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Radio Currents Online - Oct 11 - Oct 17, 2004 Oct 11, 2004 3:36 PM Radio technology news updated as it happens. Click here to view the Currents Online archive. Click here to receive the Currents Online Weekly E-mail. News
FCC Adopts Rules for BPL
The FCC views its move as "an important step toward increasing the availability of broadband to wider areas of the country because power lines reach virtually every home and community." The FCC also looks to BPL as a way to promote competition in the broadband marketplace. In the Report and Order adopting these changes, the Commission recognized the significant concerns of some licensed radio service users regarding the potential of Access BPL systems to cause interference to their operations. The Commission stated that its intention in adopting the Part 15 rule changes was to ensure that Access BPL operations do not become a source of harmful interference to licensed radio services. Based on extensive research and analyses, as well as experience, it concluded that the interference concerns of licensed radio users can be adequately addressed and that Access BPL systems will be able to operate successfully on an unlicensed, non?interference basis under the Part 15 model. The rule changes in the Order establish specific technical and administrative requirements for Access BPL equipment and operators to ensure that interference does not occur and, should it occur, to provide for a timely resolution of that harmful interference without disruption of service to Access BPL subscribers. The Order also sets forth procedures to measure the radio frequency (RF) energy emitted by Access BPL equipment. The Commission's Orders outlines the following: Commissioner Copps dissented in part and approved in part. A joint statement was issued by Chairman Powell and Commissioner Abernathy. Separate statements were issued by Commissioners Copps, Martin and Adelstein. Copps noted that the United States ranks 11th in broadband penetration in the World, which is why he supports elements of the BPL Order. However, he is cognizant of the potential for interference to existing radio services. If interference complaints arise, he notes that they must be resolved by the FCC immediately and not allowed to take years. Finally, Copps noted that there are several key items that are not addressed in the Order, specifically, he noted that there will be costs involved in creating the service that should not be distributed to electricity users across the board. Likewise, there will be situations of subsidy between regulated and non-regulated entities, which could be problematic. ET Docket No. 04-37
FCC Lifts 301, 314 and 315 Filing Freeze
All pending commercial radio station applications filed on the June 2002 versions of these forms must be amended to demonstrate compliance with the new local radio ownership rules or to request a waiver of these rules. Pending commercial television station applications also must be amended to demonstrate compliance with the joint radio-television ownership rule if the applicant also holds an attributable interest in any radio stations in the same market. Joint sales agreements now count toward ownership caps within a market. DA 04-3204
FBI Investigates Houston Transmitter Break-ins
In most cases, the trespassers did nothing more than throw circuit breakers and steal the log book. Some believe that these acts are part of a larger scheme that could involve Homeland Security. Any information on the crimes should be reported to the Houston FBI through www.ctighouston.org.
Radio at AES
On Oct. 28 from 1:30 to 3 p.m., the session Opportunities for the Engineer in the Digital Broadcast World will address shifting job prospects and the training necessary for a successful career in broadcasting today. The panel will include Andy Butler of PBS, Tony Masiello of XM Radio, Glynn Walden of Viacom/Infinity, David Wilson of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and David Layer of the NAB and NRSC. On Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Bialik will moderate the 14th AES Digital Broadcast Radio Forum. On hand to discuss the ongoing evolution and the future potential of digital radio will be a panel including David Layer of the NAB and NRSC, Mike Starling of NPR, Scott Stull of Ibiquity; Tony Masiello of XM and David Wilson of the CEA. On Saturday, Oct. 30, the session Surround Sound for Digital Radio will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. Emil Torick will be the moderator. The panelists will include Robert Orban of Orban, Rocky Graham of Dolby Labs, Frank Foti of Omnia Audio, Robert Reams of Neural Audio, Alan Kraemer of SRS Labs and Tony Masiello of XM Radio. They will discuss the introduction of surround sound to broadcasting, and its implications on the future of stereo. The panel will also explore various 5.1 systems currently in the market and their ability to interface with existing broadcast and bandwidth restraints. There is one final event likely to appeal to anyone with an interest in radio history. On Oct. 28 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Mike Adams will present an abstract called The Birth of Radio Broadcasting: Charles Herrold and the First Radio Station. In 1909 -- 10 years before licensed broadcasting and the first use of the word 'radio' -- an obscure inventor living in the Santa Clara Valley created a broadcast station. His design was based on a radio-telephone and used a water-cooled microphone comprised of six carbon buttons in a telephone-like handset.
Supreme Court Denies RIAA Appeal
A U.S. appeals court in December 2003 agreed with Verizon and ruled that the RIAA must file anonymous "John Doe" lawsuits to get customer names. The high court's action is not likely to seriously affect the recording-industry's legal campaign against Internet song swappers, as investigators have sued more than 5,000 unnamed individuals since the appeals court ruling. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal by the recording industry without any comment.
Indecency Proposals Die in Pre-election Scramble
The end for the controversial Broadcast Decency Act came after some senators raised First Amendment concerns and insisted that any legislation also include media ownership restrictions. With time running out for more pressing legislation, the complexities swamped the broadcast issues. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, opposed fining television performers up to $500,000 for a single indecency action. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) wanted current media ownership rules - not the new ones passed a year ago by the FCC - attached to any new law. That was too much for many lawmakers.
