Low Power Radio Looking To Double Stations

Activists Are Trying To Remove Restrictions On Low Wattage Stations

Sep 10, 2009

Low power radio activists are hoping that this is the year that Congress passes a law that removes restrictions on stations that provide alternative to commercial radio.

Low power radio activists are hoping that this will be the year they pass a law that could double the number of low power non-commercial radio stations in the United States. These activists contend that these stations are a necessary antidote to a world of broadcasting in which, they claim media companies program multiple stations with the same content. These activists claim that low power radio provides local content and voice to the broadcasting landscape.

Low Power Radio As A Reaction To Media Consolidation

The seeds of the low power radio can be seen in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The purpose of the act was foster competition in the telecommunications sector, particularly at a time when the Internet was starting to make its presence known. The act and subsequent actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted ownership limitations of radio stations by media companies.

The FCC had previously licensed non-commercial radiio stations with as few as 10 watts. These were mostly licensed to colleges. By comparison, commercial and public radio stations are required to broadcast at 6,000 watts. The FCC, under prodding by the National Association of Broadcasters and National Public Radio, stopped licensing such stations in 1978. This made it possible for commercial broadcasters and Public Radio to avail themselves of available frequencies.

Low power radio activists were able to make a move for low power broadcasting beginning in 2000.

Low Power Radio Becomes Legal

Prior to 2000, activists and hobbyists put their own low power stations on the air and risked federal prosecution.

But in 1998, some of these activists got together to push for legal low power radio, under the name,Prometheus Radio Project which according to its website:

"builds, supports, and advocates for community radio stations which empower participatory community voices and movements for social change. To that end, we demystify technologies, the political process that governs access to our media system, and the effects of media on our lives and our communities."

In 2000, they got a law passed that allowed non-commercial entities to take to the airwaves. The rub, however, was that they had to be three spaces away on the FM dial from existing stations. This made it hard to establish such stations in urban centers with many FM stations.

Full power stations argued that it was possible for low power stations to interfere with their signals. The activists argued that properly maintained and regulated low power stations, would not do so. Since, 2000, about 800 low power stations have taken to the air. Many are religious, but others are run by iconoclastic broadcasters, like Scott Johnston, who broadcasts the Montana Radio Cafe' from his front porch in rural Montana.

The Internet and live streaming of broadcast signals have opened up new audiences for stations that broadcast alternative view points and music.

Low power broadcasters tried to ease this restriction in 2005 and 2007. They are hoping thisis the year it becomes a reality

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