Know What to Expect During Your Station's ABIP Inspection.
The ABIP inspection will typically include the following:
- Inspection of the station licenses to assure compliance by the station with transmitter power, directional AM parameters and auxiliary antenna operations.
- Inspection of the control point and associated transmitter operation, required station logs, transmission standards, and compliance with tower regulations.
- An inspection of the station’s transmitter sites, including tower lighting, antennas, and transmitter power, frequency, and modulation. All monitor points will be run for AM directional stations, and the station must supply a working Field Strength Meter and personnel who know how to operate the meter and navigate to all required points.
- Inspection of the station’s compliance with EAS requirements, including equipment, functionality, logging, review of Chief Operator requirements, and required Equipment Performance Measurements.
- While not part of the immunity from routine FCC inspections, the inspector will also review and provide feedback on the contents of the station’s online public file (OPIF). The OPIF review may occur before, during, or after the on-site technical inspection.
Following the OAB inspection, the inspector will notify the station of any detected discrepancies from the FCC’s technical rules that were identified during the inspection. The inspector will give the station a reasonable period of time to correct the discrepancies, and where necessary, a re-inspection may be conducted.
When the inspector is satisfied that the station is in compliance and has taken all necessary remedial actions, the OAB, upon approval of the inspector, will send a Certificate of Compliance to the station and to the FCC.
Upon receipt of the OAB Certificate of Compliance, the FCC will not conduct a routine random inspection of the station for a period of three years from the date of certification. However, the station will still be subject to the following FCC inspections during this three-year period:
- public file inspections, including those related to political broadcasting or EEO materials and at license renewal time;
- inspections concerning tower safety; and
- complaint-driven inspections.
rev. 08/2022