[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6533 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.6533
One Hundred Eleventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten
An Act
To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications
Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Local Community Radio Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.
Section 632 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the
Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law
106-553; 114 Stat. 2762A-111), is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 632. (a) The Federal Communications Commission shall modify
the rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations, as
proposed in MM Docket No. 99-25, to--
``(1) prescribe protection for co-channels and first- and
second-adjacent channels; and
``(2) prohibit any applicant from obtaining a low-power FM
license if the applicant has engaged in any manner in the
unlicensed operation of any station in violation of section 301 of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301).
``(b) Any license that was issued by the Federal Communications
Commission to a low-power FM station prior to April 2, 2001, and that
does not comply with the modifications adopted by the Commission in MM
Docket No. 99-25 on April 2, 2001, shall remain invalid.''.
SEC. 3. MINIMUM DISTANCE SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Federal Communications Commission shall modify
its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation
requirements between--
(1) low-power FM stations; and
(2) full-service FM stations, FM translator stations, and FM
booster stations.
(b) Restriction.--
(1) In general.--The Federal Communications Commission shall
not amend its rules to reduce the minimum co-channel and first- and
second-adjacent channel distance separation requirements in effect
on the date of enactment of this Act between--
(A) low-power FM stations; and
(B) full-service FM stations.
(2) Waiver.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Federal
Communications Commission may grant a waiver of the second-
adjacent channel distance separation requirement to low-power
FM stations that establish, using methods of predicting
interference taking into account all relevant factors,
including terrain-sensitive propagation models, that their
proposed operations will not result in interference to any
authorized radio service.
(B) Requirements.--
(i) Suspension.--Any low-power FM station that receives
a waiver under subparagraph (A) shall be required to
suspend operation immediately upon notification by the
Federal Communications Commission that it is causing
interference to the reception of an existing or modified
full-service FM station without regard to the location of
the station receiving interference.
(ii) Elimination of interference.--A low-power FM
station described in clause (i) shall not resume operation
until such interference has been eliminated or it can
demonstrate to the Federal Communications Commission that
the interference was not due to emissions from the low-
power FM station, except that such station may make short
test transmissions during the period of suspended operation
to check the efficacy of remedial measures.
(iii) Notification.--Upon receipt of a complaint of
interference from a low-power FM station operating pursuant
to a waiver authorized under subparagraph (A), the Federal
Communications Commission shall notify the identified low-
power FM station by telephone or other electronic
communication within 1 business day.
SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF RADIO READING SERVICES.
The Federal Communications Commission shall comply with its
existing minimum distance separation requirements for full-service FM
stations, FM translator stations, and FM booster stations that
broadcast radio reading services via an analog subcarrier frequency to
avoid potential interference by low-power FM stations.
SEC. 5. ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF SPECTRUM FOR LOW-POWER FM STATIONS.
The Federal Communications Commission, when licensing new FM
translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations,
shall ensure that--
(1) licenses are available to FM translator stations, FM
booster stations, and low-power FM stations;
(2) such decisions are made based on the needs of the local
community; and
(3) FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power
FM stations remain equal in status and secondary to existing and
modified full-service FM stations.
SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF TRANSLATOR INPUT SIGNALS.
The Federal Communications Commission shall modify its rules to
address the potential for predicted interference to FM translator input
signals on third-adjacent channels set forth in section 2.7 of the
technical report entitled ``Experimental Measurements of the Third-
Adjacent Channel Impacts of Low-Power FM Stations, Volume One--Final
Report (May 2003)''.
SEC. 7. ENSURING EFFECTIVE REMEDIATION OF INTERFERENCE.
The Federal Communications Commission shall modify the interference
complaint process described in section 73.810 of its rules (47 CFR
73.810) as follows:
(1) With respect to those low-power FM stations licensed at
locations that do not satisfy third-adjacent channel spacing
requirements under section 73.807 of the Commission's rules (47 CFR
73.807), the Federal Communications Commission shall provide the
same interference protections that FM translator stations and FM
booster stations are required to provide as set forth in section
74.1203 of its rules (47 CFR 74.1203) as in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act.
(2) For a period of 1 year after a new low-power FM station is
constructed on a third-adjacent channel, such low-power FM station
shall be required to broadcast periodic announcements that alert
listeners that interference that they may be experiencing could be
the result of the operation of such low-power FM station on a
third-adjacent channel and shall instruct affected listeners to
contact such low-power FM station to report any interference. The
Federal Communications Commission shall require all newly
constructed low-power FM stations on third-adjacent channels to--
(A) notify the Federal Communications Commission and all
affected stations on third-adjacent channels of an interference
complaint by electronic communication within 48 hours after the
receipt of such complaint; and
(B) cooperate in addressing any such interference.
(3) Low-power FM stations on third-adjacent channels shall be
required to address complaints of interference within the protected
contour of an affected station and shall be encouraged to address
all other interference complaints, including complaints to the
Federal Communications Commission based on interference to a full-
service FM station, an FM translator station, or an FM booster
station by the transmitter site of a low-power FM station on a
third-adjacent channel at any distance from the full-service FM
station, FM translator station, or FM booster station. The Federal
Communications Commission shall provide notice to the licensee of a
low-power FM station of the existence of such interference within 7
calendar days of the receipt of a complaint from a listener or
another station.
(4) To the extent possible, the Federal Communications
Commission shall grant low-power FM stations on third-adjacent
channels the technical flexibility to remediate interference
through the colocation of the transmission facilities of the low-
power FM station and any stations on third-adjacent channels.
(5) The Federal Communications Commission shall--
(A) permit the submission of informal evidence of
interference, including any engineering analysis that an
affected station may commission;
(B) accept complaints based on interference to a full-
service FM station, FM translator station, or FM booster
station by the transmitter site of a low-power FM station on a
third-adjacent channel at any distance from the full-service FM
station, FM translator station, or FM booster station; and
(C) accept complaints of interference to mobile reception.
(6) The Federal Communications Commission shall for full-
service FM stations that are licensed in significantly populated
States with more than 3,000,000 population and a population density
greater than 1,000 people per one square mile land area, require
all low-power FM stations licensed after the date of enactment of
this Act and located on third-adjacent, second-adjacent, first-
adjacent, or co-channels to such full-service FM stations, to
provide the same interference remediation requirements to
complaints of interference, without regard to whether such
complaints of interference occur within or outside of the protected
contour of such stations, under the same interference complaint and
remediation procedures that FM translator stations and FM booster
stations are required to provide to full-service stations as set
forth in section 74.1203 of its rules (47 CFR 74.1203) as in effect
on the date of enactment of this Act. Notwithstanding the
provisions of section 74.1203, no interference that arises outside
the relevant distance for the full-service station class specified
in the first column titled ``required'' for ``Co-channel minimum
separation (km)'' in the table listed in section 73.807(a)(1) of
the Commission's rules (47 CFR 73.807(a)(1)) shall require
remediation.
SEC. 8. FCC STUDY ON IMPACT OF LOW-POWER FM STATIONS ON FULL-SERVICE
COMMERCIAL FM STATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Federal Communications Commission shall
conduct an economic study on the impact that low-power FM stations will
have on full-service commercial FM stations.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall submit a report
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate
and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives on the study conducted under subsection (a).
(c) Licensing Not Affected by Study.--Nothing in this section shall
affect the licensing of new low-power FM stations as otherwise
permitted under this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.