PUBLIC NOTICE
                                                                              
   Federal Communications Commission
   1919 M St., N.W.
   Washington, D.C. 20554

                                                                              

                                                                              
     DA 96-1718
Released: October 17, 1996
                                                                              
                                                                              
              DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR SILENT BROADCAST STATIONS:
      AM and FM STATIONS URGED TO FILE RELATED APPLICATIONS BY NOVEMBER 1

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides for the expiration of broadcast station licenses as a matter of
law upon a station's failure to operate for 12 consecutive months.  See Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56,
 403(l) (1996).  The license of any station that went silent on or before February 8, 1996, when the
legislation was enacted, will expire at 12:01 a.m. on February 9, 1997 if the station has not resumed
operations during the year.  See Order, Silent Station Authorizations, FCC No. 96-218 (May 17, 1996);
Public Notice, Expedited Processing, DA 96-818 (May 22, 1996).

Commission records indicate that the licenses of many silent AM and FM stations which have not been
designated for hearing will expire as a matter of law under the cited provision if the stations are not
returned to the air before February 9, 1997.  To resume operations, some of these stations will require
prior Commission action on a related application, such as an application proposing a change of site or
change of ownership.  The Mass Media Bureau reminds licensees of these silent AM and FM broadcast
stations that they may request expedited processing of these applications and strongly urges them to submit
such applications no later than November 1, 1996.  Because of factors such as public notice periods,
applicants who do not file necessary applications by this date may not be able to resume operations before
February 9, 1997 even if their applications are relatively routine.   Silent station applicants also should use
extreme care in preparing their modification and assignment applications because deficiencies in those
applications slow processing considerably.    Finally, the applicant should notify the Commission promptly
upon its return to the air. 

We remind silent broadcast stations of our expedited processing procedures. With each application, the
applicant should submit a transmittal letter prominently labelled "REQUEST TO EXPEDITE
APPLICATION OF SILENT STATION."  Each letter should include (a) the station's call sign, city and
state; (b) the type of application; (c) a brief explanation of why action on the application is necessary to
return to the air and the date that the station's license will expire if it remains off the air.  A separate copy
of the letter should also be sent or hand-delivered directly to the relevant address on the attached list.  For
applications already on file, a letter containing the same information should promptly be submitted to the
relevant address on the list.

Our issuance of this Public Notice or a station's submission of an application does not preclude our
designating silent stations for hearing prior to automatic expiration in circumstances where the staff deems
designation to be appropriate.

                    CONTACTS FOR SILENT BROADCAST STATIONS:

AM, FM, FM Translator and Booster Stations, Radio Broadcast Experimental Stations:

 Requests to Expedite:
 James Crutchfield
 Audio Services Division
 Mail Stop 1800B3, Room 332
 Federal Communications Commission
 1919 M Street, N.W.
 Washington, D.C. 20554
 FAX: (202) 418-1410

 Notification that a station has gone silent or resumed operations:

 FM Stations:      AM Stations:

 Glenn Greisman    Sharlene Lofty
 Audio Services Division                               Audio Services Division
 Mail Stop 1800B3, Room 332 Mail Stop 1800B2, Room 344
 Federal Communications Commission            Federal Communications Commission
 1919 M Street, N.W.        1919 M Street, N.W.
 Washington, D.C. 20554     Washington, D.C. 20554
 FAX: (202) 418-1410        FAX: (202) 418-1411

TV, TV Booster, TV Broadcast Experimental Stations (Expedite Requests & Notification):

 Doris McGhee
 Video Services Division
 Mail Stop 1800E1
 Federal Communications Commission
 1919 M Street, N.W.
 Washington, D.C. 20554
 FAX: (202) 418-2827

Low Power TV, TV Translator Stations (Expedite Requests & Notification):

 Hossein Hashemzadeh
 Video Services Division
 Mail Stop 1800E2
 Federal Communications Commission
 1919 M Street, N.W.
 Washington, D.C. 20554
 FAX: (202) 418-2827

International Broadcasting Stations (Expedite Requests & Notification):

 Charles H. Breig
 Planning & Negotiations Division
 International Bureau, FCC
 Mail Stop 0800 C1, Room 872
 2000 M Street, N.W.
 Washington, D.C. 20554
 FAX: (202) 418-0398