*Technology:* FCC Asked to Allow All Digital Transmissions on AM Band

According to *Radio World*
<https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/business-and-law/bryan-broadcasting-asks-fcc-to-allow-all-digital-am>,
a prominent advocate for the Standard Broadcast Band (AM band) has
petitioned the FCC to allow stations to use all-digital transmissions in
the US. In March, Bryan Broadcasting Corporation asked the Commission to
initiate a proceeding to authorize the MA3 primary all-digital service mode
for any AM station that chooses to do so. Bryan is the licensee of four AM
and five FM stations (and six FM translators) in central Texas.

All HD Radio receivers in the market that have AM functionality would be
able to receive such all-digital signals, the article explains, but legacy
AM receivers would not.

Since last summer, WWFD in Frederick, Maryland, has had special temporary
authority to broadcast in all-digital. The Bryan petition appears to be the
first to seek all-digital authority. The petition said the broadcast
industry's experimentation with an all-digital approach "could be
accelerated by actually allowing stations to fully switch to MA3; actual
experiential knowledge by stations that elect to switch will provide
economic proof-of-concept for stations that delay in order to see how
others fare."

The petition also noted discussions that the AM band has "become so
overwhelmed by interference and impulse noise that the resultant audio
product is rendered unacceptable to modern listeners." The petition said
the noise floor generated by unlicensed devices and affecting the AM band
"has been noticeable -- and increasing -- for years." According to the
petition, Bryan has tried to quantify the noise floor increase, but that
studies have not been undertaken in the US. The petition said experience in
other countries suggests a rise from anywhere between 10 dB and 40 dB
between the 1970s and the early 2000s."

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Joe Miller, KJ8O
Desert Hot Springs, CA
Locator DM13sw