New rules to help propagate new low power FM stations were passed by Congress last December and signed into law by President Obama in January. But the task of establishing the rules of the road and putting the law into effect resides with the FCC, and the topic is on the agenda for the Tuesday 7/12/11 Open Meeting.
The Local Community Radio Act does away with 3rd adjacency protection for incumbent full-power FM stations, an act which should clear room for LPFMs in crowded urban areas where demand for them is great and room is scarce.
Also competing for the same frequencies are FM translators – the FCC has to make sure those seeking a translator, including many who have had applications pending for a long time, also get a fair shot at a frequency.
But the specific topic on the table 7/12 is this: “The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rule Making seeking comment on the impact of the Local Community Radio Act on the future licensing of low power FM and FM translator stations.”
The official title of the agenda item is “Creation of A Low Power Radio Service (MM Docket No. 99-25) and Amendment of Service and Eligibility rules for FM Broadcast Translator Stations (MB Docket No. 07-172).”
Two other topic are on the agenda, one on cramming and another on E911, neither of which is of direct concern to broadcasters. The meeting is scheduled to start at 10:30AM.
