The future of a forthcoming FM radio station at 88.1 MHz, serving the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, is now a bit clearer.
A settlement agreement has been signed by one hopeful licensee and the second-largest licensee of radio stations in the U.S. that paves away for the latter organization to build a station at that frequency.
Once complete, Educational Media Foundation will have a Garden Isle outpost.
The agreement is between EMF and Community Service Broadcasting Foundation.
It resolves a mutually exclusive situation in which EMF applied with the FCC for authority to construct a Class A FM at 88.1 MHz, licensed to Lihue, as CSBF applied with the FCC for the right to build a Class A FM at that very same signal, with a city of license of Anahola.
It also turns out that CSBF applied for the right to construct a new Class A facility at 90.7 MHz, licensed to Hanapepe.
To resolve the matter, CSBF agreed to transfer this facility to EMF. Thus, with the FCC’s blessing, EMF will gain a new signal at 90.7 FM while CSBF gets the 88.1 FM facility to be built.
A joint request for approval is being submitted, ahead of a January 28 deadline.
Because of the distance of Kauai to Oah’u and Maui, first-adjacency concerns are negated. Thus, any interference with KHPR-FM 88.1 in Honolulu or KKUA-FM 90.7 in Wailuku is highly unlikely.
