Good Translators - FCC Throwing Out Baby with the Bath Water?
By Randy Bennett, WGRV-LP, Melbourne, FL


11/1/05 I personally spoke with Jim Bradshaw of the FCC the other day about this Translator "Freeze" and a few other things. He said it could be possibly six months or more before the commission makes any decisions.

He said "Thanks to the filings of the LPFM people..." it's taken a back seat as in priority, and that one of the considerations it to just throw all of the remaining applications out.

We are one of the LPFM's who has the opportunity to cover our local area better with the use of a translator that's offered to us. The application is a singleton. But due to the freeze, we can't get it approved. We could have used it recently during hurricane Wilma  Florida.

I agree LPFM's need a Priority status to protect us against other stations...and feel LPFM's should be a step above the Translators.  I also feel the FCC needs to loosen it's rules for LPFM's due to our limited wattage and coverage areas. 

Although we are similar to the "NCE" full-power stations, LPFM stations are not the same. They have thousands of watts and a larger coverage area to gain their financial support.  They also need to loosen the rules on the ownership and transferability of a LPFM.