On August 12, 2024, REC Networks releases numerous system enhancements in support of our PACE Initiative. PACE is a recognition program that evaluates LPFM stations on four different criteria in the past four years:
- Participation (EAS National Periodic Test form filings),
- Availability (Total periods of silence),
- Compliance (Enforcement notices) and
- Experience (Period of time the station has been under the same owner).
In various public facing systems, the PACE recognition is displayed through a green star badge, similar to the “verified” checks used by some social media sites.
These are the various system related changes as a result of the implementation of PACE:
PACE Algorithm
All determinations of PACE eligibility will be routed to a single global function that will do all of the systems retrieval and conduct all of the calculations and analysis. Therefore, all systems that interface with the PACE criteria are working off of a single program to assure consistency throughout the applications.
ETRS Table
A new table has been established in the REC DataStore that houses the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) data that was provided by the FCC to REC through the 2024 FOIA request. This table includes all radio stations, both LPFM and full-service.
eLMS
A new table, pace has been added. This table will provide yes/no data for each of the four PACE criteria, a yes/no for overall qualification and for LPFM stations that do not meet the overall PACE criteria, the estimated date the station will come into compliance as long as the station remains on a path to be fully PACE compliant.
FCCdata.org
The green star indicator has been added to the header of FCC LMS records, United States dialscape, search by party name and search by call sign. The indicator will appear after the station’s call sign.
FCC.today
The green star indicator has been added to qualified LPFM stations that appear in the daily actions, daily applications and weekend summary actions. The indicator will appear after the station’s call sign.
LPFM.us
The green star indicator has been added to qualified LPFM stations in the main listings. The indicator will appear after the station’s moniker. LPFM stations with a U status (Limited Information) but are PACE qualified will be systematically promoted to P status (Likely Active).
LPFM.us also drives the three random LPFM stations that appear on the REC Networks homepage. This application has been updated to show the green star indicator after the station’s moniker.
myLPFM
Release 3.5. The green star indicator will appear in the header between the call sign and the community of license.
On the Station Information (eyeball) page, a new “PACE Criteria” tab has been added, which includes the information that provides a summary of compliance as well as details on which FCC records were used in reaching a decision on PACE status based on the PACE algorithm.
PACER
PACER is a new standalone tool (https://recnet.com/pacer) that permits the entry of the LPFM station’s call sign or facility ID to be evaluated by the PACE Algorithm to check on the station’s current PACE status.
Daily Update
A new program will run during the morning run to check all licensed LPFM facilities for their current PACE status and then overwrite the data in the eLMS pace table.
