MaxxKonnect acquires FCCInfo.com broadcast data service

Daniel Okafor

MaxxKonnect Group has acquired FCCInfo.com, a free US broadcast-industry data service launched in 2002, from Cavell, Mertz & Associates. MaxxKonnect, a broadcast technology solutions provider, operates from Pelham, Alabama. Cavell Mertz, a technical consulting firm in Alexandria, Virginia, has belonged to Capitol Airspace Group since 2023.

What does the acquisition change?

The ownership change gives MaxxKonnect control over product development, while Cavell Mertz’s advisers retain institutional knowledge from more than 20 years of operating a widely used industry resource.

MaxxKonnect plans to modernize the service’s backend code and may eventually revamp the user interface. The Cavell Mertz team will remain involved as advisers. The company described the backend work as a plan and the interface revamp as a possibility.

Josh Bohn, MaxxKonnect’s president and CEO, said he and Gary Cavell concluded the acquisition was the right fit after discussing the site’s upkeep.

Josh Bohn, MaxxKonnect’s president and CEO, said: “We have no plans to paywall any of the existing search option services on the site.”

He added that premium options may carry a fee: “We may add some premium features which may include a fee, but the existing searches that everyone has been using for more than 20 years will continue as they are, completely free of charge.”

That is the commercial boundary Bohn has set: established searches remain free, while any paid layer remains prospective.

What data does FCCInfo.com provide?

FCCInfo.com provides searchable access to FCC broadcast, auxiliary, microwave, land mobile and antenna structure records. Many broadcast professionals use the free resource, including staff at Radio World. It is not affiliated with the FCC, although most of its data comes directly from the agency’s public databases.

Bohn said the broadcast industry was getting smaller and resources were strained. He said FCCInfo simplified work by making the FCC site less difficult to navigate. He also described himself and many thousands of industry peers as daily users.

Four public source systems feed the records:

• AM, FM and TV data primarily comes from the FCC Media Bureau’s Licensing and Management System database.
• Broadcast microwave and land mobile records come from the Wireless Bureau’s ULS database.
• The “Places” dataset comes from the USGS list of populated places.
• Tower information comes from the FCC Antenna Structure Registration database.

By consolidating several agency databases and adding map-based visualization, the service reduces the search burden for broadcast engineers who need regulatory and infrastructure records during routine work.

The site integrates with Google Earth, allowing users to display station facilities, microwave paths and registered antenna structures on interactive maps.

How current are the records?

The FCC publishes AM, FM and TV licensing data from the Media Bureau’s LMS daily. It publishes complete updates of broadcast auxiliary ULS data and Antenna Structure Registration data once a week.

Populated places, ZIP code and airport databases update sporadically. FCCInfo.com’s automated import routine is set to match the FCC’s pace, according to its FAQ. Import dates appear at the bottom of pages containing FCC data.

For users, the practical distinction is clear: license records refresh daily, major auxiliary and tower files refresh weekly, and several geographic datasets follow no fixed schedule.

That rhythm makes the import routine more consequential for frequently changing licensing records than for place and airport references. It also leaves users reliant on the displayed import dates when checking older geographic information.

Why did Cavell Mertz hand it over?

Much of FCCInfo.com’s code was written years earlier by Dan Ryson for an internal Cavell Mertz software tool. Cavell Mertz made the tool public as an industry benefit in 2002. The service has therefore been public for more than 20 years.

A 2019 Radio World profile said Gary and Cindy Hutter Cavell received NAB Engineering Achievement Awards for radio and TV, respectively.

Gary Cavell said the firm’s existing workload had left little time for the improvements and new services it wanted as the industry evolved. Cavell also wanted the tool preserved for future users, in line with the firm’s teaching and knowledge-sharing approach.

Gary Cavell said: “The MaxxKonnect team has considerable depth, fresh ideas and available staff, which we feel lends itself to taking the site to the next level.”

The sale reflects a capacity decision rather than an abandonment of the project, with Cavell Mertz preserving continuity through advisers and MaxxKonnect assuming responsibility for future improvements.

No target date accompanied either modernization statement. MaxxKonnect’s next stated milestones are backend modernization and a possible interface revamp, while existing searches remain free under Bohn’s policy and potential premium features may carry fees.