Thematic Areas
Short Description / Abstract
The Local Community Radio Act is the bill that opened the airwaves for hundreds of new low power radio stations across the country, bringing community radio to urban areas for the first time. The bill repeals restrictions on the Low Power FM spectrum put in place by Congress in 2000 at the behest of commercial broadcasters. The restrictions unfairly limited the frequencies available to Low Power FM stations by allowing low power stations on every fourth frequency instead of every third. This meant that if there was a full power station on 91.3, an Low Power FM station must be 4 clicks away on the dial at 92.1, instead of three clicks away, at 91.9 (you only count odd numbers on the US radio dial). These restrictions are called third adjacency restrictions, because 91.9 is the third adjacent channel, and 92.1 is the fourth. Passage of the Local Community Radio Act allows Low Power FM stations on third adjacent channels across the US.
