The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Report and Order that allows AM radio stations to operate using all-digital broadcast signals. AM broadcasters will be able to voluntarily choose whether and when to convert to all-digital operation from their current analog or hybrid analog/digital signals.
All-digital broadcasting offers AM listeners significantly improved audio quality and more reliable coverage over a wider listenable area than analog or hybrid digital broadcasts. It also allows broadcasters to provide additional services to the public, such as song title and artist information.
These enhancements will enable AM broadcasters to better compete in today’s media marketplace.
Today’s Order establishes technical rules to protect existing AM broadcast stations from interference. In addition, stations converting to all-digital operation will be required to notify the Commission and the public 30 days in advance of their transition. These stations must provide at least one free over-the-air digital programming stream that is comparable to or better in audio quality than a standard analog broadcast. They also must continue to participate in the Emergency Alert System. The Order envisions that AM broadcasters will decide whether to convert to all-digital operation based on the conditions in their respective markets.
In his statement Pai noted: "Under my leadership, the Commission has taken a series of steps to help AM broadcasters confront the economic and technical challenges they face. For example, as part of our AM Radio Revitalization Initiative, over 2,800 AM broadcasters have been able to obtain authorizations to build FM translators, and 2,100 are already licensed and on the air. Countless AM broadcasters have told me that their FM translators have given their stations a new lease on life. We’ve also eliminated and modified a number of rules to reduce unnecessary regulatory costs on AM broadcasters.
"But to better ensure the future of AM radio, we need to squarely confront the band’s problems, foremost among them poor signal quality and listening experience. And confront them we do today, allowing AM broadcasters in an increasingly digital age to voluntarily move to all-digital broadcasting.
"Making the transition to all-digital service presents a singular opportunity to preserve the AM service for future listeners. All-digital signals offer better audio quality, with greater coverage, than existing AM stations—whether analog or hybrid. The decision to convert to all-digital will ultimately be up to each AM broadcaster. AM broadcasters can decide how best to adapt their service to the conditions in their local markets. And by requiring AM broadcasters to give their listeners advance notice if a station will no longer be available on analog receivers, we ensure that any transition will be consumer-friendly. We also clarify a number of technical specifications for digital broadcasting to ensure clear signals with minimal interference. In short, what we’re doing today is enabling commercial AM radio—which will turn 100 years old next week—to compete in a digital media landscape, hopefully presaging another century of AM radio."
In response to the approval by the Federal Communications Commission of an order allowing broadcast AM radio stations to voluntarily adopt all-digital transmission, the following statement can be attributed to NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith:
“We applaud the FCC for approving this order allowing AM radio stations to voluntarily transition to all-digital service. The order provides AM stations with essential flexibility to provide interference-free broadcasts and attract new listeners. Radio broadcasters are grateful to Chairman Pai for championing AM radio during his tenure at the FCC and thank him for successfully implementing policies to help revitalize AM stations.”
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