FM Noncommercial Educational Stations Prone to ATSC 3.0 Interference, Says NPR

An analysis of ATSC 3.0 transmission technology since the FCC approved its voluntary deployment in 2017 (see 1711160060) found the 3.0 “emission mask” may not adequately protect reserved-band FM noncommercial educational stations from interference, NPR told Media Bureau staff Monday. That’s because 3.0 transmissions “occupy additional bandwidth” beyond ATSC 1.0, and the interference risk “is particularly heightened at the perimeter of a DTV station’s coverage area,” it said in a notice posted Thursday in docket 19-193. NPR urged the commission to consider requiring DTV channel 6 stations to use “additional signal filtering” as it does for channels 14 and 17.