Full power and Class A television stations are eligible to participate in the incentive auction, but must be licensed or have a license to cover by the end of the month. And analog Class As need the same for digital facilities.
The deadline for obtaining a license or license to cover is 5/29/15, the last business day of May.
Although Class As must have the license by that date, they do not have to have their digital facility up and running until the previously established deadline of 9/1/15.
The license procurement is necessary to be eligible for repacking protections and for the right to participate in the reverse auction.
For stations failing to meet this requirement, protection will be limited to the population served by the old analog license.
The FCC said, “We stress that this is the last opportunity for all full power and Class A licensees to modify their licenses to fix any errors they may have made in providing us their operating parameters and to have those modifications protected in the repacking process. Specifically, such modifications will be protected so long as a modification application that complies with the Freeze PN is filed and granted, and a license to cover application is filed, by May 29, 2015. After May 29, 2015, modifications filed to fix errors made by a licensee, even if granted and ultimately licensed, will not be considered for purposes of determining protection in the repacking process and spectrum usage rights eligible for relinquishment in the reverse auction. Concluding otherwise would undermine our ability to ensure a stable database and prepare for the reverse auction and repacking process.”
A list of stations eligible for protection will be made available shortly after the due date, and stations will have 30 days to note and correct any FCC errors.
Incorrect: Although Class As must have the license by that date, they do not have to have their digital facility up and running until the previously established deadline of 9/1/15.
Class A stations have a mandatory conversion deadline of 9/1/15. However, those who do not build and file their license applications by 5/29/15 may still convert, but their digital facility will only be protected to the extent of what it was as an analog facility. Do not confuse operators that they do not have to have whatever facilities they’ve filed by 5/29/15 in operation until 9/1/15 unless they are willing to accept the equivalent analog protection as their permanent protected area with respect to the incentive auction. When you file a license application, you are expected that the facility is built and fully operational at that time.
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