Hear Us Now: Low Power FM Radio Stations: Consumers Union Urges Passage


Low Power FM Radio Stations: Consumers Union Urges Passage Posted by Bob at 11/19/09 11:46 AM Share Email Print FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2009 WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (S. 592), sponsored by Senator Cantwell, out of committee. The bill will now head to the full Senate for approval. Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, said the passage of the bill would be a huge win for consumers who are looking for a wider variety of local programming produced by people in their communities. “Passage of this bill will result in the creation of hundreds—possibly thousands—of new local radio stations across the country. Recent media consolidation of radio stations means many communities have lost community radio stations that air local programs. The passage of this bill will be a win for every community in need of local programming for community groups and emergencies.” Low power FM (LPFM) stations are non-commercial stations that operate at 100 watts or less – with a radius of approximately three to five miles. As local outlets, LPFM stations directly serve their communities by licensing to high schools, non-profits, civic organizations, churches, labor unions, and civil rights groups, giving them a forum to discuss local news and issues. Additionally, LPFM stations provide essential emergency services for local communities during times of crisis. In 2000, the Federal Communications Commission voted to create Low Power FM stations around the country to serve the news and informational needs of local communities. But Congress voted to limit the number of LPFM stations after claims that these low-watt stations would cause interference with full-power FM stations. Those worries have since been studied and allayed and the new bill would increase the number of LPFM stations. Media Contacts: David Butler, 202-462-6262, Dbutler@consumer.org Kristina Edmunson, 202-462-6262, Kedmunson@consumer.org				Read stories that consumers have shared, or share your own personal story. Airport Scanners Can Store, Transmit Images Contrary to public statements made by the Transportation Security Administration, full-body airport scanners do have the ability to store and transmit images, according to documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Google Apologizes to Chinese Authors HONG KONG — Google has agreed to hand over a list of books by Chinese authors that it has scanned in recent years, company executives said Monday, in an apparent effort to placate writers who say their works were digitized without their permission. Google Nexus One buyers frustrated about help Owners of Google's Nexus One phone may be early adopters, but some of them are also getting an early share of problems with phone and customer service, according to complaints being posted on various forums. Two year contract trend could reverse by 2011 Operators will need to offer extra services to lock in savvy customers, say analysts. Aggressively priced smartphones and up front payments on hardware could see the trend towards two year contracts reversed by 2011. Analyst Gartner says it expects 12 month contracts to return to the norm in two years' time, as consumers move away from Sim-only in improved economic conditions. And there will be more pressure on operators to provide reasonable prices on those 12 month contracts, even on heavily subsidized smartphones. The Network Neutrality Debate Is far From Over In the epic battle between giant corporations and pirates of digital media, the latter faction has struck a severe blow with the help of regulators at the FCC. Bureaucrats soon will be penning regulations that will keep the Internet free forever from -- well, regulation. Meanwhile, Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and AT&T will slink back to their caves to bemoan their inability to further mine profit from customers.