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78-483: WCEA-LD (channel 26) is a low-power Spanish-language independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts , United States. The station is owned by C&M Broadcasting Corporation. WCEA-LD is co-owned with El Planeta , a local Spanish-language newspaper. WCEA-LD was founded by Pedro Nicolas Cuenca in 1986 as W19AH, becoming WCEA-LP in 1995. It has always been a platform for local multicultural independent producers in

156-592: A wireless license issued by the British General Post Office (GPO). However, under terms of that wireless license, it was an offence under the Wireless Telegraphy Act to listen to unauthorised broadcasts, which possibly included those transmitted by Radio Luxembourg. Therefore, as far as the British authorities were concerned, Radio Luxembourg was a "pirate radio station" and British listeners to

234-545: A 1940 British comedy about an unauthorized TV broadcaster, Band Waggon , uses the phrase "pirate station" several times. A good example of this kind of activity was Radio Luxembourg located in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . The English language evening broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg were beamed by Luxembourg-licensed transmitters. The audience in the United Kingdom originally listened to their radio sets by permission of

312-560: A branch of Industry Canada , in conjunction with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Interested parties must apply for both a certificate from Industry Canada and a license from CRTC in order to operate a radio station. Industry Canada manages the technicalities of spectrum space and technological requirements whereas content regulation is conducted more so by CRTC. LPAM stations are authorized to operate with less than 100 watts of power. LPFM

390-802: A broadcast license (free-of-charge) at a maximum of 1 watt EIRP in the FM guardbands from 87.6 to 88.3 and from 106.7 to 107.7 MHz under a General User Radio License (GURL), which is issued by Radio Spectrum Management , managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment . Prior to June 2010, the lower band was located between 88.1 and 88.8 and a maximum of 500 mW EIRP allowed. Broadcasters on these frequencies are required to cease operations if they interfere with other, licensed broadcasters and have no protection from interference from other licensed or unlicensed broadcasters. Contact details must also be broadcast every hour. Further restrictions are in place for

468-473: A few instances, which according to certain criteria, may be exempt from certificate/license requirements. A television station is considered very low power if its power does not exceed 2 watts for a VHF station, or 10 watts for a UHF station. Low-power analog & digital television stations are authorized to operate with up to 50 watts in VHF, or 500 watts for a UHF station. In New Zealand residents are allowed

546-651: A few miles of their transmitters. Other LPAM operations are known as Travelers' Information Stations (TIS), sometimes also called highway advisory radio (HAR). Authorized under FCC Part 90.242, these are stations licensed to local transportation departments or other governmental or quasi-governmental agencies to provide bulletins to motorists regarding traffic conditions. These are often near highways and airports, and occasionally other tourism attractions such as national parks . Some are used by chemical and nuclear facilities for emergency evacuation information systems, others by public safety entities for mobile operations. Music

624-460: A lack of support from the other FCC commissioners. Though many low-power television stations are either unaffiliated, or broadcast programming from small networks meant for their use, some LPTV stations are affiliated with minor broadcast networks like The CW or MyNetworkTV . Examples include in Boston, Massachusetts with NBC on WBTS-CD ; Youngstown, Ohio , where a pair of LPTV stations based at WYFX-LD broadcast Fox programming, along with

702-439: A million dollars, and could only afforded by businesses and the very wealthy. An antenna and transmitter can cost between $ 2,000 and $ 5,000. Unlike the former FM class D license, an LPFM station has no priority over broadcast translators in the allocation of available spectrum. This is problematic insofar as the regulations for broadcast translators exempts non-commercial stations from the requirement that translators be within

780-615: A new ship, a converted fishing trawler named MV Norderney . In the 1960s in the UK, the term referred to not only a perceived unauthorized use of the state-run spectrum by the unlicensed broadcasters but also the risk-taking nature of offshore radio stations that actually operated on anchored ships or marine platforms. The term had been used previously in Britain and the US to describe unlicensed land-based broadcasters and even border blasters . For example,

