Low Power FM Radio
In most cities and towns, radio stations are controlled by a handful of wealthy corporations who tend to put their own profits ahead of the needs of the local communities they serve. That is about to change.
The Local Community Radio Act will allow Low Power FM radio stations (or LPFM) to be built all across the country. What is Low Power FM radio? They are stations used by schools, community groups, churches and nonprofits to broadcast local information to and about their communities. And they are a great alternative to consolidated commercial radio.
Low Power FM radio was first established in 2000. Back then, the National Association of Broadcasters, an industry trade group, convinced Congress that Low Power FM would interfere with big radio stations' broadcasts. So for the past few years, Low Power FM has been limited to only rural areas.
But a recent study from the independent MITRE Corporation shows that Low Power FM causes no interference and can co-exist with major radio stations, even in big cities. That's why Common Cause is calling on Congress to support the expansion of Low Power FM radio.
We support legislation that would do the following:
• Repeal provisions in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, that required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to:
1) modify rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations to prescribe minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels;
2) prohibit applicants who have engaged in the unlicensed operation of any station from obtaining a low-power FM license;
3) conduct a program to test whether low-power FM radio stations will result in harmful interference to existing FM radio stations if minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels are not required.
• Require the FCC to modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation requirements between specified stations.
• Require the FCC to retain rules that provide third-adjacent channel protection for full-power noncommercial FM stations that broadcast radio reading services via a subcarrier frequency from potential low-power FM station interference.
• Require the FCC when licensing FM translator stations to ensure:
1) that licenses are available to both FM translator stations and low-power FM stations;
2) that such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community.
These provisions may sound technical, but the net result is greater access to the media for local communities, which will be good for political discourse in our nation.
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