Editing Low-power broadcasting (section)

===FM radio===
Low Power FM (LPFM) is a [[non-commercial educational]] broadcast radio service created by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] in the [[United States]] in 2000.  LPFM licenses, which are limited to a maximum [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 100 watts, may be issued to non-commercial educational entities, as well as public safety and transportation organizations. Individuals and holders of other types of broadcast licenses are not eligible. In addition, LPFM stations are not protected from interference from other classes of FM stations.<ref name=FCC_LPFM>{{cite web|url=https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/lpfm|title=Low Power FM (LPFM) Broadcast Radio Stations|website=fcc.gov|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref>

====LPFM classes====
* Class L1 (LP100) is to 100 [[watt]]s [[effective radiated power]] (ERP). ({{CodeFedReg|47|73|811}})
* Class L2 (L10) is at least 1 and up to 10 watts ERP. ({{CodeFedReg|47|73|811}})

In addition, Class D educational licenses exist for stations of 10 watts [[transmitter power output]] (TPO) or less, regardless of ERP. These stations are all grandfathered operations, as no new licenses of this type have been issued since 1978, except in Alaska. They are not considered to be LPFM stations, although they operate noncommercially and have similar coverage areas to Class L2 stations.

====Legislation====

=====Origins of LPFM=====
In January 2000, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] established Low Power FM (LPFM) as a new designated class of radio station. These stations were allowed to operate at 1–10 or 50–100 watts of power, compared to the minimum requirement for commercial stations at 100 watts. ({{CodeFedReg|47|73|211}}). Originally, it was supported by activists and groups associated with [[Progressivism in the United States|American progressivism]]; music artists (such as [[Bonnie Raitt]]); religious leaders/churches (such as the [[United Church of Christ]]); and educators (for example, [[American Library Association]], the [[Communication Workers of America]] [[trade union|labor union]], the [[National League of Cities]]).

The original purpose of LPFM was to serve as an alternative to "[[radio homogenization]]", described in 2001 in the ''[[Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly|J & MC Quarterly]]'', as "... Necessary to offset the growing consolidation of station ownership in the wake of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which removed caps on radio ownership, as well as the decline of locally produced radio programming."<ref name="Class D to LPFM">{{cite journal|author1 = Alan G. Stavisky|author2 = Robert K. Avery|author3 =  Helena Vanhala|title = From Class D to LPFM: The High-Powered Politics of Low-Power Radio|journal =  Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly|volume = 78|issue = 2|date = 2001|pages = 340–54|doi = 10.1177/107769900107800209|s2cid = 144058577}}</ref> The main opposition to LPFMs came from the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] (NAB), which opposed the act on grounds to "maintain spectrum integrity" for commercial broadcasting, according to NAB President Edward O. Fritts.<ref name="Class D to LPFM"/>

=====Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000=====<!-- linked from "National Association of Broadcasters" -->
Pressure from the National Association of Broadcasters urged [[United States Congress|Congress]] to slip the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000 into a general spending bill then moving through Congress. President [[Bill Clinton]] signed the bill in December 2000. The bill passed by Congress ([http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&dbname=cp106&sid=cp106nfZjS&refer=&r_n=hr567.106&item=&sel=TOC_12219& H.R.567]) was meant to tighten standards for LPFM stations, making it harder for them to be approved, to protect full-power FM stations through certain provisions:
# The FCC has the ability and jurisdiction to license LPFM stations.<ref>{{cite web|date = 1999|title = H.R. 3439 [106th]: Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000|access-date = February 12, 2008|url = http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h106-3439&tab=summary}}</ref>
# Third adjacent channel interference protections require LPFM stations to be separated by at least 0.6&nbsp;MHz from all other stations, to prevent signal interference.
# Applicants who have engaged in the unlicensed operation of any station cannot receive LPFM licenses.
# The FCC agreed to commission studies on the interference by, and economic impact of, LPFM on full-power stations (the findings, later published in the ''[[MITRE Corporation]] Report'', suggest that third adjacent channel interference protections may not be necessary).<ref>{{cite journal|journal = Radio Magazine|date = March 1, 2004|title = FCC Reports LPFM Interference Findings to Congress|access-date = March 3, 2008|url = http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/RADIOmagazine.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080409100247/http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/RADIOmagazine.pdf|archive-date = April 9, 2008}}</ref>