858-428: A one-time filing opportunity for existing LPTV stations to become Class A stations. The designation was only available to LPTV stations that were producing two hours per week of local programming. Class A stations had to maintain a production studio within their Grade B contour, and comply with many of the requirements placed on full-service television stations. This allowed them to obtain protected channel status. One of

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936-581: A result of the AT&;T interpretation, a landmark case was heard in court, which even prompted comments from Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover when he took a public stand in the station's defense. Although AT&T won its case, the furor created was such that those restrictive provisions of the transmitter license were never enforced. In 1926, WJAZ in Chicago changed its frequency to one previously reserved for Canadian stations without getting permission to make

1014-447: A single station (retransmitted by many others) ending up on several hundred different translators. One station cannot apply for hundreds or thousands of translators nationwide, using automated means to generate license applications for all available channels, unless all of their applications are exclusively on the non-commercial part of the broadcast band (88–91.9 MHz). ( 47 CFR 74.1231(b) ) As with any new service that shares

1092-565: A smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly " microbroadcasting ") and broadcast translators . LPAM , LPFM and LPTV are in various levels of use across the world, varying widely based on the laws and their enforcement . Radio communications in Canada are regulated by the Radio Communications and Broadcasting Regulatory Branch,

1170-553: A sympathetic press that amateurs were disrupting naval transmissions. The May 25, 1907, edition of Electrical World',' in an article called "Wireless and Lawless," reported authorities were unable to prevent an amateur from interfering with the operation of a government station at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard using legal means. In the run-up to the London Radiotelegraph Convention in 1912, and amid concerns about

1248-541: A transmitter location atop the John Hancock Tower ; the station ultimately chose to build the channel 45 facility. The station's signal is multiplexed : This article about a television station in Massachusetts is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Low-power broadcasting#Television Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to

1326-565: A vessel in international waters without permission from the authorities in the country to which it broadcast (Denmark in this case). The station was named Radio Mercur and began transmission on August 2, 1958. In the Danish newspapers it was soon called a "pirate radio". In the Netherlands in 1964, Radio Noordzee and TV Noordzee began broadcasting from the REM Island and Radio Veronica acquired

1404-1124: Is a non-commercial educational broadcast radio service created by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States in 2000. LPFM licenses, which are limited to a maximum effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 watts, may be issued to non-commercial educational entities, as well as public safety and transportation organizations. Individuals and holders of other types of broadcast licenses are not eligible. In addition, LPFM stations are not protected from interference from other classes of FM stations. In addition, Class D educational licenses exist for stations of 10 watts transmitter power output (TPO) or less, regardless of ERP. These stations are all grandfathered operations, as no new licenses of this type have been issued since 1978, except in Alaska. They are not considered to be LPFM stations, although they operate noncommercially and have similar coverage areas to Class L2 stations. In January 2000,

1482-527: Is a potential that the sidebands of two LPFM stations would overlap causing interference. As of 2008 , imposing a second adjacent channel restriction would impact less than 10 LPFM stations. Pirate radio Radio "piracy" began with the advent of regulations of the airwaves at the dawn of the age of radio . Initially, radio, or wireless as it was more commonly called at the time, was an open field of hobbyists and early inventors and experimenters. The degree of state control varied by country. For example, in

1560-422: Is broken up into two classes in Canada, Low (50 watts) and Very Low (10 watts). The transmitters therefore range from 1 to 50 watts, as opposed to 1 to 100 watts in the U.S. As of 2000 , 500 licenses (very low and low-power FM) have been issued. These transmitters are generally only allowed in remote areas. Stations in the low-power class are subject to the same CRTC licensing requirements, and will generally follow

1638-575: Is competition for spectrum in some locations between the LPFM service and the FM translator service. In May 2018, several groups supporting community-based low-power FM stations filed objections with the FCC, citing the Local Community Radio Act , accusing it of favoring existing station coverage expansion with translator licenses - "a spectrum grab" - over new LPFM spectrum licenses. The acronym 'LPAM'

