The primary driving force behind the advent of LPFM service has been the Prometheus Radio Project, and it is excited about the prospect of bringing the service to America’s largest markets for the first time. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai also hailed the upcoming window to build the service.
“For the first time, low power radio is possible in cities like Miami, Houston, and Philadelphia, where these stations can reach hundreds of thousands of local listeners,” said Brandy Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. “Community radio can be a powerful new tool for nonprofit groups who want to serve their communities.”
Prometheus offered a checklist showing the types of entities already active in the LPFM community. It said, “The 800+ low power stations already on the air are run by nonprofits, colleges, churches, and emergency responders. Many, such as the Oregon farmworker station KPCN, offer local programming in languages other than English, often hard to find on the radio dial. KPCN, also known as Radio Movimiento, plays Spanish-language news and information, organizes voter registration drives, and plays traditional and contemporary music.”
Commissioner Pai also hailed the announcement that the filing window would open as expected in mid-October, and remain open for two weeks. He said, “I applaud today’s Public Notice by the Media Bureau announcing that the window for low-power FM applications will open on October 15, 2013. Last November, I proposed to my colleagues that we set October 15 as the target date for the filing window so that community organizations could prepare their applications and begin planning new stations.1 I was pleased that this target date was included in the Sixth Report and Order.2 And I am even more pleased that, thanks to the hard work of those in the Media Bureau, we are meeting that target. Enabling new low-power FM stations to begin broadcasting is critical to advancing the Commission’s diversity goals, and I encourage interested organizations across the country to take advantage of this opportunity.”
