The Federal Communications Commission has released a Sunshine agenda for the upcoming full Commission meeting on Thursday, September 17.  On the consent agenda, there are five proposed actions on applications for review filed in LPFM proceedngs as well as action on a disputed MX group.  The Application for Review is the appeal process if the Media Bureau turns down a petition for reconsideration.   

In the case of the MX group, if an informal objection or petition to deny is filed and the outcome results in the FCC's Audio Division proposing the change the score of an application, it must go to the full Commission for approval.

REC Networks has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on the Petition for Rulemaking filed by the upstart Low Power FM Advocacy Group (LPFM.AG).  In their petition, LPFM.AG seeks to make substantial changes to the LPFM service which included the ability for LPFM organizations to air commercials, own more stations, have primary status, the ability to have boosters, increase power and use the same engineering rules that apply to FM translators.  The LPFM.AG petition also called for the ability for unbuilt construction permits to be transferred to other organizations in order to save the station.

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that starting on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 6PM EDT and going through the Labor Day weekend, various FCC database and electronic filing systems will not be available for access.

The FCC has announced that any filings that are currently due on September 2, 3, 4 or 8, 2015 will now be due on September 9, 2015. 

See REC's System/Service Status page for outage information and other changes happening at REC.

For more information on this outage, please see:
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0820/DA-…

REC joins with other LPFM advocates in admonishing Beasley Media Group in their attack on a new LPFM station.  As a new LPFM station, the station should never be expected to come out of the box with their full format and services.  These things take time.  Regardless of the content the station ends up programming, the First Amendment precludes the FCC from taking action on entertainment format.  The Commission only has the authority to take action on unprotected forms of speech such as commercial content and indecent material outside the designated safe-harbor hours.

With Beasley having the only Spanish station in the market pulling numbers, the Hispanic population of Tampa-St. Petersburg deserve a choice.