Re: More speculations on 102.1

[Garrett Wollman <wollman>]

<<On Tue, 3 Jun 1997 13:22:13 -0400 (EDT), Doug Bassett <dbassett@sover.net> said:

> Look at WKVT-FM (92.7) Brattleboro and WVAY (100.7) Wilmington, Vt. WKVT
> puts a decent signal into WVAY's city of licence. And look also at WSSH
> (101.5) Marlboro, Vt. and WZSH (107.1) Bellows Falls, Vt. I pick them both
> up quite well in Brattleboro. If there is such a law barring simulcasts of
> this type, it doesn't seem to be enforced...or perhaps the law was changed. 

The rule is, or at least was:

	Two stations in the same band, whose principal community
	contours overlap by at least 50%, may not simulcast for more
	than 25% of the program day.

[This is not a direct quotation.]

By basing the standard on the principal community contour, this both
provides a definite, measurable standard, and lots of wiggle room for
the stations.  Like many other rules, the Commission appears to care
very little about this rule, and is probably just waiting for an
excuse to eliminate it.  The FCC just (May 28) released an NPRM on the
future of the public file and main studio rules; see #97-182 for more
details.  (The practical upshot of this is that the Commission appears
likely to eliminate the last requirement for stations to actually have
anything at all to do with the communities they nominally serve.)

- -GAWollman

- --
Garrett A. Wollman   | O Siem / We are all family / O Siem / We're all the same
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Opinions not those of| Dance in the burning flame
MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA|                     - Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick

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