FCC Set to Approve Low-power FM

This is a perfect example of good government. The FCC makes it possible for local communities to provide their own local radio content. Despite the feeble technical protests of the commercial station cartel, the government has made an excellent decision.

Officials at the [National] association [of Broadcaster] said today that they were considering seeking a court order to strike down the new rules. "In our view this comes down to one issue: interference," Dennis Wharton, a spokesman, said. "If tens of thousands of people cannot hear their hometown radio station, it's hard to understand how this benefits the public."

Right. It just happens that Cox, Disney, and AOL/Time Warner own my "hometown" radio stations.

Under the new rules, the spectrum available for low-power stations would not be parceled out through auctions, as frequencies for the larger stations are. Instead, F.C.C. officials will award licenses based on a group's ties to the local community the station would serve.