FCC May Delay FM Translator Plan

Ajit Pai

Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai took on Chairman Tom Wheeler's opposition to an AM-exclusive application window for FM radio translators during a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters' President's Council on Wednesday, but he also said the plan could be postponed to 2017.

The Republican commissioner’s speech on Wednesday appeared to be another turning point in the effort to revitalize the country’s AM stations.

According to RadioWorld, Pai altered his position regarding a possible filing window for AMs to apply for FM translators. He said he will support implementation of a 250-mile waiver in the near term, though he says a translator window must be part of the final outcome. He insists that while translators are not a “panacea for the technical problems plaguing the AM band,” a translator “can serve as a vital bridge to the future for some AM broadcasters as we work on fixing the AM band’s long-term problems — work that won’t be finished overnight.”

Over several weeks, the Republican commissioner, who has been vocal on the AM revitalization topic, dismissed a relocation waiver as “unworkable” and instead vigorously called on fellow commissioners to include a translator window as part of the pending revitalization action.

But, reports RadioWorld, as he laid out the situation in a speech to a meeting of the National Religious Broadcasters advisory board, an immediate translator window doesn’t have the commission votes.