This act shifted policy making from the FCC to Congress, which was considered an insult against the FCC.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Stavisky, Alan G. |author2=Avery, Robert K. |author3=Vanhala, Helena |year=2001 |title=From class&nbsp;D to LPFM: The high-powered politics of low-power radio |journal=[[Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly]] |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=340–354|doi=10.1177/107769900107800209 |s2cid=144058577 }}</ref>

=====Local Community Radio Act of 2005=====
The Local Community Radio Act of 2005 was introduced by Senators [[John McCain]], [[Maria Cantwell]] and [[Patrick Leahy]]. After the FCC complied with the provisions of the Radio Broadcasting Act of 2000 by commissioning [http://www.recnet.net/mitre/2.pdf the MITRE Report] to test if there was significant interference from LPFM stations on the full-power stations, the study showed that the interference of LPFM is minimal and would not have a significant effect on other stations.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mike |last=Janssen |date=August 4, 2003 |title=Interference study finds room for more low-power FMs |newspaper=[[Current (newspaper)|Current]] |place=Washington, DC |publisher=American University |department=School of Communication |url=http://www.current.org/tech/tech0314lpfm.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525090155/http://www.current.org/tech/tech0314lpfm.html |archive-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref> According to Sen. Leahy, "This bill will open up the airwaves to truly local broadcasting while protecting full-power broadcasters from unreasonable interference and preserving important services such as reading services for the blind."<ref>{{cite press release |title=United States Senator John McCain<!-- Bot generated title --> |department=Press Office |url=http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=8904246a-cd92-489c-81b1-48d8eddc4298&Region_id=&Issue_id= |url-status=dead |access-date=March 7, 2009 |archive-date=May 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526152301/http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=8904246a-cd92-489c-81b1-48d8eddc4298&Region_id=&Issue_id= }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2021|reason=Needs real title, author(s), date, archive URL}}</ref>

=====Local Community Radio Act of 2007=====
Sponsored in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] by Congressmen [[Mike Doyle (Pennsylvania politician)|Mike Doyle]] and [[Lee Terry]] and in the [[United States Senate]] by Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007 never came to a vote. The House bill, H.R. 2802, was referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on June 21, 2007.<ref name="govtrack.us">{{cite web|date = 2007|title = H.R. 2802: Local Community Radio Act of 2007|access-date = February 12, 2008|url = http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2802}}</ref> Since the bill was not passed in FY 2007, the bill was removed from the docket as ''Never Passed''.

=====Local Community Radio Act of 2009=====
This bill was an update of the Local Community Radio Act of 2007. It would have required the FCC to alter current rules by removing the minimum frequency separation between low-power FM stations and third-adjacent channel stations.<ref name="ww-111hr1147">{{cite web|date = 2009|title = H.R. 1147, The Local Community Radio Act of 2009|access-date =  May 23, 2009|url = http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_1147.html#toc2|publisher = Washington Watch}}</ref> Previously, there was a minimum frequency separation; however the FCC found that LPFM stations did not cause any interference on third-adjacent channel stations, thus eliminating the need for such a requirement.<ref>{{cite journal|journal = RADIO Magazine - the Radio Technology Leader|date = 2004|title = FCC Reports LPFM Interference Findings to Congress|access-date = May 24, 2009|url = http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/RADIOmagazine.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081012040159/http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/RADIOmagazine.pdf|archive-date = October 12, 2008}}</ref>

The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 also would have required that the FCC keep the rules that offer interference protection to third-adjacent channels that offer a [[radio reading service]] (the reading of newspapers, books or magazines for those who are blind or hearing impaired).<ref>{{cite web|website = KPBS Radio Reading Service|title = About|access-date = May 23, 2009|url = http://kpbsreadingservice.org}}</ref> This protection will ensure that such channels are not subject to possible interference by LPFM stations.<ref name="govtrack.us"/>

