Five non-commercial groups applied for a construction permit for a new low-power FM in Providence, RI, but only one frequency was available, 96.5 MHz. The FCC has now settled the battle over that spot on the dial.
Three of the five applicants, whose names indicate that they intend to feature religious programming, agreed to a time-sharing arrangement. One of the other two applicants, Brown Student Radio (BSR), had challenged the qualifications of the three religious applicants, claiming that they did not meet the FCC’s requirements for educational programming and/or local involvement. BSR also claimed that the president of one of the applicants had operated a pirate station. In the end, though, the Commission was not convinced that any of the applications had fatal flaws. Since BSR and the three religious groups were ranked equally on points, the time-sharing arrangement was the tie-breaker. The FCC has granted the trio of applications by Casa de Oracion Getsemani, Ephese French SDA Church and Zion Bible Institute.
