Translator Interference NPRM Likely to Be Unanimously Approved
The FCC draft NPRM on reforming rules for interference complaints between FM translators and full-power FM stations is expected to be unanimously approved, industry and agency officials told us. The other media item set for commissioners' May 10 meeting, a media deregulation NPRM seeking comment on removing rules requiring broadcasters to physically post copies of their licenses, is also likely to pass with no objections, industry and agency officials said.
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The interference NPRM has support from both large and small broadcasters. There's disagreement in the industry about the shape final rules should take, but those conflicts will be hashed out in the forthcoming comment periods, industry and FCC officials said. As of Thursday, there had been little back and forth or requests for edits on the draft NPRM within the commission, agency officials said.
Industry officials also haven’t pressed the FCC to make any changes to the NPRM, according to the Electronic Comment Filing System. The lone filing in the NPRM’s docket, 18-119, is an email on a procedural question about some of the language in the draft item. The FCC didn’t comment.
The draft NPRM seeks comment on allowing translators found to be interfering with a full-power stations to move to any available frequency with a minor modification request, a measure widely supported in the industry (see 1804270065). It also proposes requiring a six complaint minimum, standards for what details are required for a complaint, and a maximum distance for such complaints. The proposals in the NPRM are expected to change little before the vote, officials said.
Similarly, few changes are expected for the media deregulation item, which proposes ending requirements that broadcast stations physically display their FCC licenses in and around their facilities. Though industry and agency officials characterized the rule as a relatively minor item, several broadcast attorneys said they have had clients “dinged” by the Enforcement Bureau over violations of the policy. There has been almost no activity on the proposal, and industry and FCC officials said they expect it to be approved with little fanfare.