Votes on Class A AM Interference NPRM Proceeding With Two GOP Member Yeses
A draft NPRM on Class A AM station interference rules has two Republican yes votes and could be issued soon, said industry and FCC officials. Pai and Commissioner Brendan Carr are said to have voted for the NPRM, while Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O'Rielly haven't voted. O'Rielly is seeking changes, an official said.
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Chairman Ajit Pai circulated the NPRM in August (see 1808210045), and officials told us it likely won’t be issued until after commissioners' meeting Wednesday. The draft NPRM focuses on rules preventing the signals of Class B,C and D stations from interfering with the wide-ranging signals of powerful Class A “clear channel” stations, officials said. Large radio groups, including CBS, Cumulus, Entercom, iHeartRadio and Scripps, opposed previous efforts to alter interference protections. Smaller AM stations and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters backed a rule change.
Interference protection is an important issue for AM broadcasters, said Wilkinson Barker broadcast lawyer David Oxenford, though he said FCC changes on the matter wouldn't be "industry transformative." The agency didn't comment.
The specifics of the NPRM may still be in flux, but it's expected to take a compromise approach to relaxing the skywave and critical hours protection rules, industry and FCC officials said. The protection rules should “appropriately balance the interests of Americans who want to listen to smaller local stations in their communities with those who enjoy listening to Class A stations,” Pai said when he circulated the item.
The NPRM is seen as based on comments in docket 13-249 from several consulting engineers filed in response to a 2015 NPRM on the issue. The engineers argued protections for Class A stations should be lowered to reflect the current AM noise floor, since those rules date from an era when interference from electronics was less pervasive. Since ambient interference levels with AM signals are now very high everywhere, allowing the less powerful AM stations to operate at night wouldn’t noticeably increase interference for Class A stations, broadcast engineers told us.
Officials said the vote could be timed to occur in proximity to the 2018 Radio Show, which begins Tuesday.