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1716-401: Is considered a secondary service by the FCC, which means the licensee is not guaranteed protection from interference or displacement. An LPTV station must accept harmful interference from full-service television stations and may not cause harmful interference to any full-service television station (the FCC defines interference levels deemed to be "harmful"). The problem with potential displacement

1794-410: Is minimal and would not have a significant effect on other stations. According to Sen. Leahy, "This bill will open up the airwaves to truly local broadcasting while protecting full-power broadcasters from unreasonable interference and preserving important services such as reading services for the blind." Sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Mike Doyle and Lee Terry and in

1872-460: Is not a legal term in the United States and is only used as an acronym. Unlike LPFM stations, which have legal and regulatory status, FCC rules do not define "LPAM" nor issue licenses for low-power AM transmission. LPAM is only an acronym applied to licensed low-power AM operations and to Part 15 transmissions as well. Any use of the term "low power AM" in FCC licensing for United States stations

1950-650: Is not allowed on TIS/HAR stations, and they are restricted to only 3 kHz wide, " low-fidelity audio ", compared to the 10 kHz audio for standard AM broadcasters and 15 kHz audio permitted on FM stations. (Modern AM stations in the US actually restrict their audio from 5 kHz down to 2.5 kHz - roughly the same as to TIS stations. TIS transmissions are normally authorized for 10 watts or less, although some higher authorizations exist, primarily in locations where emergency evacuation may become necessary. The 60–watt TIS stations on 1640 and 1680 kHz at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport have

2028-440: Is not very concrete presently), pirate radio regulation has remained very strict as well. However, the two regulating bodies do have certain exemptions. For example, low-power announcement transmitters that meet the requirement of Broadcasting Equipment Technical Standards 1, Limited Duration Special Events Distribution Undertakings, Temporary Resource Development Distribution Undertakings, and Public Emergency Radio Undertakings are

2106-473: Is the requirement for higher-power licensed AM stations to reduce their transmit power at nighttime – post-sunset / pre-sunrise – as a condition of their high-power broadcast authorization. There is a category class D for AM broadcast licenses, which limited stations to daytime-only transmission before regulations changed in the 1980s. Many, but not all, class D stations have been granted authority to broadcast at night with enough power to be heard within

2184-510: The Americas , where most stations originate their own programming. Stations that do not originate their own programming are designated as translators (-TX). The Community Broadcasters Act of 1998 directed the FCC to create a classification of LPTV licenses called Class A (-CA) and Class A Digital (-CD). Digital low-power and Class-A television stations have an ERP limit of 3,000 watts (3 kW) for VHF, and 15 kilowatts for UHF. The LPTV service

2262-463: The Federal Communications Commission established Low Power FM (LPFM) as a new designated class of radio station. These stations were allowed to operate at 1–10 or 50–100 watts of power, compared to the minimum requirement for commercial stations at 100 watts. ( 47 CFR 73.211 ). Originally, it was supported by activists and groups associated with American progressivism ; music artists (such as Bonnie Raitt ); religious leaders/churches (such as

2340-508: The Federal Radio Commission , was formed in 1927 and succeeded in 1934 by the Federal Communications Commission . These agencies would enforce rules on call-signs, assigned frequencies, licensing, and acceptable content for broadcast. The Radio Act of 1912 gave the president legal permission to shut down radio stations "in time of war". During the first two and a half years of World War I , before US entry, President Wilson tasked

2418-574: The United Church of Christ ); and educators (for example, American Library Association , the Communication Workers of America labor union , the National League of Cities ). The original purpose of LPFM was to serve as an alternative to " radio homogenization ", described in 2001 in the J & MC Quarterly , as "... Necessary to offset the growing consolidation of station ownership in

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2496-718: The United States Senate by Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007 never came to a vote. The House bill, H.R. 2802, was referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on June 21, 2007. Since the bill was not passed in FY 2007, the bill was removed from the docket as Never Passed . This bill was an update of the Local Community Radio Act of 2007. It would have required

2574-513: The digital subchannel of the co-owned CBS affiliate, WKBN-TV ; or in the Lima, Ohio area, whose low-power stations are affiliates of major networks, such as CBS and ABC . On July 15, 2011, the FCC issued an order to low-power broadcasters that effectively required all remaining television transmitters to vacate channels 52 to 69 by December 31, 2011. Originally, all low power analog TV stations were required to shut off by September 1, 2015, however,

