> However a few weeks ago our republican
> friends attached a complete
> > override of that radio provision as pork in a huge
> budget bill that clinton
> > couldn't veto. the future of the program is
> basically up to the shrub.
Well, it wasn't just the republicans. it was also the
Association of American Broadcasters...i think that's
what they're called...including National Public Radio,
who were awfully pro-Gore and anti-Nader this
election. They fought the low-power station licensing
effort tooth and nail.
hold on a minute, from the fcc website: come and get
your low-power licenses...
http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/
FCC Authorizes New LPFM Service
On December 21, 2000, the FCC announced that 255
noncommercial educational applicants in 20
states are eligible for new low power FM (LPFM)
licenses. Applicants could begin receiving
construction permits for their new LPFM stations
after 30 days. Additional eligible applicants from
these twenty states, whose applications conflict
with other applications filed in the same
geographic area, will be announced at a later
date.
The FCC said that, pursuant to provisions of the
Commerce, Justice State Appropriations Bill
passed last week, applicants are only eligible
for LPFM licenses if the stations proposed in their
applications fully protect full service FM and
FM translator stations authorized on third-adjacent
channels. In addition, pursuant to the bill,
eligible applicants have not, as certified in their
applications, engaged in the unlicensed
operation of any broadcast station.
Not sure what this means, but interesting...a couple
years ago, when we ran a little pirate from a west
philly attic for a while, and a different (white) guy
was running the FCC(Federal Communications
Commission), and this loosening of the rules would
have been unthinkable. Soon after, there was a rash of
raids, and a lot of stations have never recovered.
The scary thing was that enforcement was left to local
authorities, so if your friendly neighborhood Officer
Billy Joe Jim Bob had it in for you, oy vey.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Jan 10 2001 - 20:34:00 CET