FCC: Legal Low-Power FM Broadcasting Coming Soon

Arctic Fox writes "In an article (login needed) in today's NY Times, it is announced that the FCC will be allowing individuals and groups the ability to run low powered FM (yes, FM) radio stations. It seems that many would-be DJs will get 100-watt stations with 7 mile operating radii, but the large markets - NY, Chicago, LA - will only be allowed to use 10-watt (4 mile) stations."

Comments

It's a cycle

[Tony Shepps]

Back in 1980, the FCC decided (after much pressure from -- of all people -- the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) that there were too many 10 watt stations out there on the noncommercial band. They ruled that these stations had to go to over 100 watts or time-share or simply perish.

(Do I support public broadcasting? Hell no; they have no interest in serving the community, as is supposed to be their charter...)

The FM band has so few frequencies and so much demand that almost no stations on the commercial part of it are not corporately owned. In the last two decades there has been an incredible change in how these stations are owned and operated. They have gone from business to big business. FCC changes in ownership rules allowed corporations to own more stations; the buying spree that followed had stations selling for much more than their worth, especially considering how broadband to the home, wireless 'net, and satellite broadcasting could make traditional radio stations into dinosaurs. All they do is transmit audio, fer chrissakes.

This in turn has led to a yet-greater reduction in the risk-taking that radio is likely to do. If it doesn't have a shot at a four share, it won't get on the air. While the rest of the society was diversifying from wanting 3-5 TV channels to wanting 50 to 200 and more, radio was in effect clamping down on diversity.

This in turn led to a large increase in pirate radio, the operators of which were ready to risk breaking federal law for the love of broadcasting and the love of serving the community through it.

Now that radio is on the edge of being irrelevant, the FCC is once again politically able to permit small broadcasters on the air. But the lesson, the moral of all this, is that government acts politically, not in the interests of the public; and even non-governmental organizations set up to serve the public act politically and work to preserve their own power.

I welcome the diversity of views, sounds, and ideas that will come about through this ruling. It's a little late now that the Internet has supplanted it.

This is important! (Re:Congress)

[isaac]

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ query/z?c106:h.r.3439:

Yep, congress acting to protect you from dangerous new ideas.

Can't believe moderators are ignoring this!

-Isaac