Re: NorthEast Radio Watch 9/18: LPFM - It's Nutmeg and Granite States' Turn

["R.L. Caron" <k4gp@peganet.com>]

<< A new administration won't appoint new commissioners immediately, so
there might be time, in the first few months of 2001, to get some LPFM
stations  licensed before a new administration can stop them. >>

They may not get that far. The House has already passed H.R. 3439, the Radio
Preservation Act. Two companion Senate bills, S. 2068 and the recent S.
3020, remain in committee and have the support of National Public Radio and
the Radio Reading Services for the Blind. Legislation resulting from this
would effectively put the kibosh on LPFM by requiring the FCC to adhere to
all existing interference standards.

Buried in the LPFM Rulemaking is a stealth provision that rolls back all FM
stations' protected contour --with respect to LPFM stations-- from the
traditional Primary Service Contour (18 to 57 miles, depending on power
class) to the much smaller Principal Community Contour (10 to 42 miles.)
While the FCC promised to "never do anything to cause interference to
existing FM stations" it in fact had to re-define the meaining of the word
'interference' to both be able to claim it didn't go back on its word and to
make it all work.

Under this Kennardian version of word-parsing, the FCC gets to place
close-frequency LPFM stations on the periphery of or even entirely within
the circle of a station's Primary Service Contour --the area all FM stations
consider solid coverage-- and get to say "There IS no interference" no
matter what kind of hash is created for the regular station by the little
guy. All sounds so familiar, doesn't it? All that's missing is the wagging
finger!

Another, and separate issue is the elimination of third-adjacency separation
requirements. The argument against that is a lot less compellling, because
the broadcasters themselves have enjoyed numerous exceptions to the rule by
placing grandfathered stations and boosters on third adjacencies without
creating any  problems they were wiling to complain about.

But, without the ability to place stations on 3rd channels and the redefined
meaning of 'interference,' which the current legislation would revoke, LPFM
is probably DOA. Being restricted to all the present rules on interference
precludes the establishment of LPFM stations in all but fairly rural areas.