The FCC adopted final rules to ensure a...
The FCC adopted final rules to ensure a timely and successful completion of the low-power TV digital transition. The commission set a Sept. 1, 2015, deadline for LPTV stations to complete their transition, the FCC said in an order (http://bit.ly/1940T1c).…
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With the full-power transition now complete, and a vast majority of viewers that are able to receive digital broadcasts, “we believe it is appropriate to require low power TV stations to complete their transition to digital,” it said. Even if the reallocation isn’t concluded before the conversion deadline, “a 2015 deadline would permit low power operators to take specific proposals into account when finalizing their transition plans,” it said. The commission granted the clarification petitions of NPR and Hammett & Edison, a wireless and broadcast engineering firm, on the protection of noncommercial educational FM radio stations by LPTV stations. Given the lower power of their operations, “interference between LPTV stations and NCE FM stations would not likely occur,” it said. The FCC also cautioned digital LPTV stations, as secondary licensees, to endeavor to design their digital facilities to avoid interference to primary NCE FM radio stations, the commission said.