2652-506: The Boston market. The station also served as Boston's Telemundo affiliate in the early 1990s, before W32AY (now WYCN-LD in Providence, Rhode Island ) signed on in 1995. Initially broadcasting on channel 19, WCEA-LP was forced to vacate the channel to accommodate the digital signal of WGBH-TV . In 2002, it moved to channel 3 via special temporary authority , but its application for the channel

2730-406: The FCC keep the rules that offer interference protection to third-adjacent channels that offer a radio reading service (the reading of newspapers, books or magazines for those who are blind or hearing impaired). This protection will ensure that such channels are not subject to possible interference by LPFM stations. The final part of the bill required that when giving out licenses to FM stations,

2808-603: The FCC must make sure that these licenses are also available to LPFM stations and that licensing decisions are made with regard to local community needs. The bill had unanimous bipartisan support from FCC leadership. It was passed by the House and referred to the Senate. The Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (based upon the legislation originally introduced in 2005) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011, as Pub. L.   111–371 (text) (PDF) , after passage in

2886-426: The FCC to alter current rules by removing the minimum frequency separation between low-power FM stations and third-adjacent channel stations. Previously, there was a minimum frequency separation; however the FCC found that LPFM stations did not cause any interference on third-adjacent channel stations, thus eliminating the need for such a requirement. The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 also would have required that

2964-443: The FCC was to modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum frequency separation requirements between low-power FM stations; and full-service FM stations, FM translator stations, and FM booster stations. A New York Times article focusing on a LPFM station, KOCZ-LP , highlights a number of key arguments favoring low-powered broadcasting: Former President Bill Clinton has also become an advocate of LPFM for "giving voice to

3042-411: The FM spectrum, when translators are added to an area, they can reduce or eliminate the availability of channels both for new LPFM applicants and for relocation of any existing LPFM stations displaced by full-service broadcasters. Unlike an LPFM station, a translator is not required to (and legally not authorized to) originate any local content except as permitted by 47 CFR 74.1231 . Thus there

3120-415: The House on December 17, 2010, and the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2010. In a statement after the bill became law, Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski said, "Low power FM stations are small, but they make a giant contribution to local community programming. This important law eliminates the unnecessary restrictions that kept these local stations off the air in cities and towns across

3198-484: The Notice, the FCC inquires as how to balance incentives for broadcasters to switch to digital systems with incumbents of new entrance opportunities, stating that they “seek analyses of the minimum power levels that would preserve service within protected service areas in an all-digital environment, and alternatively, the levels that would not result in significant disruptions to current listening patterns.” The DAB system that

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3276-553: The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000 into a general spending bill then moving through Congress. President Bill Clinton signed the bill in December 2000. The bill passed by Congress ( H.R.567 ) was meant to tighten standards for LPFM stations, making it harder for them to be approved, to protect full-power FM stations through certain provisions: This act shifted policy making from the FCC to Congress, which

3354-621: The TV transmissions of TV Martí , which are directed at Cuba (the Cuban government jams the signals). Military broadcasting aircraft have been flown over Vietnam , Iraq , and many other nations by the United States Air Force . Illegal use of licensed radio spectrum (also known as bootlegging in CB circles) is fairly common and takes several forms. The films The Boat That Rocked (2009), Pump Up

3432-469: The UK, Marconi 's work was supported by the post office, but in an era of weak regulation, a music hall magician Nevil Maskelyne deliberately hijacked a demonstration. The United States Navy began using radio for time signals and weather reports on the east coast of the United States in the 1890s. Before the advent of vacuum tube technology, early radio enthusiasts used (electronically) noisy spark-gap transmitters . The Navy soon began complaining to

3510-540: The US Navy with monitoring US radio stations, nominally to "ensure neutrality." The US was divided into two civilian radio "districts" with corresponding call-signs, beginning with "K" in the west and "W" in the east. The Navy was assigned call-signs beginning with "N". The Navy used this authority to shut down amateur radio in the western part of the US. When Wilson declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, he also issued an executive order closing most radio stations not needed by

