Here is a petition to the FCC that is filed to allow commercials on LPFM to help support the station's high cost. This petition has some other changes and Yes I got the link from the other site. We'll need to look at this when it comes time to petition the FCC for more power on part 15 FM once we have accurate data to move forward with this. It will show some of the things we need to prepare for when the time does come.
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=60001095736
I read only about 10 % of that petition, but it sounds bad and I had no idea that LPFMs were in so much trouble. I can see what they're talking about, without at least some ads or commercial barter for services like weather, traffic and emergency reports, they are struggling to provide service to listners.
When I think of it, the small non commercial FMs of the past had an institute supporting them, like a college or highschool, they didn't have to stand on their own, and also listeners were from that institution automatically.
I saw LPFM's in a different light before, I though the original idea was communitty broadcasting, but to a small defined community within a larger one. It would give voices to underserved groups that couldn't afford air time on bigger stations, the all from that group would listen and contribute to that station, a cult following.
I can see their point, but also it seems like from my little reading of their petition that this group want LPFM to become teeny commerical stations, so will they be able to focus on the under served groups, or have to appeal to all? I guess they need to do something, if the service is fixing to die though.
If we call it CLPFM we could be locked into similar rules sealing our fate as well. Could the FCC have anticipated this as a way for inevitable failure? And now I already see mud slinging. The suits think they will always have the upper hand.
The large mass of obligation placed on the shoulders of LPFM stations is out of proportion to the weak footprint of their signal operating on two AAA batteries.
First, and almost unsurmountable, is that licenses were only granted to previously established not-for-profit groups. Individuals needn't have applied.
Of course there are cases where strong individuals hoping to have a low power FM station gathered family and friends as a not-for-profit board and did the dance routine of trying to be a community group.
Before it ever gives pleasure to operate an LPFM the driving force person behind the effort will fall apart and end up in the parking lot of the local discount store begging for gas money to pick up his child from the hospital.
Meanwhile the so-called "community" will be having dinner out, driving while cell phoning, and be online checking on their favorite movie stars. They will never know that lives were sacrificed trying to "serve" them.
The LPFM "window" was a chance for the FCC to amuse themselves with yet another slap-down to radio artists wishing to send whatever musical or spoken language out into the air as an expression of some hopeless personal vision.
The gentrified FCC got their first taste of messing with fools when they came up with 15.239.
Good take on it Carl, I thought they were at least AA batteries, and maybe lithium for a little more power. There's a proposal a foot to increase power levels to 250 watt class, I think it's been filed already by Prometheus.
I can see what you mean, they put a high barrier of entry that seems to be out of proportion to the level of service expected from a LPFM. Theres transmitter, EAS compliance the same as commercial stations, a high cost compared to the reach of the station, tower rental in many cases, to get the signal up high enough for good coverage.
It is lop sided, it ends up being high costs to serve the underserved, the very people who don't have the bucks and could use a break.