STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
ON THE MEDIA BUREAU’S PRESENTATION
ON THE STATUS OF THE LPFM PROCEEDING
First and foremost, I would like to thank the staff of the Media Bureau’s Audio Division for all of 
their hard work on the low-power FM (LPFM) proceeding.  When I proposed that we set October 2013 as 
the month for opening the new LPFM application window, I was confident that the Audio Division could 
handle this important task.  But they’ve managed to surpass even these lofty expectations.
The results we’ve heard about this morning are tremendous. For example, the Audio Division 
has granted 1,200 applications in just six months.  By contrast, in the 2000–2001 LPFM application 
windows, it took the Commission about four years to grant that many applications.  This means that the 
Division has been processing applications eight times more quickly.  That kind of efficiency does the 
public right, and I am confident that the Division will continue to make the agency proud as it finishes 
processing the remaining applications.
I’m also pleased that this application window is on track to be even more successful than earlier 
ones.  Despite the fact that 400 fewer LPFM applications were filed nationwide in 2013 than in 2000–
2001, the Division is on track to grant somewhere between 175 and 475 more applications this time 
around.
These aren’t just cold numbers on a page.  They represent new voices across our country.  Thanks 
to the Division’s efforts, countless community organizations are going to use LPFM stations to bring
innovative content to our nation’s airwaves. In doing so, they’ll promote diversity and serve the unique 
interests of our local communities.
In my home state of Kansas, for instance, no fewer than five new Spanish-language LPFM 
stations have already been approved during this window.  These stations will serve communities big and 
small, from Topeka, the state capital, to Ulysses, a small town of about 6,000 people in southwest Kansas 
named after our nation’s 18th President.  A new Chinese-language LPFM station has also been approved 
to serve Lawrence, Kansas.  These unique offerings are exactly what Congress intended when it passed 
the Local Community Radio Act in 2010.
Finally, I hope that we will now bring this same sense of urgency to revitalization of the AM 
band.  Commenters overwhelmingly supported the reforms we proposed to our AM radio rules last 
October.  They’re particularly interested in the idea of opening a window for AM broadcasters to acquire 
FM translators.  They’ve also taken us up on our request for ideas beyond the NPRM’s four corners and 
have offered thoughtful suggestions for improving the AM service in both the short and long terms.
Given the static facing the AM band, we can’t afford to delay. Let’s set the end of October as the 
deadline for action and prioritize opening an FM translator window for AM broadcasters.  Thanks to the 
Audio Division’s talented and dedicated staff, I have no doubt that we can get this done if we tune the dial
just so.