Group Urges FCC to Pair Ownership Reform With LPFM Relief

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | 2:03pm CT

FCC

The Low Power FM Advocacy Group is urging the FCC to modernize Low Power FM (LPFM) rules alongside any relaxation of broadcast ownership caps, warning that deregulation without parallel reforms would accelerate the loss of community-based radio service.

In Reply Comments filed in the FCC's 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of broadcast ownership rules, LPFM-AG argues that supporters of deregulation implicitly acknowledge that expanded station consolidation increases local market power-an outcome that can disadvantage small and locally owned broadcasters, including LPFM stations and AM operators dependent on FM translators.

The group notes that as large station clusters grow, they gain structural advantages such as bundled advertising, dominant local sales operations, and the ability to absorb short-term losses-advantages smaller operators lack. LPFM stations, while noncommercial, face similar economic pressures, relying on local underwriting, fundraising, and volunteer support to survive in increasingly concentrated markets.

LPFM-AG also highlights what it describes as a regulatory imbalance. While the FCC is considering easing ownership restrictions for full-power broadcasters, LPFM stations remain subject to strict ownership limits, transfer prohibitions, and technical constraints. The filing points out that LPFM licenses generally cannot be transferred for fair market value, a rule the group says often leads nonprofit operators to surrender licenses rather than transfer them to other qualified community organizations.

According to the filing, surrendered LPFM spectrum is frequently repurposed for FM translators controlled by larger broadcast groups, permanently reducing opportunities for locally originated community radio. LPFM-AG argues that no other broadcast service faces a regulatory framework that so directly incentivizes license surrender while facilitating spectrum consolidation.

The group is calling on the FCC to apply the same flexibility being considered for ownership rules to LPFM operations, including reevaluating ownership caps, transfer restrictions, and technical limits, while maintaining existing interference protections. LPFM-AG says such reforms would align with the Commission's long-standing localism goals and prevent ownership modernization from disproportionately benefiting large broadcast clusters at the expense of community broadcasters.

The Reply Comments were filed by LPFM-AG Executive Director Dave Solomon and dated December 25, 2025, in MB Docket No. 22-459.