The final part of the bill required that when giving out licenses to FM stations, the FCC must make sure that these licenses are also available to LPFM stations and that licensing decisions are made with regard to local community needs.<ref name="ww-111hr1147"/> The bill had unanimous bipartisan support from FCC leadership. It was passed by the House and referred to the Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ4TC9Aqjfc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211113/CQ4TC9Aqjfc| archive-date=November 13, 2021 | url-status=live|title=FCC: Unanimous, bipartisan support for LPFM|date=September 18, 2009|author=United States Congress|publisher=[[Free Press (advocacy group)|Free Press (organization)]]|author-link=United States Congress}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=====Local Community Radio Act of 2010=====
The Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (based upon the legislation originally introduced in 2005) was signed into law by President [[Barack Obama]] on January 4, 2011, as {{USPL|111|371}}, after passage in the House on December 17, 2010, and the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2010. In a statement after the bill became law, Federal Communications Commission chairman [[Julius Genachowski]] said, "Low power FM stations are small, but they make a giant contribution to local community programming. This important law eliminates the unnecessary restrictions that kept these local stations off the air in cities and towns across the country." The Act states that the Federal Communications Commission, when licensing new FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations, should ensure that licenses are available to FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations; such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community; and FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations remain equal in status and secondary to existing and modified full-service FM stations.

In general, the FCC was to modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum frequency separation requirements between low-power FM stations; and full-service FM stations, FM translator stations, and FM booster stations.

====Arguments for LPFM====
*[[Free Press (advocacy group)|Free Press]], a non-partisan advocacy organization pushing for media reform, promoting "diversity and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications,"<ref>{{cite news|newspaper = Free Press|date = 2008|title = Local Radio Now|access-date = February 12, 2008|url = http://www.freepress.net/lpfm/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509170551/http://www.freepress.net/lpfm/|archive-date = May 9, 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref> voiced its support of LPFM for a variety of reasons:
** It strengthens community identity.
** It creates an outlet for amateur musicians to have their music heard.
** It promotes diversity on the air because more women and racial minorities are represented.
** It creates an opportunity for young people, especially college students, who are interested in radio to learn about the business.
** It provides farmers with up to date agricultural information.
*[[Prometheus Radio Project]], a non-profit organization that "builds, supports, and advocates for community radio stations which empower participatory community voices and movements for social change,"<ref>{{cite web|website = Prometheus Radio Project|date = 2009|title = About Prometheus Radio Project|access-date = February 10, 2011|url = http://www.prometheusradio.org/about_us}}</ref> also supported LPFM, citing these reasons:
** The media should not limit democratic participation but should provide a way for communities and movements to express themselves
** Public airwaves shouldn't be concentrated in private/corporate hands
** Low Power FM gives a voice to communities
** Low Power FM needs to be protected from big broadcasters

A ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' article<ref>{{cite news|author = B. Stelter|date = January 11, 2011|title = Low-Power FM Radio to Gain Space on the Dial|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/arts/25radio.html?_r=1}}</ref> focusing on a LPFM station, [[KOCZ-LP]], highlights a number of key arguments favoring low-powered broadcasting:
* "In Louisiana, a large African-American community appreciates how LPFM plays a genre of music called [[zydeco]], a potent blend of [[Cajun music|Cajun]], [[rhythm and blues]] and, among a younger generation, [[hip-hop]], often features accordion and washboard.“
* LPFM influences commercial radio to offer listeners a wider range of music. "Commercial stations had started playing more zydeco since KOCZ started broadcasting in 2002. 'They know that we make them better,' an advocate said."
* Because LPFM is non-commercial, schools and organizations are able to promote many projects that help serve the local community. "KOCZ is licensed to the Southern Development Foundation, a civil rights group that grants scholarships and runs a business incubator but has fallen on hard times. The foundation treats the station as a 24-hour form of community outreach. "
* LPFM promotes a very close community. "A woman walked into the station ... asked for an announcement to be broadcast about her lost dog... 'She was able to get her dog back the next day’”
* LPFM is crucial for small communities in times of emergencies. “A low power FM radio station can stay on the air even if the power goes out. Low power FM saved lives during Katrina.”

