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| Wilson: More Voices on the Radio |
April 13, 2000 |
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Will Protect Your Favorite Radio Station and Allow More Voices Over the Airwaves
WASHINGTON, DC –The House passed legislation today that includes a bipartisan amendment brokered by Congresswoman Heather Wilson that will allow the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to license low-power FM (LPFM) radio stations using current interference standards.
“I share the goal of allowing more voices to be heard on the radio” said Wilson. “Albuquerque has one of the richest cultures of any city in America. While the radio in Albuquerque does an admirable job of representing the diversity of our neighborhoods, I see no reason to prohibit new broadcasters - so long as the radio dial has room for them.”
On January 20, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules creating a new low power radio service. In order to make room for the new stations, the FCC changed the regulations that have been established to ensure that stations are far enough away on the radio dial that they don’t interfere with each other.
Working together with a bipartisan group of Commerce Committee members, Congresswoman Wilson was able to find middle ground between broadcasters’ worries about interference from low-power radio and the desire to make radio broadcast feasible for PTAs, churches, schools and other nonprofit groups. This would ensure that existing radio stations would be protected from cross-talk, static and other forms of interference that might be caused by a new station, but still allow groups like the Catholic Church and PTA to obtain a license for a station.
Specifically, Congresswoman Wilson’s bipartisan amendment would allow the FCC to continue to issue low power licenses, but only if those licenses comply with existing interference standards. The agreement also directs the FCC to do a real-world study of lowering interference standards for low power stations in nine radio markets - three urban, three suburban, and three rural. At least one of the markets must be served by a radio signal translator, like much of rural New Mexico. If the study shows that the current interference standards can be changed without adverse affects then Congress could act to change the current interference standards and add even more low power stations to the radio dial.
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