FCC Approves Digital FM NPRM Before Thursday Meeting

The FCC unanimously approved an order and NPRM on digital FM, said an agency news release Tuesday (see 2301130053). The item was on the agenda for commissioners' open meeting Thursday but was instead voted Monday, and a deletion notice was issued. Stemming from petitions filed by NAB and Xperi, the item proposes relaxing restrictions on digital FM power levels to make it easier for more stations to improve their digital FM coverage. The FCC said the proposals in the NPRM would “offer more efficient FM digital operation, increase digital signal coverage and provide a more robust digital signal for reception inside buildings,” though some raised concerns about increased interference. “This would AM-ize the FM band,” said broadcaster Robert McAllan, CEO of Press Communications, referring to the high levels of background interference from multiple sources in the AM band.

The item seeks comment on proposals to change the way FM stations calculate their maximum permissible digital power level, which would increase the number of stations that can broadcast digital FM at higher power, increasing their coverage areas. It also proposes to allow FM stations to operate their digital sidebands at different power levels for more flexibility to maximize power while avoiding interference.

The existing rules for digital FM prevent many broadcasters from having a wide coverage area with a higher quality digital signal, said broadcast engineer Clarence Beverage, president of Communications Technologies. The proposals in the NPRM would give them more flexibility, he said. HD radio, the FCC-authorized form of digital FM, has a higher sound quality than analog, and HD radio receivers are increasingly common in automobiles, Beverage said. “Currently, over 2,000 FM stations broadcast digitally, providing listeners with enhanced sound quality, song information, and other data through their FM broadcast radio signals,” said the FCC release.

Commenters responding to the original NAB and Xperi petitions in docket 22-405 are concerned that increased digital FM levels could cause increased interference, and that it's unlikely to help smaller companies. The proposals “simply favor large broadcasters and do very little for smaller broadcasters,” said McAllan, who owns stations in New Jersey, one of the most congested areas for broadcast signals. “In a situation where the FM band has already been overwhelmed and saturated with additional services, there is no such thing as benign added interference,” said Press Communications in an ex parte filing in March. “This will be especially damning to lower power Class A broadcasters, AM operators with FM translators, and LPFMs.”

Last week Charter Communications also expressed concern about possible interference with broadband operations. Charter’s broadband systems use the same frequencies as FM radio, the MVPD said. Changing the methodology for digital FM power increases and allowing increases without prior FCC authorization could lead to interference with Charter’s broadband, the filing said. The NPRM seeks comment on possible interference to operations like Charter’s, as the MVPD requested.

The FCC received few interference complaints from analog FM stations caused by nearby digital transmissions, the NPRM said. “Given the paucity of interference complaints,” the NPRM tentatively concludes the agency’s existing interference complaint and remediation procedures will be “continue to suffice to handle such digital-to-analog interference complaints as may arise between full-service FM stations.” Fixing interference issues after they occur isn’t enough, McAllan said. “Once the damage is done, you aren’t going to get those listeners back,” he said. McAllan’s companies have faced the FCC in court over several previous matters (see 1902190063), and he “wouldn’t say no” to further litigation if higher power digital FM broadcasts are eventually authorized.