Former President Bill Clinton has also become an advocate of LPFM for "giving voice to the voiceless", including schools, community-based organizations, churches, and ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite news|author = Mike Janssen|date = January 15, 2001|title = Intervention by Congress slashes LPFM licensing 80%|newspaper = Current|access-date = February 11, 2008|url = http://www.current.org/tech/tech0101lpfm.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080216012926/http://www.current.org/tech/tech0101lpfm.html|archive-date = February 16, 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref>

Brown Paper Tickets CEO Steve Butcher supports LPFM, stating in a letter to the FCC, "We hear from event producers frequently who can't afford radio ad buys on commercial stations. These local entrepreneurs can afford underwriting on smaller stations that can help build awareness about their events."<ref>{{cite web|website = Brown Paper Tickets|date = September 13, 2011|title = Brown Paper Tickets CEO Makes Voice Heard for Low Power FM|access-date = September 13, 2011|url = http://www.brownpapertickets.com/pressrelease/100008}}</ref>

LPFM stations are considered to be affordable compared to an average FM station, whose operating costs can run up to a million dollars, and could only afforded by businesses and the very wealthy. An antenna and transmitter can cost between $2,000 and $5,000.<ref>{{cite web|website = HowStuffWorks|date = 2000|title = What is low-power FM LPFM?|access-date = February 12, 2008|url = http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question330.htm}}</ref>

====Arguments against LPFM====
* Signal interference on FM station – High-power FM stations express concern that LPFM stations may cause interference with their signals if third adjacent-channel interference protections are not observed. While the Mitre Report suggests that the likelihood for interference is not as threatening as previously thought, high-power FM stations question the methodology, scope and validity of the study and its results.<ref>{{cite web|title=LPFM Report Fatally Flawed |work=Radio TechCheck |publisher=[[National Association of Broadcasters]] |date=October 20, 2003 |url=http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=4666 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114101516/http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=%2FCM%2FHTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=4666 |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |access-date=October 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* FM translators – These devices allow a radio station to rebroadcast its signal to reach a greater area. FM translators could benefit religious broadcasters wishing to reach a larger audience, as well as many AM radio stations who, due to [[Ionospheric reflection|ionospheric refraction]], are required to emit weaker signals during the night.<ref>{{cite web|author = Ron Whittaker|date = June 14, 2007|title = Elements of Mass Communication: AM FM Waves and Sound|access-date = February 12, 2008|url = http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv017.htm}}</ref> FM translators are low-power, so compete with LPFM for limited space on the airwaves.
* In some states, the local [[Department of Transportation]] operates large networks of LPFM stations that act as [[highway advisory radio]] stations – a service traditionally operated at the fringes of the [[amplitude modulation|AM]] band – restricting the number of available channels{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}} (these systems can be licensed to the entire AM band, but the LPFM service provides considerably greater coverage at 100 watts than the 10-watt limit on AM – hence the considerable appeal for government agencies).
* Some investors in radio believe LPFM services prevent the development of [[digital radio]].<ref>{{cite web|title = Factsheets|access-date = May 29, 2008|url = http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Factsheets?lpfmfact032900.html|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120801051821/http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Factsheets?lpfmfact032900.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = August 1, 2012}}</ref>
* [[NPR]] is a major opponent to low-power FM. Their stance is that allowing more flexible rules for LPFM would burden other stations by forcing them to deal with interference problems and because full-power broadcasters reach a broader audience and provide a greater service, they should be favored regarding spectrum availability.<ref>{{cite news |last=Everhart |first=Karen |title=Pubradio rejects higher status for low-power |newspaper=[[Current (newspaper)|Current]] |date=May 12, 2008 |url=http://www.current.org/fcc/fcc0808lpfm.shtml |access-date=October 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210223222/http://www.current.org/fcc/fcc0808lpfm.shtml |archive-date=December 10, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Everhart |first=Karen |author2=jonathan  |title=Once again NPR opposes expansion of low-power FM |publisher=reclaimthemedia.org |date=May 21, 2008 |url=http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/grassroots_media/once_again_npr_opposes_expansi%3D5996 |access-date=October 14, 2011}}</ref>
* The National Association of Broadcasters is the other major source of opposition. Its stance is that full-power FM broadcasters “enhance localism” by providing community-responsive information such as emergency information. Allowing low-power FM stations to have equal spectrum rights could be detrimental to these necessary programs.<ref>{{Citation |last1=MacBride |first1=Marsha J. |last2=Timmerman |first2=Jerianne |last3=Bobeck |first3=Ann W. |title=Comments of the National Association of Broadcasters |work=Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION |format=PDF |publisher=National Association of Broadcasters |date=August 22, 2005 |url=http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search§ion=20055&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentFileID=367 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114112638/http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search%C2%A7ion%3D20055&template=%2FCM%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentFileID=367 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |access-date=October 14, 2011 }}</ref>

