*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." -- *** Avoid internet congestion, real radio uses airwaves. ***
Joe Miller, KJ8O Desert Hot Springs, CA Locator DM13sw
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