AUTHORIZE NIGHTTIME AM DIGITAL RADIO, CEA AND OTHERS URGE FCC

Others supported the NAB’s recommendation that the Commission authorize nighttime AM IBOC broadcasts, which have been permitted under an interim authorization. Supporters included IBOC technology developer iBiquity Digital and NPR, each of which said the benefits would outweigh the analog interference issues that may arise. They also endorsed NAB’s call for the FCC to handle any such interference on a case- by-case basis.

CEA urged the Commission to require all AM stations that convert to digital IBOC to “immediately correct any interference caused by the new signals” until at least half of the receivers sold annually have IBOC capability or one year after all AM nighttime stations have converted to digital, whichever comes first. Should interference to an AM analog signal occur, the offending broadcaster should be required to work with the affected listener “to restore acceptable analog reception,” CEA said. It suggested reorienting the receiver, reducing the power of the nighttime IBOC signal to a level necessary to eliminate the interference, or other “appropriate means.”

If not addressed promptly, “such interference may result in a negative public perception of IBOC, and thus, hinder the successful rollout of this important new technology,” CEA said: “Uncorrected interference may negatively impact consumer perception of analog receiver reliability because consumers could incorrectly blame analog receivers for their inability to reject the nighttime AM IBOC signals, despite the fact that the receivers were not designed to co-exist with the IBOC signals.” The “consumer frustration” that could result would spur “an immediate negative financial impact” on receiver makers in the form of product returns or requests for warranty service -- “two actions that typically cost more to the receiver manufacturer than the profit on the sale of a typical radio receiver.”

NPR, like the NAB, recommended a less sweeping approach to the interference problem, if only because it believed it will be “isolated” or concentrated “at the edge of coverage” and not affect a station’s “core listenership.” Agreeing with NAB that interference should be handled on a case-by- case basis, NPR urged the Commission to clearly spell out “the procedures for addressing this unanticipated interference” and specifically how significant the problem must be to “trigger FCC attention.” NPR said it believes public AM stations “can best serve their public interest missions and compete in an increasingly digital media world if they enjoy the benefits of enhanced, near-FM audio quality and improved robustness throughout the day and night.” It urged the Commission to extend the current interim authorization for AM IBOC nighttime broadcasts without requiring stations to apply for a separate nighttime authorization.

IBiquity, whose 3 technical reports on AM IBOC nighttime interference were the basis for the NAB’s recommendations, told the Commission its tests found that interference in a station’s “peripheral” coverage area “should have a minimal impact on the station’s listeners and on the station’s revenues.” However, it acknowledged that digital interference to analog skywave service “is somewhat more difficult to anticipate” because analog skywave signals “are inherently unpredictable.” Its tests found that AM IBOC won’t eliminate analog skywave signals altogether but will “reduce their availability depending on atmospheric conditions and the location of the listener,” iBiquity said.

As consumers acquire more IBOC receivers, they no longer will depend on analog broadcasts, iBiquity said. “Thus, over time, the impact from any IBOC interference to analog will diminish as more and more listeners are using digital rather than analog receivers.” It said listeners “in the real world” will never encounter the interference levels considered in the iBiquity tests, which studied “the theoretical potential impact” from IBOC when all stations have converted to digital but no digital receivers were in use.

Meanwhile, Cox Radio told the Commission it shared NAB’s belief that authorizing full daytime and nighttime AM IBOC operations would allow stations to understand better the technology’s “opportunities and challenges.” But Cox went even further than CEA in proposing that as a condition of nighttime AM IBOC authorization, the FCC should require that an offending station to halt its digital AM operations immediately “upon the filing of a credible complaint by another radio station based on interference in its local market.” Operations would be allowed to resume after a “necessary remedy” is found, Cox said. Cox also said it remains concerned about the skywaves of hybrid digital-analog AM stations. It said it’s mostly concerned about clear- channel interference in the southeastern U.S., where “ground conductivity is comparatively poor.” Once hybrid operations cease with the conversion to digital, “these concerns obviously disappear.”