Several changes to the FCC Rules from the recent LPFM Technical Change Order (MB Docket 19-193) were published today in the Federal Register.  Many of the rules will take effect on July 13, 2020.  Some rules, which require a change to FCC forms or other changes to information collection need to go through another step with the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before they are effective.  The various rules that will go into effect on July 13 include:

Sharing of EAS decoders.

The FCC recently adopted the Second Report and Order in MB Docket 17-264 which makes substantial changes to the rules related to public notices that broadcast applicants must make in accordance with Section 311(a) of the Communications Act.   For FM translator and FM booster licenses, this normally involved taking out advertising in the newspaper.  The FCC has now realized that in this modern era, requiring broadcast sta

Updated June 23, 2020.

The petition for rulemaking was filed by a consortium of 24 broadcast licensees calling themselves “Broadcasters for Limited Program Origination” (BLPO). 

The petition was in response to the petition made by GeoBroadcast Solutions that petitioned the FCC to allow FM boosters to originate separate content at times.  This item was put on public notice as RM-11854 and public comments were collected in April.

The BLPO Petition calls for the FCC to look beyond boosters for local origination but to also permit FM translators (as well as boosters) to originate up to 128 hours per week of separate programming without any restrictions on the type of content the translator/booster carries.

BLPO also calls for the “coverage contour” which is used to determine the coverage area of a translator to extend past the 60 dBu contour clear out to the 45 dBu contour of the primary station.  For this, BLPO is citing the recent changes in FM translator interference remediation rules that allows valid complaints to come from listeners located within the 45 dBu contour of the complaining station.

REC Networks regrets to report the news of the loss of one of our dearest friends, Donna DIBianco.

For those who have ever attended a recent Grassroots Radio Conference or have been involved in a NCE or LPFM station, you may know Donna. Donna, also known as the "Community Radio Goddess" would travel to different radio stations, especially those that were established after the 2007 NCE window to provide on-site support to assist stations in starting up their operations.  She referred to herself as a "start-up specialist".  Donna developed her own guides for broadcast stations to use to assure they remained in compliance.