3588-597: The US government. The Navy took it a step further and declared it was illegal to listen to radio or possess a receiver or transmitter in the US, but there were doubts they had the authority to issue such an order even in war time. The ban on radio was lifted in the US in late 1919. In 1924, New York City station WHN was accused by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) of being an "outlaw station" for violating trade licenses which permitted only AT&T stations to sell airtime on their transmitters. As

3666-653: The Volume (1990), and On the Air Live with Captain Midnight (1979), as well as the TV series People Just Do Nothing (2014-2018), are set in the world of pirate radio, while Born in Flames (1983) features pirate radio stations as being part of an underground political movement. Pirate radio is also a central plot point of the video game Jet Set Radio and its sequel Jet Set Radio Future . The video game Reverse: 1999 features

3744-510: The change, and was charged by the federal government with "wave piracy". The resulting legal battle found that the Radio Act of 1912 did not allow the US government to require stations to operate on specific frequencies, and the result was the passage of the Radio Act of 1927 to strengthen the government's regulatory authority. While Mexico issued radio station XERF with a license to broadcast,

3822-709: The commercial station Radio North Sea International , which was based aboard the motor vessel (MV) Mebo II anchored off southeast England in the North Sea . Other examples of this type of unusual broadcasting include the USCGC Courier (WAGR-410) , a United States Coast Guard cutter which both originated and relayed broadcasts of the Voice of America from an anchorage at the Greek island of Rhodes to Soviet bloc countries. Balloons have been flown above Key West, Florida , to support

3900-485: The content of many of their programs could not have been aired by a US-regulated broadcaster. Predecessors to XERF, for instance, had originally broadcast in Kansas , advocating " goat-gland surgery " for improved masculinity, but moved to Mexico to evade US laws about advertising medical treatments, particularly unproven ones. In Europe, Denmark had the first known radio station in the world to broadcast commercial radio from

3978-534: The country. These are currently used for many establishments, including military bases , universities and hospitals with fixed boundaries. On the 18th of June 2021, Ofcom (Office of Communications) began a trial of expanding the number of LPFM stations in the United Kingdom by issuing licenses to broadcast to many more hospitals and military bases. This was done in order to see if such broadcasts could be feasibly achieved in events where they would be needed without interfering with other broadcasts. Low Power FM (LPFM)

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4056-600: The country." The Act states that the Federal Communications Commission, when licensing new FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations, should ensure that licenses are available to FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations; such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community; and FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations remain equal in status and secondary to existing and modified full-service FM stations. In general,

4134-462: The coverage area of the original station that they rebroadcast. However, this provision only affects translators in the non-commercial portion of the band. Stations in the commercial part of the spectrum must be fed over the air unless they are within the actual service area of the primary station. Since the translator window of 2003 was only open for commercial channels, the use of directly-fed via satellite FM translators, commonly called "Satellators",

4212-629: The deadline for low-power television stations and translators was postponed due to a spectrum auction that took place. While Class-A television stations were required to sign off on September 1, 2015, the last remaining low-powered analog television stations had signed off by July 13, 2021. Unlike AM and FM, unlicensed use of television bands is prohibited for broadcasting. The amateur television channels do allow for some very limited non-entertainment transmissions however, with some repeaters airing NASA TV during Space Shuttle missions when they are not in local use. The low-power television industry

4290-502: The digital transition." In February 2006, the FCC released its Notices of Proposed Rules for Digital Radio. The Commission reaffirms its commitment to provide broadcasters with the opportunity to take advantage of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) technology, proposed criteria for evaluating models and systems, such as the In-band on-channel (IBOC) system, and inquired on the needs for a mandatory DAB transmission standard. In section 39 of

