FCC Urged to Withhold Low-Power Licenses

A coalition of religious, community and media watchdog groups asked federal regulators Wednesday to stop granting low-power broadcast licenses, alleging speculators at three Idaho companies improperly made more than $800,000 selling the government-issued permits to religious broadcasters.

The coalition, which includes the Prometheus Radio Project of Philadelphia and the United Church of Christ of Cleveland, is targeting loopholes in a 5-year-old Federal Communications Commission program aimed at making low-power broadcast facilities available to nonprofit groups.

According to the group’s complaint, three Twin Falls companies -- Radio Assist Ministry Inc., Edgewater Broadcasting and World Link Radio Inc.-- have been “trafficking” in licenses.

The coalition said the companies sold 85 of the permits to the religious broadcasters, allowing them to retransmit radio signals sent by satellite. During one week in 2003, the coalition alleges, the three companies applied for 5,000 licenses.

The coalition said it believed the companies were violating federal laws against brokering licenses and also were depriving other groups seeking media access through the licenses.

“In effect, they’ve made an end run about the FCC’s rules and built a nationwide Christian broadcast network ahead of other applicants that have patiently waited to go through the regular low-power radio licensing process,” said Harold Feld, a lawyer for the coalition.

Representatives of the three Idaho companies did not return calls seeking comment. But FCC spokeswoman Susan Fisher said the agency was aware of the concerns and was “working tirelessly to ensure a fair balance between the needs of the broadcasters and the communities they serve.”

The churches themselves have not been accused of any wrongdoing. Two of the churches buying licenses were Costa Mesa-based Calvary Chapel Church Inc. and Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego. Calvary paid the Idaho companies $314,000 to add 23 licenses to the estimated 140 licenses the church owns or is seeking.

Although low-power stations can be owned by any nonprofit group, churches typically find it easier to absorb the $20,000 cost of starting a station because they can rely on financial support from their congregations.

The Idaho companies have aggressively marketed the licenses to churches. Last month, World Link executives visited the National Religious Broadcasters convention, advertising that it was “making available for acquisition hundreds of these FM translator station construction permits ... to Christian broadcasters throughout the country.”