The 5kHz Debate Continues
Radio magazine received this letter: Without regard to AM IBOC operation (which may or may not be on the horizon for some or all of our numerous AM stations), we at Crawford Broadcasting Company have been experimenting with reduced audio bandwidth for some time now. Our experience mirrors that reported by Mr. Littlejohn. Except for what the very few listeners who use "wideband" receivers may observe, there is no observable penalty for reducing bandwidth to 5 or 6kHz. The gains are reduced interference, improved spectrum efficiency, loudness and clarity. As such, we have elected to join Clear Channel in reducing audio bandwidth on our talk format stations. The claim that modern AM radio receivers are severely limited in audio response is supported by a USA Digital report that was submitted to the NRSC in 1999. The analog audio response of several radio receivers was compared and charted. View the report at this link. Radio magazine continues to receive letters that state opposition to the Clear Channel and Crawford move. Some excerpts of these letters follow. "Jeff Littlejohn's contention that AM receivers have less than 5kHz frequency response ignores the multitude of people listening on AM stereo radios, AM wideband radios, and older AM radios that had great frequency response." Radio magazine welcomes all points of view at radio@primediabusiness.com.
Marconi Radio Award Winners Announced
The awards recognized radio's outstanding personalities and stations in 22 categories. An independent task force selected the finalists and ballots were sent to members of the NAB Marconi Radio Awards Selection Academy in August. The ballots were tabulated by RSM McGladrey.
Bob and Tom, hosts of Premier Radio Networks' syndicated morning show, The Bob and Tom Show, emceed the event. The show featured a performance by BMI singer/songwriters Larry Hoppen from Orleans, Jimmy Jamison from Survivor and solo recording artist Robbie Dupree, who teamed up to entertain radio broadcasters with some of their chart-topping songs at the annual radio awards ceremony. BMI sponsored the entertainment.
Mired in Controversy, Induce Act is Delayed
News reports said the legislation, rushed for completion before the Congressional election recess, fell victim to the clock, its complexity and the opposition that organized to defeat it. In its original form, the proposed law would hold technology companies liable for manufacturing products that encourage people to infringe upon copyrights. The language of the bill caused an uproar among technology and consumer advocates who contend it would kill technological innovation. Sen. Hatch invited interested parties to submit substitute language for the bill, then asked the two sides to work together to develop a compromise bill by last week. That failed to happen, with controversy over the proposed legislation wider than ever. Business
Liquid Acoustics Appoints Internet Distributor
Coles Ribbon Microphones Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Colin Beanland, who started the company, said, "It's been a great run for 40 years. Manufacturing the BBC-designed Coles 4038 studio ribbon microphones and Coles 4104b commentator's lip mics has been a very important and satisfying component of our business. Particularly fulfilling to me, however, has been designing our new Coles 4040 Ribbon Mic, which has received critical acclaim from the both the reviewers and our customers. Our hope is that it will become as popular as the 4038 studio ribbon mic. I am semi-retired now, and my son, Steven, is running the factory, and doing a fine job of it." Steve Beanland, the son of Coles founder Colin Beanland, runs the factory today. The company was established in 1964 as a tool making and general engineering company. Events led the company into the manufacturing of high quality microphones.
Neural Audio Moves to New Location
The Neural Audio facility includes an additional 3,000 square feet dedicated to test rooms designed for specific market applications. The rooms include: three ITU-R compatible sound rooms designed and manufactured by Acoustics Systems; an automotive Spatial Environment Engine Development System (SEEDS) listening room designed for multiple speaker configurations including rear-seat entertainment; a consumer 5.1 surround sound radio/TV living room; and a custom-designed headphone/earbud auditioning room. In addition, the space accommodates custom DTV, SDARS and HD Radio broadcast simulation environments for on-site, real-world transmission testing, codec evaluation and bench testing for real-time optimization. Neural Audio technology is marketed exclusively by Harris under the Neustar name.
Ibiquity Digital Named 17th Fastest-Growing Technology Company in Maryland
According to Deloitte, the Technology Fast 50 is a testament to a company's vision that allows growth over five years. To qualify for the Technology Fast 50, companies must have had operating revenues of at least $50,000 in 1999 and $1,000,000 in 2003, must be public or private companies headquartered in North America, and be a "technology company" defined as owning proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues (using other companies' technology in a unique way does not qualify); and/or devoting a significant proportion of revenues to research and development of technology.
Products
Orban Opticodec-PC Now Supports Shoutcast and Icecast2 Servers
The addition of the formats adds to its flexibility for netcasters to deliver to a wider audience.
Media Monitors Adds Newspaper Monitoring Web Service
The introduction of newspaper monitoring allows users to see newspaper ads as well as the ad's page number and relative position on the page. This information can then be directly viewed against radio spot placement and frequency for the same advertiser. The newspaper monitoring service will begin in New York, and be rolled out progressively in markets across the nation during 2005. Media Monitors already provides online radio airplay data to radio stations, radio group owners and newspapers including Greater Media, Emmis, Radio One and Clear Channel in New York City. Click here to receive the Radio magazine Currents Online Weekly E-mail. |
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