4368-500: The first two transmitters. There are efforts on self-regulation of the broadcasters themselves. The NZRSM Radio Inspectors do, however, regularly monitor and make random unannounced visits to broadcasters, and will impose fines for violations of the regulations. New broadcasters are also subject to an initial compulsory inspection. Temporary low-power stations are allowed at times via a Restricted Service Licence . Since 2001, long-term LPFM licenses have been available in remote areas of

4446-415: The highest licensed power among full-time TIS stations. There are more than 2,450 licensed low-power television (LPTV) stations in the U.S., which are located in markets of all sizes, from New York City (five stations, though more exist in the market from other cities of license ) down to Junction City, Kansas (two stations). LPTV (-LP) and LPTV Digital (-LD) are common in the U.S., Canada and most of

4524-459: The interests of other national governments has created radio jamming stations transmitting noises on the same frequency to prevent reception of the incoming signal. While the United States transmitted its programs towards the Soviet Union , which attempted to jam them, in 1970 the government of the United Kingdom decided to employ a jamming transmitter to drown out the incoming transmissions from

4602-487: The key distinctions between full-service television stations and low-power stations is cable television and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) carriage. Full-service stations are guaranteed carriage in their local television market through " must-carry " whereas LPTV stations are not. In 2008, there was an effort put forward by FCC chairman Kevin Martin to grant must-carry rights to Class A LPTV stations. The effort failed due to

4680-445: The letters CH for a television station or VF for a radio station. The regulation of spectrum space is strict in Canada, as well having restrictions on second and third adjacent channels, along with other protections for AM and FM commercial radio. In addition, because there have been a few cases that found that FM frequencies have caused interference to the aeronautical navigation and communications (NAV/COM) spectrum (though evidence

4758-409: The miniaturization of transmitters and the fact that they can be put together by amateurs, 'encounters' a collective aspiration for some new means of expression. Propaganda broadcasting may be authorized by the government at the transmitting site, but may be considered unwanted or illegal by the government of the intended reception area. Propaganda broadcasting conducted by national governments against

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4836-454: The power of its 250 kW transmitter was far greater than the maximum of 50 kW authorized for commercial use by the government of the United States of America. Consequently, XERF and many other radio stations in Mexico, which sold their broadcasting time to sponsors of English-language commercial and religious programs, were labelled as " border blasters ", but not "pirate radio stations", even though

4914-427: The protection of aeronautical services. Use of the following frequencies is not permitted within certain boundaries approaching Auckland and Wellington airports: 107.5 to 107.7, and 107.0 to 107.3 MHz, respectively. There exists a 25 km broadcast translator rule: one licensee may operate two transmitters anywhere (close together), but a third transmitter must be at least 25 km away from at least one of

4992-598: The safety of marine radio following the sinking of the RMS ; Titanic on April 15 of that year, the New York Herald of April 17, 1912, headlined President William Howard Taft 's initiative to regulate the public airwaves in an article titled "President Moves to Stop Mob Rule of Wireless." In the US, the 1912 "Act to Regulate Radio Communication" assigned amateurs and experimenters their own frequency spectrum, and introduced licensing and call-signs . A federal agency,

5070-409: The same call sign format, as full-power stations. Stations in the very low-power class formerly had to have CRTC licenses as well, although a series of CRTC regulation changes in the early 2000s exempted most such stations from licensing; a station in this class will usually not have a conventional call sign, but will instead be identified in a naming format consisting of a four-digit number preceded by

5148-470: The station were breaking the law (although as the term 'unauthorised' was never properly defined it was somewhat of a legal grey area ). This did not stop British newspapers from printing programme schedules for the station, or a British weekly magazine aimed at teenage girls, Fab 208 , from promoting the DJs and their lifestyle. (Radio Luxembourg's wavelength was 208 metres (1439, then 1440 kHz)). Radio Luxembourg

5226-519: The voiceless", including schools, community-based organizations, churches, and ethnic groups. Brown Paper Tickets CEO Steve Butcher supports LPFM, stating in a letter to the FCC, "We hear from event producers frequently who can't afford radio ad buys on commercial stations. These local entrepreneurs can afford underwriting on smaller stations that can help build awareness about their events." LPFM stations are considered to be affordable compared to an average FM station, whose operating costs can run up to

