I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6533 

To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2010 

Mr. DOYLE (for himself and Mr. TERRY) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding 

low-power FM service, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Community 

5 Radio Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT. 

7 Section 632 of the Departments of Commerce, Jus8 tice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies ApVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:06 Dec 17, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6533.IH H6533

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1 propriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–553; 114 Stat. 

2 2762A–111), is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 632. (a) The Federal Communications Com4 mission shall modify the rules authorizing the operation 

5 of low-power FM radio stations, as proposed in MM Dock6 et No. 99–25, to— 

7 ‘‘(1) prescribe protection for co-channels and 

8 first- and second-adjacent channels; and 

9 ‘‘(2) prohibit any applicant from obtaining a 

10 low-power FM license if the applicant has engaged 

11 in any manner in the unlicensed operation of any 

12 station in violation of section 301 of the Commu13 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301). 

14 ‘‘(b) Any license that was issued by the Federal Com15 munications Commission to a low-power FM station prior 

16 to April 2, 2001, and that does not comply with the modi17 fications adopted by the Commission in MM Docket No. 

18 99–25 on April 2, 2001, shall remain invalid.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. MINIMUM DISTANCE SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communications 

21 Commission shall modify its rules to eliminate third-adja22 cent minimum distance separation requirements be23 tween— 

24 (1) low-power FM stations; and 


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1 (2) full-service FM stations, FM translator sta2 tions, and FM booster stations. 

3 (b) RESTRICTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communica5 tions Commission shall not amend its rules to reduce 

6 the minimum co-channel and first- and second-adja7 cent channel distance separation requirements in ef8 fect on the date of enactment of this Act between— 

9 (A) low-power FM stations; and 

10 (B) full-service FM stations. 

11 (2) WAIVER.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para13 graph (1), the Federal Communications Com14 mission may grant a waiver of the second-adja15 cent channel distance separation requirement to 

16 low-power FM stations that establish, using 

17 methods of predicting interference taking into 

18 account all relevant factors, including terrain19 sensitive propagation models, that their pro20 posed operations will not result in interference 

21 to any authorized radio service. 

22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 (i) SUSPENSION.—Any low-power FM 

24 station that receives a waiver under sub25 paragraph (A) shall be required to suspend 


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1 operation immediately upon notification by 

2 the Federal Communications Commission 

3 that it is causing interference to the recep4 tion of an existing or modified full-service 

5 FM station without regard to the location 

6 of the station receiving interference. 

7 (ii) ELIMINATION OF INTER8 FERENCE.—A low-power FM station de9 scribed in clause (i) shall not resume oper10 ation until such interference has been 

11 eliminated or it can demonstrate to the 

12 Federal Communications Commission that 

13 the interference was not due to emissions 

14 from the low-power FM station, except 

15 that such station may make short test 

16 transmissions during the period of sus17 pended operation to check the efficacy of 

18 remedial measures. 

19 (iii) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of 

20 a complaint of interference from a low21 power FM station operating pursuant to a 

22 waiver authorized under subparagraph (A), 

23 the Federal Communications Commission 

24 shall notify the identified low-power FM 


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1 station by telephone or other electronic 

2 communication within 1 business day. 

3 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF RADIO READING SERVICES. 

4 The Federal Communications Commission shall com5 ply with its existing minimum distance separation require6 ments for full-service FM stations, FM translator stations, 

7 and FM booster stations that broadcast radio reading 

8 services via an analog subcarrier frequency to avoid poten9 tial interference by low-power FM stations. 

10 SEC. 5. ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF SPECTRUM FOR LOW11 POWER FM STATIONS. 

12 The Federal Communications Commission, when li13 censing new FM translator stations, FM booster stations, 

14 and low-power FM stations, shall ensure that— 

15 (1) licenses are available to FM translator sta16 tions, FM booster stations, and low-power FM sta17 tions; 

18 (2) such decisions are made based on the needs 

19 of the local community; and 

20 (3) FM translator stations, FM booster sta21 tions, and low-power FM stations remain equal in 

22 status and secondary to existing and modified full23 service FM stations. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF TRANSLATOR INPUT SIGNALS. 

