LPFM on US Islands

The LPFM license is in a precarious position on the best of days. But co-channel protections on US territorial islands are even more challenging for one primary reason: spacing. The co-channel protections require much greater distances. Take a class A station for example. On the US mainland a 24 km co-channel protection is required. But on a U.S. territorial island that triples to 80 km. The first adjacent protection more than quadruples from 24 km to 111 km.  The second and third adjacent channel minimum separation increases from 29 to 42 km. More here.

Currently, the United States has five major U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All of those islands groups combined only have 14 LPFM radio stations. Most of them reside in Puerto Rico, which despite occupying over 5,000 sq miles Puerto Rico only has 9 LPFMs.

Out of that list. only one University is represented: 97.3 WUVI at The University of the Virgin Islands. The University was granted a CP in 2014 to build the 100 watt LPFM station. But the station has it's roots in a much older religious station.

The LPFM station descends from the original AM stick 1090 WUVI-AM, founded in October 1985 as WIBS. It was sold to the Three Angels Corporation in 1989 and renamed WGOD. Dr. Alexander Randall managed to arrange for the University to lease the station from Three AngelsCorp. in 2012 whereupon the station changed calls to WUVI. But in 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria did so much damage to the WUVI-AM facility that it was too expensive to repair. Its license was cancelled September 23, 2019; leaving the LPFM the sole facility surviving.

Below is a complete list of the LPFM stations currently licensed to US territorial islands.

Puerto Rico:

City	Frequency	Call sign	Format
Aguada-Aguadilla	90.7	WQHD-LP	Latin Oldies
Mayaguez-Anasco	90.9	WLYM-LP	Adult Contemporary
Caguas	90.9	WODB-LP	Religious
Moca	93.7	WMAA-LP	Religious
Moca	97.9	WZFE-LP	Religious
Isabela-Quebradillas	98.1	WCXQ-LP	Tropical
Cabo Rojo-Mayaguez	98.1	WZCL-LP	Adult Contemporary
Mayaguez	107.9	WVPJ-LP	Religious
Aguadilla-Aguada	107.9	WYKQ-LP	Religious

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The US Virgin Islands

City	Frequency	Call sign	Format
Charlotte Amalie	96.9	WTJC-LP	Religious
John Brewers Bay	97.3	WUVI-LP	College

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Guam (Yes, just one LP station)

City	Frequency	Call sign	Format
Tumon	106.9	KGCA-LP	Religious

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American Samoa

City	Frequency	Call sign	Format
Tafuna	94.5	KKAS-LP	Religious
Ili'ili	95.1	KULA-LP	Religious

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If you were curious I did not skip the Northern Mariana Islands. They have no LPFM stations as of this date, and very few stations in the first place. They have at present: 7 FM stations, 1 FM repeater, 1 FM translator and 1 very lonely-looking AM station. Before you ask about those scant US minor outlying islands... most of them are uninhabited and there are no radio stations on the few that are: Midway Island, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.