Draft Class A NPRM Centers on Interference Protections
A draft NPRM on Class A AM station interference rules circulated by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last week focuses on protections that prevent local Class B, C and D radio stations from interfering with the distant signals of more powerful Class A stations, FCC officials told us.
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Though the specifics of the NPRM aren’t clear, broadcast officials expect the item to propose relaxing the skywave and critical hours protection rules for Class A stations, but not as far as proposed in the further NPRM released with the 2015 AM Revitalization Order under the previous FCC (see 1603220054). Pai's comments when the draft item was announced bolster that expectation. The FCC’s 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.
Proposals on relaxing skywave and critical hours protections were met with a lot of pushback, said Womble Bond radio attorney John Garziglia. “Whatever Pai does, it’s going to be very contentious,” said National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters President Jim Winston, who urged Class A protections be relaxed. In response to the 2015 NPRM, several large broadcast groups filed opposition comments as the AM Radio Preservation Alliance, arguing that removing the protections would kill the AM band. The group included CBS, Cumulus, Entercom, iHeartRadio and Scripps. It’s unlikely Pai would have announced the NPRM without being confidant that fellow FCC Republicans would support it, industry officials said.
In response to the 2015 NPRM, numerous consulting engineers filed comments in docket 13-249 arguing the FCC should lessen the protections for Class A stations to reflect the current AM noise floor. The protections were established before AM interference from electronic devices was as prevalent as now, said broadcast engineer and du Treil, Lundin Vice President Ronald Rackley. His engineering firm and others recommended in 2016 the FCC take a compromise approach to relaxing some Class A protections. “The balance needs to be changed to allow people to listen to their local signals,” Rackley said. The NPRM’s proposals “are based in large part on comments we received from experienced broadcast engineers,” Pai said. Though that could refer to comments in that docket from the Society of Broadcast Engineers, FCC officials told us the draft NPRM is concerned with the interference protection rules rather than the increased regulations on RF radiation proposed by SBE (see 1808140027).
The rules were intended to prevent smaller AM stations from blocking the powerful signal of Class A AM stations from reaching far-flung listeners in out-of-the-way communities, Rackley said. The level of ambient interference with the AM band is now high enough that allowing less powerful stations to operate at night is unlikely to have much of an effect on the Class A stations, Rackley said. Winston said he would support rule changes that allow smaller AM broadcasters to operate with fewer restrictions. Though it's not clear when the FCC would vote on the NPRM, Rackley said the FCC has in the past timed radio rulemakings to occur shortly before the Radio Show. The 2018 Radio Show begins Sept. 25, and the FCC's monthly meeting is Sept. 26.