2 The Federal Communications Commission shall mod3 ify its rules to address the potential for predicted inter4 ference to FM translator input signals on third-adjacent 

5 channels set forth in section 2.7 of the technical report 

6 entitled ‘‘Experimental Measurements of the Third-Adja7 cent Channel Impacts of Low-Power FM Stations, Volume 

8 One—Final Report (May 2003)’’. 

9 SEC. 7. ENSURING EFFECTIVE REMEDIATION OF INTER10 FERENCE. 

11 The Federal Communications Commission shall mod12 ify the interference complaint process described in section 

13 73.810 of its rules (47 CFR 73.810) as follows: 

14 (1) With respect to those low-power FM sta15 tions licensed at locations that do not satisfy third16 adjacent channel spacing requirements under section 

17 73.807 of the Commission’s rules (47 CFR 73.807), 

18 the Federal Communications Commission shall pro19 vide the same interference protections that FM 

20 translator stations and FM booster stations are re21 quired to provide as set forth in section 74.1203 of 

22 its rules (47 CFR 74.1203) as in effect on the date 

23 of enactment of this Act. 

24 (2) For a period of 1 year after a new low25 power FM station is constructed on a third-adjacent 

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1 quired to broadcast periodic announcements that 

2 alert listeners that interference that they may be ex3 periencing could be the result of the operation of 

4 such low-power FM station on a third-adjacent 

5 channel and shall instruct affected listeners to con6 tact such low-power FM station to report any inter7 ference. The Federal Communications Commission 

8 shall require all newly constructed low-power FM 

9 stations on third-adjacent channels to— 

10 (A) notify the Federal Communications 

11 Commission and all affected stations on third12 adjacent channels of an interference complaint 

13 by electronic communication within 48 hours 

14 after the receipt of such complaint; and 

15 (B) cooperate in addressing any such in16 terference. 

17 (3) Low-power FM stations on third-adjacent 

18 channels shall be required to address complaints of 

19 interference within the protected contour of an af20 fected station and shall be encouraged to address all 

21 other interference complaints, including complaints 

22 to the Federal Communications Commission based 

23 on interference to a full-service FM station, an FM 

24 translator station, or an FM booster station by the 

25 transmitter site of a low-power FM station on a 


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1 third-adjacent channel at any distance from the full2 service FM station, FM translator station, or FM 

3 booster station. The Federal Communications Com4 mission shall provide notice to the licensee of a low5 power FM station of the existence of such inter6 ference within 7 calendar days of the receipt of a 

7 complaint from a listener or another station. 

8 (4) To the extent possible, the Federal Commu9 nications Commission shall grant low-power FM sta10 tions on third-adjacent channels the technical flexi11 bility to remediate interference through the coloca12 tion of the transmission facilities of the low-power 

13 FM station and any stations on third-adjacent chan14 nels. 

15 (5) The Federal Communications Commission 

16 shall— 

17 (A) permit the submission of informal evi18 dence of interference, including any engineering 

19 analysis that an affected station may commis20 sion; 

21 (B) accept complaints based on inter22 ference to a full-service FM station, FM trans23 lator station, or FM booster station by the 

24 transmitter site of a low-power FM station on 

25 a third-adjacent channel at any distance from 


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1 the full-service FM station, FM translator sta2 tion, or FM booster station; and 

3 (C) accept complaints of interference to 

4 mobile reception. 

5 (6) The Federal Communications Commission 

6 shall for full-service FM stations that are licensed in 

7 significantly populated States with more than 

8 3,000,000 population and a population density 

9 greater than 1,000 people per one square mile land 

10 area, require all low-power FM stations licensed 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act and located 

12 on third-adjacent, second-adjacent, first-adjacent, or 

13 co-channels to such full-service FM stations, to pro14 vide the same interference remediation requirements 

15 to complaints of interference, without regard to 

16 whether such complaints of interference occur within 

17 or outside of the protected contour of such stations, 

18 under the same interference complaint and remedi19 ation procedures that FM translator stations and 

20 FM booster stations are required to provide to full21 service stations as set forth in section 74.1203 of its 

22 rules (47 C.F.R. 74.1203) as in effect on the date 

23 of enactment of this Act. Notwithstanding the provi24 sions of section 74.1203, no interference that arises 

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1 tion class specified in the first column titled ‘‘re2 quired’’ for ‘‘Co-channel minimum separation (km)’’ 

3 in the table listed in section 73.807(a)(1) of the 

4 Commission’s rules (47 C.F.R. 73.807(a)(1)) shall 

5 require remediation. 

6 SEC. 8. FCC STUDY ON IMPACT OF LOW-POWER FM STA7 TIONS ON FULL-SERVICE COMMERCIAL FM 

8 STATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communications 

10 Commission shall conduct an economic study on the im11 pact that low-power FM stations will have on full-service 

12 commercial FM stations. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 

15 Commission shall submit a report to the Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

18 of Representatives on the study conducted under sub19 section (a). 

20 (c) LICENSING NOT AFFECTED BY STUDY.—Nothing 

21 in this section shall affect the licensing of new low-power 

22 FM stations as otherwise permitted under this Act. 

Æ 


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