COMMUNITY RADIO ALERT! APPLY FOR A NON-COMMERCIAL FULL POWER FM STATION!

UPDATE! Applications will be accepted by the FCC from October 12-19th ... for resources visit: [link::Radio For The People::www.radioforpeople.org]

Non-Commercial Educational (NCE) full power radio licensing had been hopelessly complicated for the past 15 years, and frozen for more than five. The FCC has finally made improvements to the application system, and the first real opportunity to apply since the late 80's will be coming up soon.

The lay of the land:
-- Between October 12th and 19th the FCC will open a window for new, full power non-commercial educational (NCE) radio frequencies.

-- You can only file your application during this 7-day window, so everything needs to be ready to go.

-- If you do not apply now, it will probably be many, many years before there will be another chance. To make matters worse, any frequency worth having will probably be taken in this window of opportunity.

-- October will sneak up on you so start preparing now. You can not apply before this window of opportunity, and you can not apply after – you can only apply while the window is open. If you want to apply for a full power non-commercial radio station, this is the one chance for the foreseeable future. Even the President of the United States, the Supreme Court, and a Fleet of Martian Space Invaders all working together can not change that. So take heed – it’s now or never!

Applying for full power stations is similar to applying for low power stations, but there are more rules to follow and it is more complex.

-- The only eligible channels distributed in this window are between 88.1 MHz and 91.9 MHz on the FM dial.

-- Full power stations must be 100 watts or more, up to the 100,000 watt range (depending on your geographic location)!

-- Unlike with low power FM, you must submit an engineering exhibit proving that your proposed station will cause no interference to existing radio stations. In low power, the FCC does this for you with an online channel finder tool that tells you whether a given location has interference free channels available.

You will need a good frequency!

Based on the FCC interference rules, you can only apply for an open frequency in your geographic region that does not conflict with any existing stations. The maps produced by the [link::Radio for People::http://www.radioforpeople.org] Coalition demonstrate the likelihood of available frequencies (contact us for assistance with this). But, to be absolutely certain that such a frequency exists, you will need an engineer to help you do a ‘frequency search,’ using the most up-to-date database from the FCC. *** This will cost some money. *** A preliminary check for frequency availability generally costs about $100, a more detailed search is between $250 and $500, and the full engineering exhibit you would be required to submit to the FCC can cost $2000 -- $3000 to prepare. [Note -- We are seeking funding to acquire some of these services in bulk to lower costs, but applicants should be clear that this process will definitely cost you some money. There will be many engineers ready to help out.]

Unfortunately, there is no chance that you are eligible for a full power NCE radio license if you are within 20 miles of the 50 largest cities in the United States, and very little chance if you are within 30 miles of the largest 100 cities. So, if you call us from New York City, LA, or Chicago about this opportunity, all we will be able to tell you is that you are wasting our time and yours. We know many, many people in these areas who want a full power radio station. Sorry, any big city slickers looking to obtain a full power license in this window- you are barking up the wrong tree. You should have applied thirty years ago. Sadly, most full power frequencies in major cities are long gone. Today, with very few exceptions, open frequencies only remain in smaller towns and rural areas. The largest city we have found so far with a frequency possibility has a population of 500,000, though many cities that size do not have any channels available.

Now, for some more background on getting ready to apply:

-- There is no application fee for applying to the FCC, since the service is non-commercial.

-- You can not apply as an individual -- you must work with a group to apply.

-- The applicant must be an organization with an educational mission.

-- You should be incorporated as a state nonprofit, but you do not need 501(c)3 (tax-exempt) status to qualify.

-- You do not have to be a school to have an educational mission, and there is no requirement for how long your organization has existed. The FCC does not evaluate the educational mission of applicants. Your mission could be "to educate the public about the virtues of the music of Ozzy Osbourne," and the FCC will essentially interpret that educational mission as an expression of your freedom of speech. [Actually, we wish there were slightly higher standards about this, because your community organization- with all of its local work- could easily lose out to the "Society for the Appreciation of Tomb Raider(tm) Gaming and Cinema." Unfortunately, there are not higher standards, and even the President of the United States, the Supreme Court, and a Fleet of Martian Space Invaders all working together can not change this. The FCC is not run by sociologists! Their method of evaluation does not measure the merits of your idea for a radio station or who is being under-served in your area.]

