More than 750 new low-power FM (LPFM) community radio stations have been licensed to join the FM airwaves since 2014, according to the Federal Communications Commission. This has nearly doubled the total number to more than 1,500 LPFM stations across the U.S. and its territories.
The Pew Research Center reports this surge is in part the result of a new window for applications that the FCC opened from Oct. 15 to Nov. 14, 2013. Thousands of applications poured in during that period. The window follows the passage of new legislation signed in 2011 that opened up opportunities for LPFM stations to operate in larger markets and urban areas.
LPFM stations are spread across all 50 states. Twenty-two states have a moderate number of stations (20-39), though three have more than 100 stations each: Florida (121), Texas (114) and California (102).
The LPFM stations serve both rural and urban communities, but with an operating range of 100 watts or less, most have a broadcast reach of just a few miles and cater to intensely local and niche audiences. The FCC created its Low Power FM service in 2000 in an effort to better serve local communities following a wave of consolidation in the industry and combat the proliferation of unlicensed, primarily low-power “pirate” radio stations.
LPFM stations can only be licensed to not-for-profit educational organizations and institutions, government or non-government entities that provide public safety radio services, or tribes and tribal organizations recognized by the federal government.
This article leaves a bunch of important info out. Here's a better way to say it. "Out of 2525 CPs issued since 2001, 1592 are currently licensed. That number may grow or shrink in the next year."
ReplyDelete933 Low Power FM Stations (LPFMs) have died since the service was created in 2001.
FYI: LPFMDatabase.com is a good site to keep up with numbers.... no spin. Just numbers.