ARD's LOW-POWER FM (LPFM) Resource Page
Main Page The Latest News Radio Links Corp and Gov't Activist / Legal	SUPPORT LPFM! The FCC has been very active in establishing Low Power FM radio but they have been receiving a tough fight from Congress due to misleading information from Senators, the National Association of Broadcasters, National Public Radio and big-money conglomerates out to protect the status quo (ie: they control the airwaves, you don't). The new LPFM service is an effort by the FCC to provide local community groups, religious organizations, as well as ethnic and minority groups a voice in an increasingly consolidated radio market. In short, it is an effort to serve the local public interest. Congress recently passed a bill severely limiting Low Power FM radio. The bill was tacked on to an appropriations bill (HR 4690) which former President Clinton had said he would veto, but did not. Instead of the thousands of new radio stations, we will (at this time) get about 240 total new stations - mostly in rural areas of low population density. The anti-LPFM bill (S 3020) in the Senate was introduced by Minnesota's Rod Grams* (R) and it carries the same name as a previous bill -- The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000. The bill calls for such drastic reductions in service as to make LPFM all but dead. Bill S3020 (with backing from the NAB and NPR) also calls for "independent" studies to be done on LPFM transmitters before the FCC can continue licensing. What needs to be tested? There is already ample data to examine as LPFM transmitters are the same as existing translator stations (stations up to 250 watts in size that rebroadcast an existing signal (usually National Public Radio or such)). There have been no interference complaints about translators and these have more power than LPFM and have been in existence for a long time. The only real difference is that LPFM would originate content. If the NAB and NPR truly believe that these stations need to be tested before any are added, shouldn't they shut down all their translators until such testing has been finished? The representatives in Congress have heard many times from the mega-media corporations and the NAB. Congress still needs to hear from the people they claim to represent -- the public. Find out who your elected officials are by visiting Project Vote-Smart and then call their office or write a letter. Need some more information on LPFM? The Media Access Project has great information. Visit The Micro Radio Implementation Project site. See the FCC's very informative Allegations and Facts page. The FCC's Low Power FM Guide (pdf file) is now available from their website. They also have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for your viewing. FCC Chairman Kennard's recent Statement FCC Commissioner Tristani's recent Statement Visit About.com's Pirate/Free Radio site to see The Congressional Hall of Shame. For technical background related to HR3439, visit Christopher Maxwell's Counter-Testimony page. * Grams was soundly defeated in his bid for re-election and he didn't even bother to vote on his own bill. TAKE THE UN-PLEDGE! National Public Radio appears to be continuing with its efforts to stop public access from the public airwaves by killing Low-Power FM. What do you think about this? Are you upset and disgusted? Shocked? Not surprised at all? Take the un-pledge this year with your Public Radio station! FUD* FROM NAB The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is fighting against the low-power movement and they are particularly well-funded. In just the past six years, the NAB has contributed over $2.19 million dollars to elected officials. Not only that, but they have been resorting to misleading tests and apparent tampering. It is crucial that you, the citizens of this country, make your voices heard. These are PUBLIC airwaves and should have usage dictated BY and FOR the public. Want to see what kind of business the NAB is up to? Recently they have trotted out arguments of interference to the Talking Book Services for the Blind that some National Public Radio stations carry. They claim that LPFM would destroy these important services for the blind. Signals for this service are broadcast on the subcarrier signal of the host station and are many times weaker than the main broadcast. It is necessary to get a special radio to receive the subcarrier signal. The most interference comes from the host signal itself! The NAB has been rallying large amounts of support through the distribution of a fraudulent "interference simulation" audio CD -- a CD containing a computer-created sample that won't ever occur in the real world! Here's the FCC explanation regarding this CD and other false interference claims. Listen to the mp3 file of the audio CD (9 megs) they distributed around Capitol Hill. They simply took two pre-recorded audio files and mixed them together on a computer to demonstrate how LPFM would work. Technically inclined people were outraged -- FM radio doesn't work this way. Their "example" was a complete fraud! Prior to this their argument was that LPFM would cause interference to air traffic controllers and airplanes -- jumbo jets would fall from the sky and communication would be destroyed! If a 100,000 watt full-power station doesn't interfere, how would a tiny 100 watt station? Not likely to happen in this world. Take a look through this anti-Low Power document (pdf file) they sent to their members. Or take a look at their webcast from their 1999 national convention. Mysteriously enough, the video/audio have been tampered with at exactly the moment FCC Chief Kennard discusses LPFM. * Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt NOTE: APPLICATION FORMS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR LPFM. CHECK THE FCC SITE FOR APPLICATION WINDOWS IN YOUR AREA. Over 1200 groups have filed applications in the first 20 states! The FCC LPFM Application: http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form318/318.pdf (Acrobat PDF file) FCC Pages on Low-Power Radio: http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/ http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/asd/decdoc/engrser.html#LOW Resources: http://www.mediaaccess.org http://www.prometheus.tao.ca/ http://pirateradio.about.com/ http://www.microradio.org http://www.frn.net http://www.frn.net/lpfm-grapevine http://www.radio4all.org/ http://www.nlgcdc.org http://www.nlgcdc.org/mec/index.html http://www.lowpowerradio.org/ http://www3.imcnet.net/ncnews/CampAmherst.htm http://www.radio4all.org/freepacifica/index.html http://www.savepacifica.net/index.htm http://www.freeradio.org http://www.hear.com/rw/feature/rrb.html http://www.beatworld.com http://www.radiofreeworld.com/ http://www.roguecom.com/rogueradio THE AMHERST DECLARATION http://www.radiodiversity.com/amherst.html LPFM Petitions: http://www.radiodiversity.com/ardprm.html http://www.freeradiofreerock.com/raduga/ http://www.radiodiversity.com/leggettprm.html http://www.radiodiversity.com/skinnerprm.html Comments on LPFM Petitions: http://www.hallikainen.com/lpfm/comments/ http://www.radiodiversity.com/ardrmcomments.html Grassroots News and Media Conference: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/1082/index.html

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