-- You definitely will need to hire an engineer to pull off this application. [see above]

-- You will almost certainly need an attorney who practices communications law. If you are in an area with even small population, there will probably be competition for the frequency for which you're applying. In order to win, you will need good legal advice from someone knowledgeable about the workings of the FCC. You may think you are out in the sticks, but you may be in for a surprise when you submit the application and find yourself up against a church, a school district, a highway authority or a Charlie's Angels fan club.

-- You also need to demonstrate that you have access to the funds necessary to construct and operate the station (without additional income) for the first 6 months. Depending on the size of the transmitter and other factors, you may need between $25,000 - $200,000 to build and operate a station. This funding could be found in many forms: A building, obtained through a loan, which is used as collateral; the existing budget of a large organization (such as a college) that could clearly afford to operate a radio station; or like many groups, a lot of fundraising.

-- This can be complicated, but don't be intimidated. There are a lot of ways to make the finances work. If the past is any indication, it could take the FCC several years to process your application, giving you quite a lot of time to build. So, in reality, you will probably have plenty of time to raise the cash.

-- Putting in an application will be demanding, and if you really want a station, be prepared to make an investment in time, effort, and money. But the prize is worth it.

Prometheus can offer some advice on the application process, but we are not allocations engineers or lawyers. Give us a call to talk with us about how we can help. We will guide you and direct you towards the assistance you need. But we are a small organization with limited staff; so if your situation is really complicated and, as a result, we have to do significant amounts of research ourselves, we will have to bill you by the hour.

There are some other groups, too, that are helping groups prepare applications:

-- Common Frequency ([link::http://www.commonfrequency.org::http://www.commonfrequency.org]) is a new, California-based facilitator, helping grassroots organizations in the Western US apply for full power licenses.

-- National Federation of Community Broadcasters ([link::http://www.nfcb.org::http://www.nfcb.org]) is the trade association for community broadcasters in the US and may be able to help if you join and become a member.

-- Pacifica Radio ([link::http://www.pacifica.org::http://www.pacifica.org]) is our nation's oldest public radio network and is focusing its outreach efforts on the Mid-West.

-- Public Radio Capital ([link::http://www.pubcap.org::http://www.pubcap.org]) is a consultancy that helps groups find financing for new frequencies. They charge for their services but may be able to help you figure out how to find money for the process.

-- Get Radio ([link::http://www.getradio.org::http://www.getradio.org]) was designed with coalition partners like the Future of Music Coalition and Free Press. Many groups are working together to help folks like you learn how to get community radio in your town!

-- We can also recommend engineers and lawyers directly, but contact us first. Their time is expensive and we can save you some of those "billable hours (think $200, $300, or $400 dollars an hour) by helping you figure out what professional assistance you really need. Don’t be discouraged – be excited!! While this process can be intimidating, there is nothing mysterious about it and you have as good a chance of getting a license as anyone else!! We’ll do everything we can to provide you with help and support, and you will have lots of company.

So sharpen your pencils, because the time is at hand, radio station builders!

To get started, you can [link::click here::http://prometheusradio.org/tech_support/full_power/is_it_possible.html] to search by zip code and find out whether or not there's a possibility of building a full power FM radio station in your neighborhood.

If you already know of an potential frequency in your area, you can contact us at the email address below for help with the application process. To help expedite our list, so we can get back to you as quickly as possible, please tell us:

• where you are
• a phone number where we can reach you
• your email and mailing address
• the name (and website) of your organization
• your goals for the radio station.

And we’ll help you go for it!!

Contact: fullpower_questions (at) prometheusradio (dot) org !