It appears that the FCC is attempting to clear its backlog of pending translator applications – and moving quickly to do so. On Friday, it released a Public Notice announcing a new auction beginning on May 15 for the small set of mutually exclusive applications left from last year’s window for the filing of FM translator applications by Class C and D AM stations, and setting the rules and procedures for that auction. While only 26 applications (in 12 groups of mutually exclusive applications – see the list in this Excel file) are involved in the auction, it shows that the FCC is trying to rapidly clear its decks of all remaining translator applications. Already on the FCC’s schedule, as we wrote here, is an auction of mutually exclusive translators left over from its 2003 FM translator window (for the rules adopted for that auction, see the FCC notice here). The FCC has also scheduled the filing of long-form applications for “singleton” applications (ones that are predicted to not cause interference to any other translator application or any existing station) from the window opened late last year for Class A and B AM stations to file for FM translators (see our post here on the opening of the long-form filing window for the translator applications), and long-form applications for applicants who were able to work out mutually exclusive situations in the first window so that they did not need to go to auction (see our post here). Still to be announced for applicants in that Class A and B window is the settlement period for applications that are mutually with other applications. Expect that announcement soon.
