Overall, REC does support most of the text contained within the PIRATE Act. Improperly operated broadcast transmitters can cause interference to public safety and safety of life communications especially in the aeronautical mobile and aeronautical radionavigation services and higher powered transmitters can pose a public health hazard.
On Thursday, February 14, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB Docket 19-3 which proposes changes to various non-controversial administrative rules, most of them would not apply until NCE full-service and LPFM has another filing window. The proposed changes include:
Updated February 7, 2019:
The FCC will be considering the adoption of MB Docket 19-3 at the FCC Open Meeting, that has been rescheduled for February 14, 2019. The meeting was rescheduled because of the potential of another government shutdown that cound take place as soon as Saturday, February 16. On Friday, February 1, REC's Michelle Bradley met over the phone with FCC Audio Division chief Albert Shuldiner and other staff regarding concerns over a proposal in the draft NPRM that would, in the opinion of REC, further endorse and encourage gamesmanship by permitting collusion in the LPFM time-share negotiation process. REC has proposed an alternate Viable Time Sharing plan that would add fairness to the process and reduce the chances of pre-planned outcomes. REC has asked that the Media Bureau use their editorial privilege to refer to the ex parte presentation made by REC that details the plan.
Once the NPRM is adopted by the full Commission and it is published in the Federal Register, the Commission will announce deadline dates for comments and reply comments.
Anyone with a telephone (wireless, wired or otherwise) should be now accustomed to our modern culture where you are getting calls from scammers. Many times, these are automatic dialers that will call you and play a message, usually in a synthesized voice. These calls will sometimes claim to come from Social Security or from Internal Revenue Services. They will threaten you with an arrest warrant or like the one that I got the other day, cancel my social security number.
Updated February 6, 2019
Full service non-commercial educational (NCE) stations that operate in the "reserved band" (88.1 to 91.9) enjoy a level of primary service and increased power levels. With the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that is coming out for MB Docket 19-3, it can be speculated but not confirmed that there may be a filing window for new NCE reserved band FM stations sometime after the FCC issues a Report and Order on the docket. Our guess is early 2020. To help prepare LPFM stations that are in rural and other non-urbanized areas where new spectrum is likely to be available, REC provides the following information.
A recent Facebook post on 100 Watts and a Wire triggered a debate on the claims that IP-based linked amateur radio systems like Echolink are not "real" amateur radio and that for it to be true radio, it must be a complete radio connection without the use of any terrestrial facilities such as wireline or IP.
Radio, historically has had used different forms of "non-radio" in order to connect people. For many years, many public safety providers have used wireline links to connect a dispatch console (control point) at a police or fire department to a hilltop 2-way radio site. Broadcast stations, have used a mix of radio and wireline methods of establishing studio to transmitter communications. The early national radio networks (i.e. NBC, CBS) were AT&T phone lines. Are these things not "radio"?
