The NAB formally asked the FCC to permit nighttime AM in-band on-...
The NAB formally asked the FCC to permit nighttime AM in-band on-channel (IBOC) broadcasts, saying the benefits to AM broadcasters and listeners “will prove to far outweigh the limited additional interference” that even iBiquity Digital concedes will result. The…
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NAB also asked the Commission to: (1) Extend nighttime IBOC authorization to all AM stations currently authorized for nighttime broadcasts. (2) Establish nighttime authorization “on a blanket basis” for all digital AM stations “rather than requiring broadcasters to seek a separate nighttime authorization.” Recognizing that “new instances of interference” will be created from the start of nighttime AM IBOC transmissions, the NAB urged the FCC to “use its existing authority” to resolve such problems on a “case-by-case basis.” An ad hoc technical group formed by the NAB to supervise iBiquity on tests it was conducting into nighttime AM IBOC interference has found that the “advantages of nighttime IBOC operation were substantial,” the NAB told the Commission. While the technical group found “instances” of interference would be inevitable in “the severely interference-constricted nighttime AM band,” it concluded that this should not be allowed “to impede the widespread rollout of nighttime AM IBOC,” the NAB said.