On Monday Sanjay Jolly of the Prometheus Radio Project dropped by the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau offices and talked Low Power FM with Peter Doyle of the Audio Division and representatives from various Commissioners. Jolly pointed out that signal range is big issue for LPFM operators. In a 2012 survey run by Prometheus, around a quarter of respondents identified “limited signal coverage” as a “major threat to their station’s viability.”
And so Jolly proposed the following, according to the group’s Ex Parte summary of the discussion:
“Mr. Jolly argued that raising LPFM’s maximum effective radiated power from 100 Watts to 250 Watts and holding an FM translator window exclusively for LPFM licensees would significantly unburden LPFM stations while remaining faithful to the word and intention of the Local Community Radio Act.”
As for a possible FM translator filing window “exclusively for AM stations,” Prometheus:
“urged the Commission to delay any such window until all LPFM applications have been resolved. In addition, [Jolly] expressed support for AM broadcasters – particularly women, minority, and single-station owners – and argued that eligibility for the AM-only translator filing window be restricted to Class C and D stations only.”
Read the Prometheus filing here.
