FCC lifts freeze on Class A displacement, expansion application filings

On Aug. 4, the Federal Communications Commission will lift its freeze on the filing of Class A station displacement and expansion applications.

The move, which comes four years after the FCC Media Bureau first imposed a freeze on requests from full power and Class A stations to maximize facilities or change DTV channel assignments, clears the way for Class A stations to file applications for coverage changes that encompass areas not originally covered by their authorized facilities.

The FCC will accept the Class A displacement and expansion applications on a first-come, first-serve basis and such applications will be treated for cut-off purposes on the date they are filed, the commission said.

Class A displacement and expansion applications submitted before the newly announced filing date, in which a waiver of the filing freeze was sought, will be treated as if they were filed Aug. 4.

Class A broadcasters filing the displacement or expansion applications should use FCC Form 301-CA and do so electronically using the Commission’s Consolidated Database System Electronic Filing system at www.fcc.gov/mb/cdbs.html.

For more information, visit www.fcc.gov.