NRB OPPOSES LOW POWER FM PROPOSAL

Manassas, VA (August 5, 1999) - In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission this week National Religious Broadcasters urged the Commission not to adopt a proposed new low power FM service.

To implement these new FM stations the Commission has proposed eliminating the frequency interference protections for full-power stations. NRB opposes eliminating these protections because of the potential interference that would result from the overcrowding of stations.

"NRB member stations have invested too much time and energy into building their ministries to have their signals put at risk for the sake of adding diversity to the spectrum," according to NRB president Brandt Gustavson. "While it would be advantageous to have more stations transmitting the gospel message, we must protect existing stations first."

Part of NRB’s comments were based on an engineering study commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters that shows a wide range of differences in the ability of FM radios to overcome interference. The study shows that if the new low power FM service is implemented as proposed, listeners using a portable radio, clock radio, or Walkman-type radio might experience poor reception of their once favorite stations or no reception at all in some cases.

In comments filed by general counsel, Wiley, Rein & Fielding, NRB made the case that those who own the more inexpensive older receivers that are more vulnerable to reception problems are most likely to be less affluent listeners, including the urban and rural poor and the elderly. The resulting unintended consequence is at odds with the Commission’s efforts to serve disadvantaged Americans.

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