Re: [IRCA] Another perspective on AM IBOC, from the broadcasters' mailing list

[Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>]

longwave@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> The FCC will only mandate it if there are conversion units available
> to the general public (the way they are now for HDTV) for all the
> existing analog radios that are currently out there (within reason
> and of course including car radios).  HDTV also has the advantage
> since most people now receive their TV signals via cable or Sat.
> 
> Keith McGinnis Head above Ground! South Hingham MA

The FCC was also able to pull off the DTV conversion (not "HDTV," which 
is not mandated :-) in part because it could ensure that all existing 
stations would stay on the air and provide service after the conversion. 
(Doug Smith could say for sure, but I think there were one or two very 
small rural stations that surrendered their licenses rather than 
convert; the number's still very close to 100%.)

If there were ever to be a mandate that all existing radio stations 
convert to digital, you'd see a lot of small stations, some of which are 
already on precarious economic ground, hand in their licenses rather 
than invest in an expensive conversion. A fair number of those stations 
provide the only "local" service to their community of license.

Anyone who's familiar with the way the FCC functions today knows that 
one of the guiding principles of allocations decisions is that you can 
never, ever do anything that will remove a community's sole existing 
"local" service. There's no amount of corporate pressure that would get 
the FCC to approve a move that would lead to thousands of stations 
handing in their licenses en masse, at least under present political 
conditions.

s
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