[BC] WBAA at Perdue license issue explained

[RSTYPE@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/20/2006 11:22:34 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
scott at fybush.com writes:
Here's what the refiled WBAA app says about the matter:

"PURDUE UNIVERSITY, LICENSEE OF STATION WBAA(AM), SUBMITTED A FORM 303-S 
RENEWAL APPLICATION FOR WBAA(AM) ON APRIL 1, 2004 USING THE CDBS 
ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM. SEE FCC FILE NO. ____-20040401AQM. SINCE THE 
DATE OF SUBMISSION, THAT APPLICATION HAS REMAINED IN 'READY' STATUS ON 
CDBS. DESPITE THIS SUBMISSION, THE FCC NOTIFIED PURDUE UNIVERSITY BY 
LETTER DATED JUNE 8, 2006 THAT THE LICENSE FOR WBAA(AM) HAD BEEN 
CANCELED BECAUSE FCC RECORDS DID NOT REFLECT A RENEWAL APPLICATION 
HAVING BEEN FILED."

If the licensee had prepared and validated the application, but not 
transmitted it, would it have received the CDBS file number they quote 
there? I don't know the answer...perhaps Allen does.

s

A status of "Ready" in the CDBS indicates that the application has been 
successfully filed.  This status will not change to "filed", at which time the 
application will be accessible through the CDBS public access link, until the CDBS 
has either confirmed the receipt of the required filing fee or that no such 
filing fee is required, which should have been the case here.  It looks like 
the CDBS may have not been aware that, as noncommercial educational stations, 
WBAA ans WBAA-FM were not subject to filing fees for these applications.  As a 
result, these applications were kept in "ready" status until they were 
dismissed by the system when the deadline for submitting the required filing fee 
passed.  A similar result would result would probably have also occurred if the 
licensee was (correctly or not) included in the FCC's "Red Light" system as being 
delinquent on regulatory fees or other debts to the government.  This just 
happened to one of our NCE clients when the "Red Light" system thought they were 
delinquent on regulatory fees for a satellite uplink, even though, as an NCE l
icensee, they were not subject to these regulatory fees.  Aren't computers 
wonderful!

Roy Stype
Carl E. Smith Consulting Engineers