Hot off the press...

The Senate Commerce Committee has opened the door to having thousands
more LPFM radio stations on the air, not only in rural communities but
also in major markets across the country. Some 800 LPFM stations
ranging in power from 10-to-100-watts are scattered across the country
but are generally licensed in rural or small markets where their
signals don't bump up against the mega sticks that have 50,000-watts
or more of power.

By a consensus vote, the committee on Tuesday (Oct. 30) cleared the
Local Community Radio Act of 2007 (S.1675) to be sent on to Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid's office, where it could be scheduled for a
full Senate vote, probably sometime early next year. The Senate
currently faces a back-log of budget and funding bills that require
its immediate attention.

The bill removes third adjacency protections from the FCC's current
LPFM guidelines and opens the spectrum to thousands more noncommercial
and religious groups, who can now apply to the commission for
licenses. The Act, introduced in June by Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and
supported by John McCain (R-Ariz.), notes that "through the creation
of LPFM, the commission sought to create opportunities for new voices
on the airwaves and to allow local groups, including schools, churches
and other community-based organizations, to provide programming
responsive to local community needs and interests."

"Low Power FM radio was limited back in 2000, when the big
broadcasters tried to convince America that 100-watt community radio
stations would interfere with the biggest stations in America's
biggest cities," said Prometheus Radio Project technical director Pete
Tridish. "At Congress' demand, the FCC proved that there was plenty
of room for low power FM radio. With today's vote, and with the
growing momentum to expand low power FM radio in the House of
Representatives, communities across the country have a reason to
celebrate."

"The United Church of Christ has supported low power radio from the
beginning," said Cheryl Leanza, managing director of the United Church
of Christ, Office of Communication. "We support this legislation,
which, if passed, would mean more churches, community groups and
schools around the country will be able to reach out to their local
communities."

The bill, which has strong bipartisan backing, is mirrored by a
companion bill in the House of Representatives (HR 2802) by the same
name, which was also introduced on June 21, sponsored by Mike Doyle
(D-Pa.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) along with 55 cosponsors, and also has
strong bipartisan support.

The NAB has conducted a stealth lobbying campaign against reducing
adjacency protections over major concerns about non-professional
broadcasters and engineers operating beyond their permitted power
levels and frequency allotments and interfering with established
commercial outlets that have sizable audiences who rely on the clarity
of their radio signals.

"We are obviously opposed to this bill's passage because of the
interference implications to millions of radio listeners," NAB
spokesman Dennis Wharton told R&R as he boarded a flight to Washington
from Dallas, where the NAB board of directors held two days of meetings.

"Putting LPFM licenses in the hands of communities where local voices
are being silenced by large national radio chains is a step in the
right direction. Finally community members across the nation will have
an alternative to McRadio," said Joel Kelsey, a spokesperson for
Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports.

In its subtext, the measure notes that the FCC "made clear that the
creation of LPFM would not compromise the integrity of the FM radio
band by stating, `We are committed to creating a low-power FM radio
service only if it does not cause unacceptable interference to
existing radio service.'"

Earlier this month, FCC chairman Kevin Martin emphasized that
statement and said he would support the Senate's efforts to open up
the dial to more LPFM stations.

Currently, FM translator stations can operate on the second- and
third-adjacent channels to full-power radio stations, up to an
effective radiated power of 250 watts, using the very same
transmitters that LPFM stations will use. The Senate bill notes that
the FCC based its LPFM rules on the actual performance of these
translators that already operate without undue interference to FM
stations. "The actual interference record of these translators is far
more useful than any results that further testing could yield."

Proponents of the bill believe that LPFM stations have proven to be a
vital source of information during local or national emergencies. "Out
of the few stations that were able to stay online during Katrina,
several were LPFM stations. In Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, LPFM
station WQRZ remained on the air during Hurricane Katrina and served
as the Emergency Operations Center for Hancock County," reports the
comment section of the measure passed by the commerce committee.


Backers of the measure also argue that it expands the opportunities to
give a voice to women and minority groups that have difficulty getting
funding to buy expensive, full-power radio stations.

Now we just need to figure out how to keep them from the Religious broadcasters.

No need to advocate censorship.

1. LPFM rules don't allow large "National Chain" (religious or otherwise) broadcasters to apply.

2. Non-religious groups can apply for the frequencies just as religious ones can, but few have done so in the past. The key is for non-religious groups to get their butts in gear and do something.

Why is 94.9 KRAD-LP still on the air? Aren't they interfering with 95.1 KSND's protected coverage in Albany?

I think the real problem is with translators... I've noticed that (at least in the local area) most translators are with the large religious organizations (EMF).

Because of all these translators, it prevents LPFM from really gaining any ground here and the few opportunities got gobbled up by local church groups or private schools.

Unfortunately, with a couple of key broadcast stations wanting to move into the Portland radio market, those few LPFM stations will be right back off the air. I know one LPFM CP holder that has pretty much abandoned their installation because of a certain station having their city of license changed to Tualatin :-)

Heck! I'm having trouble finding a decent clear frequency to have a small Part 15 FM station...