The FCC has posted a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding the ability for AM broadcast stations to be able to have their programming heard on FM translators under certain conditions. This was proposed by the NAB. A copy of the NPRM can be found here.
REC asks readers to be careful when they notice footnote #32 where it states that REC "supports the NAB petition for stand-alone AM stations" as this may get mis-read as overall support for the proposal.
Please read our comments in RM-11338 for our exact position on AM Translators. In a nutshell, REC would support AM use of translators under the following circumstances:
- The AM station being rebroadcast may not be commonly owned with any FM broadcast station with a overlap of the FM station's service contour and the AM station's 2mV/m contour (or 25 miles). Thus, the AM station would be considered "stand-alone".
- If a commonly owned FM station does overlap the AM station, the AM station should be retransmitted on one of the FM station's HD radio streams in lieu of a translator.
- Translators for AM stations would be secondary to the non-commercial LPFM service. Mutually exclusive LPFM applicants would have to make a showing that no other channel is available for use.
- Translators for AM stations would be primary to "distant" translators. (Those FM translators that rebroadcast a primary station from a much longer distance away).
- Translators for AM stations would be primary to FM translators commonly owned by any entity that currently has over 30 commonly owned translators nationwide.
- A proposed rulemaking should also address the establishment of a Low Power AM (LPAM) service.
Comment deadline will be based on the publication in the Federal Register. We will advise when the deadlines have been established.
