicants that rely on unofficial point predictions from outside sources do so at their own risk, as such predictions are not binding on the Commission.
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