Electronic Filing
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MB E-Filing Site
These FCC/MB forms MUST be electronically filed:
FCC Forms 301, 301-CA, 302-CA, 302-FM, 302-DTV, 302-TV, 303-S, 314,
315, 316, 318, 319, 323, 323-E, 337, 340, 346, 347, 349,
350, 381
EEO Forms 395-A and 395-B have been suspended by
Commission Order FCC 01-34.
CDBS Users Guide or call (202)-418-2662
CDBS System Status
Call Sign Reservations & Authorizations
for broadcast
station call signs
Antenna Structure Registration via ULS
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Easy, one-stop access to all online U.S. Federal Government resources
www.USA.gov
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FM Allotment Channel Finder
The first step in obtaining a license for a new FM station operating
in the non-reserved or commercial band (92 MHz - 108 MHz) is the addition of a new
allotment to the FM Table of Allotments, 47 C.F.R. ยง 73.202(b). An allotment serves as
a place holder for a future FM station. The allotment consists of a community of license,
a frequency or "channel," a station class, and the latitude and longitude coordinates of
a theoretical station transmitter site. Interested parties initiate this process by
simultaneously filing a petition for rulemaking to add an FM allotment and a Form 301 application
for construction permit for the proposed station, and the applicable filing fees.
More information on these procedures is available on the Media Bureau's Audio Division web site at
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/howtoapply.html
The Allotment Channel Finder is designed to help potential applicants identify available
Class A allotments throughout the nation. As Class A is the smallest FM station class
for commercial FM stations, a search for a Class A allotment will have the
highest likelihood of success. Therefore, the Allotment Channel Finder searches only for
potential Class A allotments.
A search will provide information on two key technical issues that determine the acceptability
of a petition for rule making:
- Whether a channel is available at the proposed transmitter site; and
- Whether a Class A station could place a premium strength (city-grade) 70 dBu signal
over the community of license from the proposed transmitter site.
However, users should be aware that a successful search here does not guarantee
the availability of a channel at the specified latitude and longitude coordinates.
The Allotment Channel Finder does NOT consider all factors that might render a
potential allotment site unsuitable for allotment purposes:
allotment locations in water, offshore allotment sites,
environmentally restricted areas, parkland, land use regulations, etc. It is up to the applicant
to evaluate such factors before submitting a proposal.
The Allotment Channel Finder provides results
based on data derived from the Media Bureau's Consolidated Database System (CDBS).
The staff will update the Allotment Channel Finder database weekly. However,
radio spectrum rights are established on a "first-come, first-served" basis.
Thus, an application (or an amendment to a pending application),
may be filed at any time and may "preclude" a new allotment proposal.
Moreover, it can take up to two weeks for an electronically filed application to appear in CDBS.
Protection rights, however, relate back to the initial filing date.
Finally, the Allotment Channel Finder search program makes reasonable assumptions
about those applications, authorizations, and FM allotment rulemaking filings
which a proposed allotment must protect. However, a careful review of all potentially relevant
database records - a highly technical undertaking - is necessary to confirm
that the allotment protects all records which are entitled to protection. Accordingly, the
Bureau strongly recommends that an allotment proponent confirm with a
broadcast consulting engineer the availability of an "available" channel
prior to filing a petition for rule making to add an allotment to the
FM Table of Vacant Allotments (Section 73.202 of the Commission's Rules).
Find reference coordinates for communities in the USA using the
Atlas program.
Copy down the reference coordinates, then return here and enter them below.
Enter NAD 27
Coordinates ---
(degrees, minutes, seconds latitude and longitude)
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