Filing window for new LPTV channels? Before anyone gets too excited, lets unpack this. In 2009 the FCC opened a filing window for rural digital LPTV/translator stations and then later froze those filings because those applications could have the the possibility to be displaced by the impending Incentive Auction. The FCC was in the process of repacking television bandwidth (reducing the band available to television) to clear spectrum out for wireless usage. With the completion of that process a decade later (long waits are common for anything processed by the FCC), the FCC is ready to pick up the matter now. The FCC is now only accepting applications that had a previous application submitted that was displaced by the repacking initiative. Furthermore, this is truly for rural purposes, as applicants may not propose channels less that 75 miles from the reference coordinates of the top 100 markets. For more information, refer to the public notice.
