Revisions to Forms 301, 314, 315, 316 and 340 have been approved by OMB; Look for them soon on CDBS
Remember last February, when the FCC released its long-awaited decision in the “rural radio” proceeding, a proceeding which was expected to re-vamp the AM and FM allotment processes? To some, the actions taken by the Commission fell considerably short of the expectations. Still, the revised rules did provide new opportunities for Native Americans to acquire radio authorizations, and they separately clarified certain filing requirements associated with AM modification proposals. You can refresh your recollection by reading our post from last February.
We mention all this now because the Commission has just announced in the Federal Register that (a) it has revised various application forms – Form 301, 314, 315, 316 and 340 – to conform to the changes adopted last Winter AND (b) the revised forms have been approved by OMB. Time does not appear to have been of the essence in this process, since OMB approval was issued back in May and June. The FedReg notice does not explain the delay in getting the new forms up and running in the intervening five months. (Oh, wait, as of 9:00 a.m. on November 30, the revised forms still don’t appear to have been made available on the forms page of the FCC’s website or on CDBS. Presumably they’ll get there eventually, since the Federal Register notice specifies that the “compliance date” relative to the revised forms and the related rule changes is November 30.)
In any event, it looks like the final “i” is at last being dotted and the final “t” crossed in the implementation of the rural radio changes from ten months ago.
