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| The Local Community Radio Act Signed Into Law |
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| Written by Larz | |||
| Thursday, 06 January 2011 12:09 | |||
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This week, among the many bills signed by President Obama was the Local Community Radio Act (LCRA), making it into law. The bill was revised from its original version and then passed by the US House of Representatives, followed by the US Senate last month. This new act will soon allow unused FM radio frequencies to possibly become low-power radio stations or LPFMs.
For a station to be considered a LPFM, its signal must be a maximum of only 100 watts, which would only extend out from the transmitter between 2-5 miles. The stations must also be non-commercial. The goal of the LCRA is to have these frequencies serve previously under-served communities in various radio markets across the country. Though the President has signed the bill this week, this does not mean that these unused frequencies are immediately available. The process now shifts to the FCC, who will have to determine the application criteria, along with the time frame for new LPFM applicants. More than likely, the criteria that was most recently used, focusing more on true community groups, will be used. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said yesterday that "the FCC will take swift action to open the dial to new low-power radio stations and the valuable local service they provide." (The word "swift" often has a unique meaning in Washington, DC.) It is expected that the FCC will take many months evaluating the new law and figuring out the processes. It should be completed later this year. At that point, the FCC will announce when the window for turning in applications will be. Best guesses have that being a one-week (but possibly two weeks) window of opportunity, probably occurring in early 2012. The approved licenses will be free of charge from the FCC. A minimum of 1,000 applications for LPFMs are already expected -- a number that could reach as high as 5,000 applications, with only around 900-950 applications getting approved. Major markets, such as Chicago, may only see a handful of new LPFMs, since their FM radio bands are already crowded. FCC Chairman Genachowski does seem pleased with the new LCRA, calling it "a big win for radio listeners." He added "Low Power FM stations are small, but they make a giant contribution to local community programming. This important law eliminates the unnecessary restrictions that kept these local stations off the air in cities and towns across the country." Although this is not the wide-reaching bill that Low-Power FM radio proponents had originally wanted, and not even a return to the 2000 FCC specifications, this compromise bill is far better than what the situation has been in recent years. The new LCRA gives the LPFM service equal status with FM translators. It removes the third-adjacent channel protection for full-power stations, but offers remedies for second-channel interference. Part of the compromise agreed upon by the NAB is that the owners of those adjacent full-power stations have the right to contest and block any applications if they feel the new signal will interfere with their own. 
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