Fire in L.A. – this has been going on a few days, but I’ve been busy. There is a *ton* of radio and TV and Cell phone equipment on Mount Wilson – currently under siege by a large fire. If the firefighters lose the battle, all hell could break loose in Los Angeles with the loss of so much communications capability. I’ve written previously about the situation in Chicago where “way too much” of the entire region’s TV and radio capability is on the top of only one building. I hope this is a kick in the butt to the FCC and the Obama administration to get forceful about encouraging its licensees to not all congregate their transmitters on the “best place in town”.
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There is also a 6000 acre fire in Nothern Ca above Sacramento which contain a PG&E power transfer station and powerline towers, not to mention a few cell towers, California could be in a world of hurt.
Art, there’s one big problem with that… you know full well the radio companies will demand looser ownership caps per market to compensate. After all, there needs to be compensation for that lost broadcast capacity. That’s not to mention the increased crowding of the radio dial that’s already causing problems in many urban areas.
I know that television is experimenting with these “distributed transmission systems” where multiple distant stations are synchronized to broadcast on the same frequency at the same time, mainly as a result of bad planning in the DTV transition… with radio, I imagine it’s doable in most cases. Several towers broadcasting a signal from and in multiple directions would reduce the risk of failure at one central stick. Now, of course, this brings its own problems (such as would it take more power, and would broadcast delay become prohibitive).
I know my point above is antithetical to my own libertarian feelings about government regulation and how it is usually counterproductive…. but the issue here is going to come down to public safety. A couple years ago, there was massive fires in the San Diego area, and it became the lack of personnel employed in radio at this point (with all the voice tracking and synidcated stuff) was leaving the stations largely unable to cope with being a useful source of helpful information. In the intervening time, staffing cuts have much further reduced this capability. Either we need to decide that radio is not a part any longer of public safety and emergency management or someone has to figure out a business model that works and still fills this need. Time for a radio bailout? :)
You don’t suppose that our new Communications Czar will use this “emergency” to take control of radio and/or the internet?
A distinct possibility. Look over on the long form blog for my article about “Radio and National Security” from a few months ago. It’s not like L.A. has a reputation for riots if civilian control breaks down, or anything.
It wouldn’t be as hard as some might think… with a push of a button, the White House has control of every television and radio station in America faster than one can say “Emergency Alert System.” It’s never been done… yet.
1) EAS won’t work if the radio stations are off the air
2) Most people under 30ish don’t listen to radio
3) People who would riot are not going to follow instructions because a radio tells them to stop
4) Except for the White House channel, all EAS control of radio stations is voluntary and of limited duration (2 minutes is the maximum message length)
Batchelor is discussing this…. it’s clear now this fire was arson.