April 10th First Filing Opportunity for Expanded Siting of AM Station FM Translators

Although adopted February 23, 2017, the FCC’s new siting rule for AM station FM translators won’t become effective until April 10, 2017. On that date, the new rule allowing the 60 dBu contour of an AM station’s FM translator can be located within the greater of either (a) the 2 mV/m daytime contour of the AM station, or (b) a 25-mile radius centered at the AM station’s transmitter site.

Filing a modification application for your AM station FM translator before the April 10, 2017 effective date might seem like a good idea, but in this instance, the early-bird-gets-the-worm approach won’t work. In response to some early filers, the FCC quickly shut down such applications, issuing a public notice making clear that modification applications filed before the April 10^th effective date would be dismissed.

So translator permit holders or licensees that plan to file applications to take advantage of the new siting rule should get everything ready in CDBS, test file the application, and be ready on April 10^th to hit the file button.