The Audio Division has ruled on a Notice of Proposed Rule Making proposing the deletion
of seven vacant allotments in various communities across six states.
Comments were filed on the matter from one broadcaster. That seems to have merit, as the Media Division unit moved forward with deleting six of the vacant allotments from the FM Table of Allotments.
Estrella Broadcasting LLC filed comments in response to “MB Docket No. 21-502,” in which deletion of seven vacant allotments in Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming was sought. No other comments were received.
The deletion was prompted by the Audio Division itself, as it proposed the deletion of Channel 259C2 at Snowflake, Arizona; Channel 265C2 at Millerton, Oklahoma; Channel 293C2 at Powers, Oregon; Channel 279A at Mount Enterprise, Texas; Channel 296C3 at Paint Rock, Texas; Channel 290A at Hardwick, Vermont; and Channel 259C at Meeteetse, Wyoming. All of these allotments were offered in previous FM auctions and received no bids.
Before the allotments were erased, the Audio Division put out a call to all interested parties that they must file comments expressing an interest in these vacant allotments to prevent their removal. They were to also provide an explanation as to why they did not participate in the FCC’s competitive bidding process.
Enter Estrella Broadcasting, which has “great interest” in a Class C2 FM at 99.7 MHz in Snowflake, Ariz., which would serve the section of eastern Arizona sandwiched by U.S. 60 and Interstate 40. Local operators include Rim Country Media.
For Estrella, the licensee “has full intentions” to bid on the Snowflake facility in a future FCC auction. In fact, it participated in Auction 109 and was the only bidder for a Class C1 facility at 94.7 MHz in nearby Overgaard, Arizona. Estrella says it would have placed a bid for the Snowflake allotment but its minimum opening bid deposit was only sufficient for one of the FM auction channels.
Estrella also says it has access to existing facilities with approval from the National Forest Service to promptly build the Snowflake allotment.
“The Commission’s policy is not to delete an FM allotment where a bona fide expression of interest exists, absent a compelling reason to do so,” Nazifa Sawez, the Audio Division Assistant Chief said. “[Estrella] filed a bona fide expression of interest. However, we will delete the other six vacant allotments.”
They are as follows:
