This is the work of Michelle Bradley, the proprietor of REC Networks – arguably one of the most gifted FCC broadcast data-analysts in the country. REC’s been engaged with LPFM since its inception 15 years ago, and has tendered a petition for rulemaking to create an upgraded LP-250 station-class.
The premise is simple: 100 watts maximum power at just 100 feet above the ground doesn’t make for much of an FM signal. Many LPFM stations are difficult to receive indoors. REC starts off the petition with a litany of LPFM reception horror-stories (my favorite being the retirement facility in North Carolina where the local LPFM station can be heard on one side of the campus, but not the other). These vividly illustrate how LPFM’s current power/height restrictions work against stations being able to build viable and sustainable listenership and fiscal sponsorship. Continue reading “250-Watt LPFM "Upgrade" Petition Filed”
Month: May 2015
Patent Troll Gives Up on HD Radio
Good news for iBiquity et al.: a simmering fight with patent trolls seeking recompense from hundreds of broadcasters and auto manufacturers over their implementation of HD Radio has been quashed.
The trolls folded first. On April 23, Delaware Radio Technologies and Wyncomm LLC notified the Federal District Court in Delaware that they wanted to terminate their lawsuits “with prejudice,” meaning they cannot be refiled. iBiquity, who countersued the trolls last year, moved for dismissal of its case on May 6. Continue reading “Patent Troll Gives Up on HD Radio”
Congress to Investigate FCC Enforcement Cuts
A one-two punch on Capitol Hill for the FCC’s plan to decimate its field enforcement presence. The chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce chair Fred Upton (R-MI) dropped a letter on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler April 23rd demanding all agency documentation, “including all drafts, memos, emails analyses, PowerPoint slides, interim reports, and the final report related to your proposal to close FCC field offices,” as well as “all internal communications and internal analyses, related to the Enforcement Bureau and Office of Managing Director joint recommendtion to the commission to close the FCC field offices.”
The FCC has until this Thursday (May 7) to respond. At present, Congress is working on the same stuff leaked to the public earlier this month. Continue reading “Congress to Investigate FCC Enforcement Cuts”