Hi,
Though this note was drafted and circulated to Chicago/IL audience, I believe it should be of interest and concern to all of us in Community Networking/Community Technology, and I urge you to use your voice on this matter. It will be good practice. -MM Subject: [GIO] An opportunity to bring low-power AM radio to Chicago... Hi, everyone. I wanted to share an opportunity to help expand the realm of Chicago community radio -- if we all act quickly. (Apologies in advance for any duplicate emails.) Low Power FM radio has been steadily increasing nationwide, and in many communities it's providing a badly needed countermeasure against cookie-cutter corporate radio. Since the format's official introduction, some 600 low-power FM stations have taken to the airwaves nationwide. But for many large-sized communities (including major cities like Chicago), community radio remains off-limits, or those available stations use signals at such weak strength that there's not much hope of reaching the entirety of a city and the suburbs. One possible remedy is low-power AM radio, with wattage strengths up to 250 watts and can hold a far greater reach (for example, a 100 watt AM radio station can reach about five miles). And there's good news: A petition for making rules low-power AM radio has been accepted at the FCC, and a rare comment window on the issue is open now. The FCC is currently accepting comment on low-power AM radio from now until November 20. You can comment on this docket online, asking the FCC to expand low-power AM radio nationwide and provide more opportunities for responsive, community-oriented quality radio across the country. Here's how to comment: (1) Go to: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ (2) Click on the link on the right-hand side labelled "Submit a Filing" (3) For the Proceedings, type in "RM-11287". Then fill in the values on the page and complete the form. You can add your comments in the available text field, or you can upload your comments as an external file in any of a number of file formats. And be sure to forward this message to others who might be interested in commenting. Thanks. ---- Mitchell Szczepanczyk | Support independent journalism for just $3/month: http://www.szcz.org | http://newstandardnews.net -- GET ILLINOIS ONLINE Mailing List For list archives: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
