Sec. 74.432  Licensing requirements and procedures.

    (a) A license for a remote pickup station will be issued to: the 
licensee of an AM, FM, noncommercial FM, TV, international broadcast or 
low power TV station; broadcast network-entity; or cable network-entity.
    (b) Base stations may operate as automatic relay stations on the 
frequencies listed in Sec. 74.402(a) (6) and (8) under the provisions of 
Sec. 74.436, however, one licensee may not operate such stations on more 
than two frequencies in a single area.
    (c) Base stations may use voice communications between the studio 
and transmitter or points of any intercity relay system on frequencies 
in Groups I and J.
    (d) Base stations may be authorized to establish standby circuits 
from places where official broadcasts may be made during times of 
emergency and circuits to interconnect an emergency survival 
communications system.
    (e) In Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, 
base stations may provide program circuits between the studio and 
transmitter or to relay programs between broadcasting stations. A base 
station may be operated unattended in accordance with the following:
    (1) The station must be designed, installed, and protected so that 
the transmitter can only be activated or controlled by persons 
authorized by the licensee.
    (2) The station must be equipped with circuits to prevent 
transmitter operation when no signal is received from the station which 
it is relaying.
    (f) Remote pickup stations may use only those frequencies and 
bandwidths which are necessary for operation.
    (g) An application for a remote pickup broadcast station or system 
shall specify the broadcasting station or stations (where more than one 
broadcasting station is specified, all such broadcasting stations shall 
be licensed to the applicant and to the same community) with which the 
remote pickup broadcast facility is to be principally used

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and the licensed area of operation for a system which includes mobile 
stations shall be the area considered to be served by the associated 
broadcasting station or stations. Mobile stations may be operated 
outside the licensed area of operation pursuant to Sec. 74.431(d). Where 
the applicant for remote pickup broadcast facilities is the licensee of 
more than one class of broadcasting station (AM, FM, TV), all licensed 
to the same community, designation of one or more such stations as the 
associated broadcasting station or stations will not preclude use of the 
remote pickup broadcast facilities with those broadcasting stations not 
included in the designation and such additional use shall be at the 
discretion of the licensee.
    (h) In cases where a series of broadcasts are to be made from the 
same location, portable or mobile transmitters may be left at such 
location for the duration of the series of broadcasts: Provided, The 
transmitting apparatus is properly secured so that it may not be 
operated by unauthorized persons when unattended. Prior Commission 
authority shall be obtained for the installation of any transmitting 
antenna which requires notification to the FAA, pursuant to Sec. 17.7 of 
the Commission's rules and regulations, and which will be in existence 
for more than 2 days.
    (i) The location of each remote pickup broadcast base station will 
be specified in the station or system license and such stations may not 
be operated at any other location without prior authority of the 
Commission.
    (j) The license shall be retained in the licensee's files at the 
address shown on the authorization, posted at the transmitter, or posted 
at the control point of the station.
    (k) In the case of permanent discontinuance of operation of a 
station or system licensed under this subpart, the licensee shall 
forward the station or system license to the FCC at Federal 
Communications Commission, 1270 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 
17325 for cancellation. For purposes of this section, a station which is 
not operated for a period of one year is considered to have been 
permanently discontinued.

    Note: Licensees of remote pickup broadcast stations licensed prior 
to August 31, 1976, should not file applications to consolidate 
individually licensed transmitters under a single system license until 
the renewal application of the associated broadcast station is filed. 
Applications filed between August 31, 1976, and the date of filing of 
the renewal applications to obtain authorization to use additional 
transmitters or modification of existing stations shall be restricted to 
a single system application necessary to accomplish the desired change, 
but may include consolidation of previously-licensed transmitters within 
the system license. Applications submitted for system licensing prior to 
the time when renewal applications would normally be filed which are 
unnecessary for either administrative or operational purposes will be 
returned as unacceptable for filing.

(Sec. 5, 48 Stat. 1068; 47 U.S.C. )

[41 155 FR 29686 , July 19, 1976, as amended at  42 FR 2071 , Jan. 10, 1977;  47 FR 21496 , May 18, 1982;  49 FR 14509 , Apr. 12, 1984;  51 FR 4602 , Feb. 6, 
1986;  58 FR 19775 , Apr. 16, 1993;  60 FR 55482 , Nov. 1, 1995]