====LPFM vs. broadcast translators====
{{See also|Broadcast relay station#Great Translator Invasion of 2003}}
Unlike the former [[list of broadcast station classes#FM|FM class D]] license, an LPFM station has no priority over broadcast translators in the allocation of available spectrum. This is problematic insofar as the regulations for [[broadcast translator]]s exempts non-commercial stations from the requirement that translators be within the coverage area of the original station that they rebroadcast. However, this provision only affects translators in the non-commercial portion of the band.  Stations in the commercial part of the spectrum must be fed over the air unless they are within the actual service area of the primary station.  Since the translator window of 2003 was only open for commercial channels, the use of directly-fed via satellite FM translators, commonly called "Satellators", was never a factor in the 2003 window.

The FCC licensing window for new translator applications in 2003 resulted in over 13,000 applications being filed,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.radioworld.com/article/translator-39flood39-causes-concern/16974 |title=Translator 'Flood' Causes Concern |date=September 10, 2003 |author=Naina Narayana Chernoff |access-date=June 1, 2015}}</ref> most of them coming from a few religious broadcasters.  However even though all translators on commercial frequencies must be fed by a direct, over-the-air source, regardless of who owns the translator per FCC rule 74.1231(b),<ref>{{CodeFedReg|47|74|1231|(b)}}</ref> the actual over-the-air source (the primary station) can be satellite fed, just as commercial stations can be fed by satellite. This leads to programming from a single station (retransmitted by many others) ending up on several hundred different translators. One station cannot apply for hundreds or thousands of translators nationwide, using automated means to generate license applications for all available channels, unless all of their applications are exclusively on the non-commercial part of the broadcast band (88–91.9&nbsp;MHz). ({{CodeFedReg|47|74|1231(b)}}) As with any new service that shares the FM spectrum, when translators are added to an area, they can reduce or eliminate the availability of channels both for new LPFM applicants and for relocation of any existing LPFM stations displaced by full-service broadcasters. Unlike an LPFM station, a translator is not required to (and legally not authorized to) originate any local content except as permitted by {{CodeFedReg|47|74|1231|(g)}}.  Thus there is competition for spectrum in some locations between the LPFM service and the FM translator service.

In May 2018, several groups supporting community-based low-power FM stations filed objections with the FCC, citing the [[Local Community Radio Act]], accusing it of favoring existing station coverage expansion with translator licenses - "a spectrum grab" - over new LPFM spectrum licenses.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ashworth|first1=Susan|title=LPFM Advocates File Objections to Nearly 1,000 Applications|url=https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/lpfm-advocates-file-objections-to-nearly-1000-applications|website=Radio World|date=May 17, 2018 |access-date=May 28, 2018|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Jacobson|first1=Adam|title=Are Hundreds Of Pending FM Translators In Jeopardy? {{!}} Radio & Television Business Report|url=https://www.rbr.com/local-comm-radio-act/|website=www.rbr.com|date=May 18, 2018 |access-date=May 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Prometheus May 2018 translator objections">{{cite web|title=Low-power FM radio advocates file 1,000 Objections with FCC {{!}} Prometheus Radio Project|url=https://www.prometheusradio.org/InformalObjections20180516|website=www.prometheusradio.org|access-date=May 28, 2018|language=en}}</ref>