A lesson for all LPFMs who offer mentions in return for underwriting

In an order, the FCC admonoished Enid Public Radio Association, licensee of KUAL-LP in Enid, OK for violation of 73.503(d) and section 399B of the Communications Act.

The FCC used this admonishment to remind LPFMs that "announcements may not contain comparative or qualitative descriptions, price information, calls to action, or inducements to buy, sell, rent or lease.".

According to the FCC, the violations happend over a short period of time and that Enid has put new procedures in place to prevent further violations.

Due to Enid's short but blemish free enforcement record, the Commission is not imposing a fine.

Atlantic City and 9 other NJ towns denied an LPFM future due to S.2505 amendment

The McCain LPFM Radio Act (S.2505) was passed through the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation this past week. The version that made it through had two amendments. One was related to LPFM and Full Power FM and their relation to translators. REC is currently analyzing this language and may comment later on this aspect of the amendment.

The other amendment, very cleverly written will retain the third-adjacent channel restrictions in any state that has "more than 3,000,000 housing units and a population density greater than 1,000 people per square mile land area.".

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 marks the 20th year anniversary of REC Networks.

REC Networks first started as a telephone "commentline" called California Comments based out of Chatsworth, CA. Commentlines were a form of telephone entertainment in the 70's and 80's where callers would call and listen to a weekly recording and then be able to record "comments" that would be played on a later program. Commentlines were later replaced by voice response systems.

REC ran several of these voice response systems in the San Fernando Valley, Antelope Valley and the Phoenix areas throughout the late 80's and 90's.

So much for a sigh of relief for MIHS

The FCC has re-released a Report and Order that shifts several Washington and Oregon stations after originally setting it aside in early June. [See REC News #145 http://www.recnet.com/cgi-bin/recnews.cgi?read=145 ]

At the heart of the contraversy is the proposed move of KMCQ, The Dalles OR to Covington WA, just south of the Seattle metropolitan area.

The move of KMCQ to Covington will result in the displacement of KMIH, a class D secondary school station licensed to Mercer Island High School.

KMIH is a Class-D station. Class D stations are considered "secondary". This means that a full power station can displace them. LPFM and translator stations are also considered secondary.

FCC grant means another "highway station" is coming soon to the Southern California desert

The FCC has granted an FM allotment to the small roadside town of Amboy, CA at the request of KHWY, Inc., the operators of the famous "Highway Stations" along the Interstate 15 and 40 corridors between Southern California, Las Vegas and Arizona.

REC went on record to support the Class-A (Ch. 237A) allotment in Amboy stating that the allotment would provide city-grade service to a portion of Interstate 40 not covered by Highway Stations, The Drive or any other full power station operating in the area.

A counterproposal filed by Cameron Broadcasting was suggesting:
- Channel 231A instead of 237A be alloted to Amboy,
- Channel 237A be alloted to Desert Center, CA,

Supports a C3 allotment over a C allotment for Pahrump

REC has filed comments on an allotment case where the FCC was weighing out two different mutually exclusive proposals:

One proposal moved by Steven M Greeley would have moved a Class B FM station out of Lake Havasu City AZ (transmitter in CA) to be a Class C in Pahrump NV on the same channel.

The second proposal by SSR Communications would have established a Class C3 station without impacting the Lake Havasu station.

REC has gone on record to support the Class C3 allotment over the Class C. If given the choice, REC supports a Class C3 for the following reasons in this case: