It’s “unclear” when the FCC might open another...
It’s “unclear” when the FCC might open another filing window for low-power FM (LPFM) stations, Chairman Tom Wheeler told lawmakers in a letter the agency released last week (http://bit.ly/1vp1gtj). Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Michael Capuano and…
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Stephen Lynch, all Massachusetts Democrats, had written Wheeler a joint letter in May asking about LPFM stations. “It is unlikely there would be many, if any, additional LPFM channels available in most urban markets due to spectrum congestion and interference concerns,” Wheeler said in his mid-June response. “However, interested entities could pursue other avenues to distribute their programming, absent a license from the FCC and beyond the frequently noted option to provide programming as an online radio station.” Wheeler pointed to the “potential to lease one of a station’s several multicast or ‘HD’ channels and to pair this digital signal with an analog FM translator to reach most listeners who continue to use analog radios.”