We have reached the point to where we are less than 24 hours from the closing of the LPFM filing window.  No applications or amendments to existing applications will be accepted after 6PM EST (that's 3PM for those of you on the west coast) on Thursday, November 14.  

With that, REC winds down our pre-window operations.  Our LPFM Premium Channel Search services have helped several dozens of organizations by providing them with the information they needed to help complete their LPFM applications. 

We are now in a calm before the next storm.  This is where the FCC will release the data on all of those who applied for LPFM stations during the window.  

While the organization "Let The Cities In" (LTCI) has in the past, quoted REC Networks data as a part of their argument that sub-100 watt LPFM is a "constitutional right", REC is not a party to LTCI's actions with the Department of Justice.

REC feels that if a 50-watt LPFM service can be placed in the current broadcast band environment, it should be done through conventional rulemaking in a manner similar to the current LP-100 service.  The FCC is charged to be the United States' manager of the electromagnetic spectrum and they must balance the public interests as well as our obligations to the overall international community to maintain the spectrum as a whole. 

The FCC has officially announced an extension of the LPFM filing window until November 14.  

The FCC has also announced a second LPFM webinar which was originally scheduled earlier this month.  The webinar will take place on Thursday October 24 from 1:00~2:30PM EDT.

REC advises all applicants to take their time filing but do not wait until the last minute.  Those who file early will not have an advantage over those who file later in the  window but those who wait until the last minute may experience system congestion.  

The Sixth Order on Reconsideration has been issued by the FCC to address the several issues that came up during the previous Report and Order on various subjects:

"New Entrant" Point

The FCC has rejected calls for chapters of larger organizations that have full power broadcast holdings to claim the "new entrant" point.  The FCC states that the new entrant point was adopted to "encourage genuinely new entrants to broadcasting and to foster a more diverse range of community voices".  The FCC also clarified that if an applicant has a triggering event that could change their score or make them ineligible for LPFM, their point total can be reduced or their application can be dmissed based on the reason.