AM Revitalization Reply Comment Deadline Extended

The FCC has granted a 30-day extension of the deadline for reply comments in the AM Revitalization rulemaking proceeding.  The new deadline is March 20, 2014.  The extension reflects a partial grant of a request made by the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers for a 60-day extension.  AFCCE formed a committee to review and prepare responses related to several of the technical rule changes proposed by commenters.

A variety of responses and new proposals have been submitted in the proceeding, and positions vary widely on some substantive issues.  For example, some commenters believe that an AM-only FM translator window won’t help to revitalize AM, but will only drive listeners to FM.  Others want to restrict the FM translator window to AM daytime stations only, or at least give them priority.  Many are in favor of applying the so-called Tell City waiver to allow greater flexibility in FM translator relocations.  Finally, there are numerous proposed suggestions for changes to the AM interference rules, from the simple (i.e., extending daylight hours regardless of interference) to the more complex (formulas for calculating interference).

Comments can be accessed for review in the FCC’s online Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).  Search by Docket Number 13-249.