UPDATE: 10/18/2013 5:40pm EST : Prometheus has just received confirmed reports from the FCC that: "the deadline for filing Form 318 applications for new Low Power FM stations will be extended from October 29, 2013 until November 14, 2013 6:00pm EST."  The FCC will also reschedule a webinar that had been cancelled during the shutdown for October 24, 2013. More information on this webinar (and others that Prometheus has planned) will be released as we have confirmed registration links.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2013

Contact: Julia Wierski, Development & Communications Director at Prometheus Radio Project, jwierski [at] prometheusradio.org, 215.727.9620 x 545

FCC Launches Nationwide Application Process for Community Radio:
Prometheus Radio Project Offers Support for Groups to Get on Air

First opportunity for small community radio stations in 12 years coming in October 2013
Prometheus Radio Project will help nonprofit groups to apply for licenses

November 30, 2012

Washington DC -- Today the Federal Communications Commission announced that for the first time in more than a decade, community groups nationwide will soon be able to start small, local radio stations. Nonprofit organizations, schools, Indian Tribes and public safety agencies can apply for Low Power FM (LPFM) stations in October 2013. For the first time ever, the agency will allow these noncommercial stations in urban areas. 

The news is long-awaited by the Prometheus Radio Project and its supporters, who led the grassroots coalition that pushed Congress to pass the Local Community Radio Act of 2010. The law expanded community radio by directing the FCC to make more channels available nationwide, reversing an earlier law that relegated stations to rural settings. The FCC implemented the law by creating more flexible rules on where new stations can be located. 

“Finally, communities without a voice on the airwaves will have a chance to control their own local media,” said Brandy Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. "Thanks to the significant step forward today, we will see a wave of new radio stations that better reflects the diversity of our country.”

The 800+ low power stations already on the air are run by nonprofit groups, colleges, churches, and emergency responders. Many, such as the Oregon farmworker station KCPN, offer local programming in languages other than English, often hard to find on the radio dial. KPCN, also known as Radio Movimiento, plays Spanish-language news and information, organizes voter registration drives, and plays traditional and contemporary music.

FCC Decision Opens Radio Airwaves for Communities Nationwide
New rules create opportunities for hundreds of new community radio stations

March 19, 2012

Washington, DC-- In a victory for communities nationwide, today the Federal Communications Commission announced that the agency will open the airwaves for community radio. To make room for a new wave of local stations, the FCC will clear a backlog of over six thousand pending applications for FM translators, which are repeater stations that rebroadcast distant radio stations. The decision will allow for the first new urban community radio stations in decades.

"Today the FCC has opened the door for communities to use their own local airwaves, and that will be transformative," said Brandy Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. "We commend the Commission staff for the care and diligence they have shown. We also wish to thank Chairman Genachowski, Commissioner McDowell, and particularly Commissioner Clyburn and her hardworking staff for their efforts on behalf of communities."

The announcement concludes the first hurdle in implementing the Local Community Radio Act, passed by Congress in 2010 after a decade-long grassroots campaign. The FCC is on track to accept applications for new Low Power FM (LPFM) stations nationwide as early as Fall 2012. Community groups are gearing up to apply for the licenses, which will be available only to locally-based non-profit organizations.