Local Community Radio Act Signed By President Obama
by Dave Bradley
Among the many bills signed by President Obama Tuesday was the Local Community Radio Act. This act, as the name implies, will open up unused radio frequencies for community groups. The intent of the bill is for these frequencies to be used by underserved groups in both major metropolitan areas and in small towns around the country.
The LCRA will allow for Low Power FM (LPFM) signals in these areas. LPFM is defined as 100 watts or less. A signal from a 100 watt transmitter can go about 5 miles in any direction.
The FCC will now have to establish criteria for groups that would like to be granted a license. They will also have to set application windows. Most likely criteria that was recently used for full power FM applications will be used. The emphasis for that application period was on true community groups.
While the license itself is free, costs to build and run such a station may be a challenge for some groups. Equipment, tower rental, studio rental and various insurances are among the costs. There will also most likely be some engineering and lawyer fees just to submit an application.
There is a group that has been working very hard on getting the LCRA passed. Prometheus Radio has long been an advocate for community radio. They have assembled much information on what it would take to go through the process. This is probably the best guide out there. The staff has been very helpful to me personally so far.
Their website plus a couple of good places to start your journey:
prometheusradio.org/
prometheusradio.org/fcc-licensing
prometheusradio.org/startup_costs
E-mail Dave here
Dave Bradley is a self-described
retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.” An
Iowa City native currently living in West Liberty, Dave and his wife
Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find
decent paying jobs.“
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