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TO: Member Station Engineers
FR: Betsy Laird, NPR National Affairs
RE: Low Power FM Radio Service Update
DT: April 27, 1999
There has been much discussion recently on the regulatory issue of proposed Low Power FM Radio Service. The purpose of this update is to give the latest status of the matter and encourage station input in the comments National Public Radio will file with the Federal Communications Commission on June 1.
JUNE 1 COMMENT DEADLINE
As reported last month, the FCC decided to grant an extension of comments and reply comments until June 1, 1999 and July 1, 1999, respectively. There is no set date for the Commission to vote on this issue. A record of comments and information in the proceeding must first be established before the FCC acts.
TESTING UNDERWAY
As we have mentioned previously, NPR and CEMA are
conducting laboratory tests to examine the potential interference that might be aggravated by the selectivity of radio receivers commonly found in consumer land. The FCC's implementation of a Low Power service does not consider reception of interference associated with commonly used radios in the presence of multiple adjacent channel radio signals in its proposal. The cost of this testing will be borne by NPR, CEMA and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. We will share the results of that testing with stations and we will use those results in preparing NPR's comments for the FCC proceeding.YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
NPR is most interested in hearing from those stations with extensive translator networks. We would like to include documentation in our June comments about the potential harm to translators if a new service is introduced. We need stations' help and we need it as soon as possible!
Although NPR National Affairs, working with the Office of the General Counsel, will be contacting stations in targeted states with requests for information, stations should contact us if they maintain any qualitative and/or quantitative population and/or listenership information specific to any translator/repeater facilities they operate that provide service unduplicated by any other full service public radio station."
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions on this matter, please contact Betsy Laird, Director of National Affairs, at 800-329-5380, x2741 or Greg Lewis in the Office of the General Counsel, at 202-414-2050.