Feature:
FCC Legalizes FM (II)
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Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 'Modified Secondary-class' Status: LPFM stations will be considered secondary to all existing and future full-power FM stations. They must protect those stations from interference - but they also have to accept interference from full-power stations, both present and future. LPFM stations must be spaced at least 20 kilometers away from any other radio station that there is a potential for interference with. If an LPFM station is occupying a frequency where a full-power station wants to locate, the LPFM station will be bumped (to an alternate frequency or, in the worst-case scenario, off the air) in order to make room for the full-power one. Interestingly, future digital television stations may interfere with some LPFM stations. In the event that a digital television station might interfere with an LPFM station, the LPFM station will be bumped - but FCC staff have given personal assurances to the Commission that it will do everything possible to find the LPFM station an alternate frequency so it can stay on the air. Interference Protection Standards: Third-adjacent channel interference protection has been dropped. Instead of the original proposal, which would have 'peeled back the layers' of the interference standards by two channels, only one layer of protection has been dropped. For example, if a full power station is located at 95.1, there can be LPFMs as close by on the dial as 95.7 and 94.5 - under the unmodified rules, these channels couldn't even be considered. However, if the original proposal had been approved, LPFM stations could have also been placed as nearby as 95.5 and 94.7 as well. Unfortunately "second-adjacent" channel stations will not be allowed. The revised standards open up a handful of potential frequencies in some major markets, but the majority of LPFM channels will be available in medium to small-sized markets only, where the FM band is less crowded. The overall number of LPFM stations any community could have had has been reduced - no matter the market size. "Going halfway" on the interference protection requirements is a hedge by the FCC in deference to the NAB's concerns about interference to their full-power stations. An FCC staffer, as she outlined the proposal, commented: "Our engineers are confident that 100 watt LPFM stations...will not impair the integrity of existing FM radio service, or impede the transition to digital radio service in the future." Next Page --> Ownership
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