extending FM band down to 76 MHz

[Dan.Strassberg]

You left out one of the biggest potential users--AMs. Many of the
proposals to extend the FM band to 76 MHz have been coupled with the
suggestion that AMs either receive preference in the extended FM band
or be required to move there. Canada has not completely shut down
AM--yet--but the number of AMs has dramatically decreased there in the
last five years. I could see extension of the FM band as a means of
shutting down AM in the US--perhaps with a last-minute reprieve when
the idea that FM can't readily serve large areas (something that every
broadcast engineer already knows) finally sinks in with the
bureaucrats and pols, who will get the message when their constituents
realize what is happening and start to complain.

-----
Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
eFax 1-707-215-6367

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Nelson" <raccoonradio@mail.com>
To: "BostonRadio Mailing List"
<boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 9:28 AM
Subject: extending FM band down to 76 MHz


I noticed on Wikipedia, in an entry on the "FM band" that last year
the FCC said it would look into the possibility
of extending the FM band down to 76 MHz, perhaps in the interest of
broadcast diversity. It was said public comment
was welcome. The article said that the Japanese FM broadcast band is
76-90 MHz (only such instance in the world?) and
here in US FM began at 88.1 (or perhaps some at 87.9? LPFMs?) so as
not to cause interference with Ch 5 or Ch 6 analog.

But I wonder if such a thing would happen. Obviously pre-existing
radios won't be able to pick up the "new" freqs
though with time new radios would be made to include 76.1 to 87.9
(etc) What would go there...community radio/LPFMs?
Pirates? (they'd look the other way, since most people won't be able
to pick up those freqs at first, anyway?) Commercial stations?
Hmm.

My tech knowledge is very limited but it's interesting to think about.

--Bob Nelson