Passage of HR 1147, the Local Community Radio Act, came last night, with the National Association of Broadcasters saying it didn’t oppose it. The bill appears to have strong bipartisan support and the NAB says it’s focused on getting favorable “tweaks” in the language. A companion bill in the Senate passed committee and the only hurdle left now is approval by the full Senate and perhaps a reconciliation between the two bills, if there are any differences. The Low Power FM bill would allow the FCC to license new 100-watt-type stations even in some of the largest markets, because it removes the third-adjacent channel protection long enjoyed by the full-power broadcasters who are represented by the National Association of Broadcasters. All five members of the current FCC have said they support opening up the Low Power FM service.
Ya! so much good news this week!
H.R. 1147 and S. 592 ... are both essentially the same bill known as "The Local Community Radio Act of 2009".
The major gain for communities is that it eliminates the engineering requirements imposed by the 3rd adjacent channel interference rule in most cases, i.e., what makes the bill(s) equitable for full power FM stations is that it retains the rule for stations that operate (weaker) subcarrier reading channels.
The application process will conducted on a case-by-case basis.
The difference between the bills is FCC reports to congress, which of course has additional engineering and filing costs, albeit well within the expenditure cap. S.592 requires the FCC to do ongoing reports on the state of economic impact of LPFM stations on full power commercial stations.
Most observers seem to believe S.592 will also pass. It has already passed out of subcommittee.
There will be more LPFM stations allowed into denser markets. Cities where no LPFM construction permits (CPs) were issued because of the wider frequency interference rule may now be able to be issued.
Of course it means any group wanting to apply needs to get their act together NOW, well before the next application window opens. Full power stations who don't want a nearby LPFM startup can always apply for the subcarrier reading channel, which could conceivably close the door in that market area.
I belong to the Stubblefield group list, which is the email group for Prometheus, the major advocacy group for LPFM radio, so I've been following this stuff fairly regularly.
Dear Santa,
Ive worked hard and been a reasonably good guy this year.
Could you find it in your heart to give me a 100 watt fm Cp this year?
Please?
Did i mention i left you cookies and milk?
Sincerely B.Sallade
Seriously though, this is great news. Now if the fcc would allow part 15 operations on 87.5 to 87.9 that would be a plus in my stocking.