5304-652: The wake of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which removed caps on radio ownership, as well as the decline of locally produced radio programming." The main opposition to LPFMs came from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which opposed the act on grounds to "maintain spectrum integrity" for commercial broadcasting, according to NAB President Edward O. Fritts. Pressure from the National Association of Broadcasters urged Congress to slip

5382-539: Was considered an insult against the FCC. The Local Community Radio Act of 2005 was introduced by Senators John McCain , Maria Cantwell and Patrick Leahy . After the FCC complied with the provisions of the Radio Broadcasting Act of 2000 by commissioning the MITRE Report to test if there was significant interference from LPFM stations on the full-power stations, the study showed that the interference of LPFM

5460-464: Was identified as the best fit for LPFM was IBOC. This hybrid system uses existing frequencies and can operate carrying digital information along with analog broadcast signal on the sidebands. However, the digital carriers require the bandwidth to be widened, which would cause interference to stations on the first adjacent channel. If LPFM adopts IBOC, then LPFM would also need to accept a second adjacent channel restriction between two LPFM stations, as there

5538-469: Was later joined by other well-known pirate stations received in the UK in violation of UK licensing, including Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta (subsequently Radio Carolines North and South respectively, following their merger and the original ship's relocation), Radio London , and Laser 558 , all of which broadcast from vessels anchored outside of territorial limits and were therefore legitimate. Radio Jackie , for instance, although transmitting illegally

5616-467: Was made evident during the transition of broadcasting in the United States from analog to digital . All television stations operating on UHF channels 38 and above were required to move to channel 36 or below. Full-service stations were guaranteed a place to land in the new compressed band while LPTV stations operating on channels 38 and above were required to either enter a channel-sharing agreement with another station or lose their license. The FCC provided

5694-543: Was never a factor in the 2003 window. The FCC licensing window for new translator applications in 2003 resulted in over 13,000 applications being filed, most of them coming from a few religious broadcasters. However even though all translators on commercial frequencies must be fed by a direct, over-the-air source, regardless of who owns the translator per FCC rule 74.1231(b), the actual over-the-air source (the primary station) can be satellite fed, just as commercial stations can be fed by satellite. This leads to programming from

5772-574: Was registered for VAT and even had its address and telephone number in local telephone directories. By the 1970s, pirate radio in the UK had mostly moved to land-based broadcasting, transmitting from tower blocks in towns and cities. Another variation on the term pirate radio came about during the " Summer of Love " in San Francisco during the 1960s. "Free radio" usually referred to secret and unlicensed land-based transmissions. These were also tagged as being pirate radio transmissions. Free Radio

5850-724: Was represented by the Community Broadcasters Association (CBA), which held its annual convention each year in October and an annual meeting each year in April at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas . The meeting was open to anyone interested in the low-power television industry. On August 13, 2009, the CBA announced in a statement that it would shut down after 20 years of representing LPTV stations. One reason given

5928-485: Was subsequently dismissed by the Federal Communications Commission due to objections from other Boston stations, AT&T Broadband , and RCN ; soon thereafter, WCEA-LP relocated to channel 58. Since December 2010, Massachusetts Spanish TV Network (MAS TV) has partnered with WCEA-LD to provide programming, including local newscasts at 6 a.m. and noon. In the early 2010s, WCEA-LP had two applications convert to digital operations on channels 44 and 45, with both specifying

6006-487: Was the "restrictive regulations that kept the Class A and LPTV industry from realizing its potential". Another was the inability to reach most viewers, partly due to multichannel video programming distributors refusing to carry these channels. In addition, Amy Brown, former CBA executive director, said, "some 40% of Class A and LPTV station operators believe they will have to shut down in the next year if they are not helped through

6084-493: Was used only to refer to radio transmissions that were beyond government control , as was offshore radio in the UK and Europe. The term free radio was adopted by the Free Radio Association of listeners who defended the rights of the offshore radio stations broadcasting from ships and marine structures off the coastline of the United Kingdom . Félix Guattari points out: Technological development, and in particular

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