Greetings, Though this is of particular to people in the US, I wanted to send it along. In short, the FCC is opening up a window for non-profit groups to apply for full power, non-commercial radio stations in the US. Such an opportunity has not come up in almost 20 years and it needs to be taken advantage of! Please fwd this on to anyone you think might be interested or who knows someone who might be interested, etc. One thing we know from this kind of activist work in the US is that we are always a few steps behind the right who are in a much better position to apply for a lot of these radio stations, and plan to do so, primarily through some of the very conservative right wing church groups like Calvary Chapel. It has not been easy to spread the word about this opportunity to local community groups who might not already be linked up with national and international media activist groups, and thus won't find out about this rare, rare opportunity until it is tooo late. The following email is from the Prometheus Radio Project and outlines some of the reality of what is involved, especially resources like money and time. But think about how important Pacifica Radio has been. Democracy Now!. College radio. Farmworkers groups, civil rights organisations and environmental groups own non-commercial radio stations. Open access community stations offer training and resources to the neighborhood, especially youth. And some stations just provide a valuable space for local people to play their record albums or promote local musicians and artists. No to mention the value of community-based news. But these stations are the minority. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but as many of us are actively involved in campaigns to create better media systems, or promoting the value of alternative media, we now have a really rare chance to help get the word out to provide greater public access to our scarce airwaves. ASnd though this licensing opportunity doesn't help any of us living in the largest cities, or even medium sized cities, isn't it the smaller towns that need community media most? So that's why I'm rambling on for so long here to people who are already involved in and teaching about these issues, but just to remind us of why 100 year old analog radio technology still matters. And can matter to even more people in the future. So with that said, I really do urge everyone to send this email on and help spread the word, especially to groups that might not have thought about running a radio station before because they had no idea it was an option. Best, Kate Coyer ***** Greetings from the Prometheus Radio Project! This note is to inform you that the FCC is preparing to open a FULL POWER NON-COMMERCIAL/EDUCATIONAL licensing window. Non-Commercial Educational (NCE) full power radio licensing had been hopelessly complicated for the past 15 years, and frozen for more than five. The FCC has finally made improvements to the application system, and the first real opportunity to apply since the late 80's will be coming up soon. The lay of the land: -- Very soon, the FCC will open a window for new, full power non-commercial educational (NCE) radio frequencies. -- We don.t know yet exactly when, but there will be some warning -- The FCC will give notice announcing when the window will be open, typically 30 to 60 days in advance. -- The window itself will last five days. -- You can only file your application during this 5-day window, so everything needs to be ready to go. -- If you do not apply now, it will probably be many, many years before there will be another chance. To make matters worse, any frequency worth having will probably be taken in this window of opportunity. -- The NCE window will probably open sometime in the next 6 months, so start preparing now. You can not apply before this window of opportunity, and you can not apply after -- you can only apply while the window is open. If you want to apply for a full power non-commercial radio station, this is the one chance for the foreseeable future. Even the President of the United States, the Supreme Court, and a Fleet of Martian Space Invaders all working together can not change that. So take heed --it's now or never! Applying for full power stations is similar to applying for low power stations, but there are more rules to follow and it is more complex. -- The only eligible channels distributed in this window are between 88.1 MHz and 91.9 MHz on the FM dial. -- Full power stations must be 100 watts or more, up to the 100,000 watt range (depending on your geographic location)! -- Unlike with low power FM, you must submit an engineering exhibit proving that your proposed station will cause no interference to existing radio stations. In low power, the FCC does this for you with an online channel finder tool that tells you whether a given location has interference free channels available. You will need a good frequency! You can only apply for an open frequency in your geographic region that does not conflict with any existing stations -- based on the FCC interference rules. To locate such a frequency, you will need an engineer to help you do a "frequency search" using the most up-to-date database from the FCC. *** This will cost some money. *** A preliminary check for frequency availability generally costs about $100, a more detailed search is around $250, and the full engineering exhibit you would be required to submit to the FCC can cost $2000 -- $3000 to prepare. {Note -- Prometheus is considering buying some of these services in bulk to lower costs, but applicants should be clear that this process will definitely cost you some money. There will be many engineers ready to help out.