A more concrete proposal surfaced today from the FCC on how to save AM radio. One of the ideas is to get rid of the failing stations by offering a tax credit for voluntarily turning in your AM license. The idea is if you get rid of the unviable AM stations, the remaining stations could increase power to cover a bigger area and more people.
Another idea being floated is to convert the channel 5 and 6 FM bands (just below the existing FM band) and encourage the AM stations to move there. The problem with that is people would need new radios. The AM expanded band (1610-1700 kHz) still has no traction, despite being allocated to “fix” AM radio in 1993 and radio receivers required to receive those frequencies since the 1980s.
The troubling part of this dialog which flows right out of the reality that the NAB controls the FCC is the notion that the FCC should make decisions based on preserving the “value” of an intangible FCC License and insulate license owners from bad business decisions. Another problem is a tax credit only has value if you are making a profit.
I’m thinking Townsquare Media would love this plan.
http://www.radioworld.com/article/hd-suggests-tax-benefit-for-terminating-substandard-ams/223302
Didn’t the FCC issue those licenses for free… same as the TV licenses and the new HDTV licenses. Only cell phones, which people need and use ever day, did the FCC sell them at auction to keep them out of the hands of people people so they could justify the Obamaphone program.
Well, yes and no. If you’re asking about AM radio only, there is an application fee, but I don’t think they had to go through a bidding process. There is also a yearly fee that is used to fund the costs of the FCC which is not part of the US Government.
On the FM side, the most recent auction I remember did carry a price tag, but it wasn’t a matter of highest bid wins – there were adjustments to the formula if you were a first time owner and/or a “diverse” person.
A big chunk of existing licenses were free licenses handed out one per AM station when the FCC first fixed AM radio by creating the FM band.
Virginia uses that upper AM band for local traffic information. They have these small little trailers with a AM transmitter and they move them in place for information on up-comming construction, or traffic congestion from sporting events. (We Love sports.)
They put the sign up saying tune to, example, 1650 on your AM dial. The transmitter is usually in the median. Battery and solar panels . Not much of a range.
I would like one of those transmitters, , LOL
parrott
1610 was originally intended for that – and there is still people running pirate radio and calling themselves Part 15 (unlicensed AM) but typically end up running over power since the legal limit is 200 feet. Travel information services are limitted to 10 watts
Cool, I knew it was 16xx something. Maybe I can pick one up at state auction. I can play better music than ‘cumulost’ , at least not at the same time as the commercial : )
LOL
Parrott
Sorry, but to get the 100 watt version, you’ll need to set up a government.
I’m fixing a hole where A.M. gets in
And stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go