FCC Confirms Approval of Wisconsin FM Timeshare Arrangement
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has upheld a time-share agreement between Optima Enrichment and Waterloo Christian Radio Corporation in Wisconsin, situated approximately 30 miles west of Milwaukee. The decision was made following a denial of an objection filed by one of the parties against the other.
The applicants initially filed during the 2021 filing window, aiming to broadcast on 91.5 FM. After the FCC applied its standard tiebreaking procedures and denied an informal objection, it instructed the applicants to establish a time-share agreement—as previously reported in December.
However, the commission stated that no time-share agreement was submitted by the Jan. 26 deadline. The following day, Waterloo Christian filed an objection to Optima's application, asserting that its coverage statistics for both area and population exceeded those of Optima by more than 10%, granting it a point in the commission's tiebreaking system.
Frequent FCC petitioner Albert Adam David, who had previously filed an unsuccessful objection against the Waterloo Christian application in June 2021, submitted another petition in March. David contended that Waterloo Christian's population and coverage data didn't exceed Optima's by the required 10%, thereby disqualifying the group from receiving the tiebreaker point.
In this instance, the commission concurred with David. It determined that neither applicant was entitled to the points for best technical proposal, based on its own calculations—5.1% for population and 8.4% for coverage.
The FCC's Media Bureau subsequently reaffirmed its tentative selection of the Waterloo Christian and Optima applications. Since the groups failed to agree on a time-share arrangement, the commission requested their preferred daily time slots. Optima indicated a time slot of 3:00 a.m. to 2:59 p.m., while Waterloo Christian did not respond with their preference. Consequently, they will be allocated the 3:00 p.m. to 2:59 a.m. segment of the day. The commission noted that these operating hours will be featured on the groups' respective construction permits.
Waterloo Christian also oversees 96.9 WULD(LP) from its Waterloo, Wisconsin, headquarters. Optima Enrichment, a non-profit organization based in Brookfield, is also the proprietor of the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse. The two entities will share 91.5 FM, operating Class B1 FM signals—Optima Enrichment's in Delafield, and Waterloo Christian's in Ixonia.
[1] Non-commercial educational (NCE) FM stations[2] Efficient use of the spectrum to avoid interference
- In the spectrum, Optima Enrichment and Waterloo Christian Radio Corporation will efficiently use the Class B1 FM signals to share 91.5 FM.
- The FCC's Media Bureau reaffirmed its tentative selection of both Waterloo Christian and Optima applications, considering them as participants in the media industry.
- The commission's decision on the time-share agreement between the two groups impacts the broader radio industry, as it signals a change in how frequency allocation is addressed.
- To comply with the FCC's time-share agreement, both Optima Enrichment and Waterloo Christian Radio Corporation will need to negotiate their daily operating hours, which may influence the future of radio broadcast business in the region.
