Attention all you AM radio nostalgia buffs and others interested in the future of AM radio, who hopefully read our post of October 10 about the FCC’s proposals to allow higher power operation by smaller AM stations by reducing nighttime signal protection for 50 kW Class A AM stations. The FCC’s proposals have been published … Continue Reading
Late on Friday, October 5, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in a five-year ongoing effort to “revitalize” the AM radio broadcast service. The new proposals continue a trend toward allowing higher power operation by smaller stations, by reducing nighttime signal protection for some 60 Class A AM … Continue Reading
The window for Class A and B AM stations (and certain Class C and D AM stations) to apply for new cross-service FM translators will open at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, and close at 5:59 p.m. Eastern Time (not at 11:59 p.m.) on Jan. 31, 2018. This will be the … Continue Reading
As part of the FCC’s initiative to revitalize AM stations, Puerto Rico station owner Wilfredo Blanco-Pi petitioned the FCC to allow AM stations to employ synchronous boosters, not just on a temporary basis, but permanently. Now, the FCC is seeking comment on the proposal to amend Part 73 of its rules. Comments must be submitted … Continue Reading
As we notified our readers in December 2015, the FCC created two filing windows for AM licensees to file for an FM translator. The first window (available only to licensees or permittees of Class C or D AM stations) ran from January 29, 2016 to July 28, 2016. The second window (available to any class … Continue Reading
It’s not necessarily as easy as you might expect. couple of weeks ago we reported that the effective date for revised Section 73.1560 and the new Form 338– had been announced in the Federal Register. (Short term memory problems? That date is March 3, 2016.) The FCC has now reconfirmed the date in a public … Continue Reading
As we reported just a couple of weeks ago, the last element of the AM Revitalization rulemaking that had not yet taken effect was Section 73.1560 (along with the related Form 338, a/k/a the AM Station Modulation Dependent Carrier Level (MDCL) Notification Form), which still awaited OMB approval. No longer. The FCC has announced that … Continue Reading
Effective dates, comment deadlines now set It’s been nearly three months since the FCC released its long-awaited AM Revitalization Order. And while the Audio Division staff has done what it could in terms of moving things along, the full range of regulatory changes adopted by the Commission have not taken effect yet because the FCC’s … Continue Reading
Long-awaited opportunity for AMers now at hand. If you’re an AM licensee interested in taking advantage of the opportunity to file for an FM translator, get your calendar out: the Media Bureau has announced the dates for the two 2016 “modification windows” during which AM stations will have first dibs on available FM translators. These … Continue Reading
Translator windows, interference protection changes, MDCL … and adios to the ratchet rule Two years in the making, the FCC’s AM Revitalization decision (full name: “First Report and Order, Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, and Notice of Inquiry” – let’s just stick with Revitalization Decision, shall we?) has finally worked its way through the … Continue Reading
The radio industry has been waiting for the FCC to finally release its long-awaited AM revitalization order. However, much of the optimism that was felt when the AM revitalization proceeding was initiated years ago appears to be screeching to a halt. Within the world of AM revitalization, nothing appears to outshine the ever-increasing reliance upon … Continue Reading
