WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC’s Media Bureau has established a comment and reply comment period for those wishing to chime in on a “Petition for Clarification,” submitted jointly by the NAB and HD Radio parent Xperi Inc., pertaining to a Notice for Proposed Rulemaking on FM digital power.
As RBR+TVBR reported on February 21, NAB and Xperi have “identified an important ambiguity that requires clarification regarding the maximum allowable operating power of a digital FM signal.” They note that the NPRM and the Commission’s past discussions of digital power levels have considered only the power level for the digital FM carriers of the primary HD Radio MP1 hybrid service mode of operation. In particular, the Commission has considered the total integrated power level for all digital carriers used to transmit MP1 standard hybrid service. NAB and Xperi note, however, that the HD Radio system is not limited to the MP1 mode, and the Commission has authorized extended hybrid modes of operation, which increase the number of digital subcarriers.
In the view of the NAB and Xperi, the optimal operation of the extended hybrid modes requires an increase in the total integrated power above that of the MP1 mode so that all the digital carriers individually operate at the intended power. Otherwise, individual carriers would have to operate with less than the intended power level to keep the total integrated power at the intended level, they argue.
The Bureau gave the green light for public input on their request, and with the Clarification PN appearing today in the Federal Register, comments must be submitted no later than April 1. Reply comments must be submitted no later than April 15.
