Auction 83: FM Translator

General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below. Public notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:

• Key Dates
• Construction Permits Offered
• Permissible Operations
• License Period
• New Entrant Bidding Credits
• Incumbency
• Licensing Rules
   

Key Dates

Construction Permits Offered

Auction 83 will offer 43 constructions permits for new FM translator construction permits. These construction permits are the subject of pending, mutually exclusive short-form applications (FCC Form 175) and participation in this auction is limited to those applicants listed in Attachment A of the Auction 83 Procedures Public Notice.  A complete listing of the construction permits for Auction 83 is provided in Attachment A of the Auction 83 Procedures Public Notice, DA 18-257, released March 16, 2018. 

Permissible Operations

FM Broadcast (FM) - A broadcast station licensed for the dissemination of radio communications intended to be received by the public and operated on a channel in the FM broadcast band.

FM Translator  (FXM) – A station in the broadcasting service operated for the purpose of retransmitting the signals of an AM or FM broadcast station or another FM broadcast translator station without significantly altering any characteristics of the incoming signal other than its frequency and amplitude, in order to provide radio broadcast service to the general public.

License Period

If a winning bidder demonstrates its qualifications for the authorization in its post-auction long-form application, it will be awarded a construction permit, rather than a “license.” Each original construction permit for the construction of a new FM translator shall specify a period of three years from the date of issuance within which construction shall be completed and an application for license filed.  (See 47 CFR § 73.3598). The initial license period depends upon the date of initial grant, and will be based on the radio station location in accordance with the terms of 47 CFR § 73.1020(a). Any subsequent license renewal typically is issued for an eight-year term.

New Entrant Bidding Credit

A new Entrant Bidding Credit will be available for this auction. Eligibility and application requirements for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are specified in the Auction 83 Procedures Public Notice, DA 18-257, released March 16, 2018. Applicants that qualify for the New Entrant Bidding Credit are eligible for a bidding credit that represents the amount by which a bidder's winning bid is discounted. The size of the New Entrant Bidding Credit depends on the number of ownership interests in other media of mass communications that are attributable to the applicant and its attributable interest holders:

• A 35 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has no attributable interest in any other media of mass communications, as defined in 47 CFR § 73.5008;
• A 25 percent bidding credit will be given to a winning bidder if it, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has no attributable interest in no more than three mass media facilities, as defined in 47 CFR § 73.5008;
• No bidding credit will be given if any of the commonly owned mass media facilities serve the same area as the broadcast station proposed in the auction, as defined in 47 CFR § 73.5007(b), or if the winning bidder, and/or any individual or entity with an attributable interest in the winning bidder, has attributable interests in more than three mass media facilities.

Events occurring after the original short-form application filing deadline, such as the acquisition of attributable interests in media of mass communications, may cause diminishment or loss of the bidding credit.

Incumbency

Potential bidders are reminded that they are solely responsible for the investigating and evaluating all technical and market place factors, including any pending proceedings, that may have a bearing on the value of the FM translators in this auction.

For more information, refer to the due diligence section (Section I.B.3) in the Auction 83 Procedures Public Notice, DA 18-257, released March 16, 2018.

Licensing Rules

47 CFR Parts 73, 74