} Unfortunately, there is no chance in hell that you are eligible for a full power NCE radio license if you are within 20 miles of the 50 largest cities in the United States, and very little chance if you are within 30 miles of the largest 100 cities. So if you call us about this from New York City, LA, or Chicago we will tell you that you are wasting our time and yours, and hang up. We know a million people in those places that want a full power radio station. A full power NCE application, for big city slickers, is barking up the wrong tree. You should have applied thirty years ago. Sadly, most full power frequencies in major cities are long gone and today open frequencies only remain in smaller towns and rural areas. The biggest city we have found so far with a frequency possibility is a city of 500,000, though many cities that size do not have channels available. Now, some more background on getting ready to apply: -- There is no application fee at the FCC, since the service is non-commercial. -- You can not apply as an individual -- the applicant must be an organization with an educational mission. -- You should be incorporated, but you do not need 501(c)3 (tax-exempt) status to qualify. -- You do not have to be a school to have an educational mission, and there is no requirement for how long your organization has existed. The FCC does not evaluate the educational mission of applicants - your educational mission could be "to educate the public about the virtues of the music of Ozzy Osbourne," and the FCC will essentially interpret that educational mission as an expression of your freedom of speech. {We actually wish there were slightly higher standards about this, because your community organization with all of its local work could easily lose out to the "Society for the Appreciation of Tomb Raider(tm) Gaming and Cinema." Unfortunately, there are not higher standards and even the President of the United States, the Supreme Court, and a Fleet of Martian Space Invaders all working together can not change that. There are no sociologists at the FCC, they do not care about the merits of your idea for a radio station or who it is that is not getting served in your town.} -- You definitely will need to hire an engineer to pull this off. {see above? -- You will almost certainly need an attorney who practices communications law. If you are in an area with any population there will almost certainly be competition for the frequency you are applying for, and you will need good legal advice, knowledgeable about the workings of the FCC, to win in that circumstance. You may think you are out in the sticks, but you are likely in for a surprise when you put in the application and find yourself up against a church, a school district, a highway authority or a Charlie's Angels fan club. -- You also need to demonstrate that you have access to the cash to construct and operate the station without income for the first 6 months. Depending on the size of the transmitter and other factors, you may need between $25,000 -- $200,000 to build and operate. This could be in the form of a building on which a loan could be taken out on as collateral, or already have the budget of a large organization (such as a college) that could clearly afford to operate a radio station, or like many groups, do a lot of fundraising. -- This can be complicated, but don't be intimidated. There are a lot of ways to make the finances work. If the past is any indication, it could take the FCC several years to process your application, giving you quite a lot of time to build. So in reality you will probably have plenty of time to raise the cash. -- Putting in an application will be demanding, and if you really want a station, be prepared to make an investment in time, effort, and money. But the prize is worth it. Prometheus can offer some advice on the application process, but we are not allocations engineers or lawyers. Give us a call to talk with us about how we can help. We will try to get you started and point you towards the assistance you need. But we are a small organization with limited staff, so if your situation is really complicated (not something we know off the top of our head) and we have to do significant research ourselves, we will have to bill you by the hour. There are some other groups, too, that will be helping groups prepare applications: -- National Federation of Community Broadcasters (http://www.nfcb.org) may be able to help if you join and become a member. -- Public Radio Capital (http://www.pubcap.org/) is a consultancy that helps groups find financing for new frequencies. They charge for their services, but may be able to help you figure out how to find money for the process. -- We can also recommend engineers and lawyers directly, but call us first. Their time is expensive and we can save you some of those "billable hours (think $200, $300, or $400 dollars an hour) by helping you figure out what professional assistance you really need. Don't be discouraged -- be excited!! While this process can be intimidating, there is nothing mysterious about it and you have as good a chance of getting a license as anyone else!! We'll do everything we can to provide you with help and support, and you will have lots of company. So sharpen your pencils, the time is at hand, radio station builders! To get started, you can join our mailing list for the most useful information on applying for full power stations. Just tell us where you are, your email and mailing address, the name and website of your organization, and your goals for the radio station. And we'll help you go for it!! Contact: Pete Tridish, [log in to unmask] Andy Gunn, [log in to unmask] Prometheus Radio Project http://www.prometheusradio.org -- ----- hannah sassaman prometheusradioproject building radio stations = awesome http://www.prometheusradio.org 215-727-9620