Some To Get Low-Power Radio License

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” The 5,000 residents in Don Thomas' hometown of Powell, Wyo., don't have too many places to stop when they turn the knob on their radio dial. <br><br>``We're in a part of

Friday, December 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” The 5,000 residents in Don Thomas' hometown of Powell, Wyo., don't have too many places to stop when they turn the knob on their radio dial.

``We're in a part of the country where there is very little access to the media,'' said Thomas, pastor at the Trinity Bible Church in Powell.

But Powell and the 75 members in his congregation hope to bring new programming â€” including live worship services and tapes of books for blind listeners â€” to the local airwaves with their own micro-radio station. The church was among 255 candidates selected by the government Thursday to build and run low-power stations serving, despite congressional restrictions on the new broadcast service.

The Federal Communications Commission selected its first round of candidates, even as the president signed a measure that substantially scaled back the agency's original plan.

Commercial broadcasters had warned that the initiative, as envisioned initially by the FCC, would cause harmful interference to their existing full-power FM stations. Lawmakers inserted language during budget negotiations that barred the agency from encroaching on the buffer zones that currently surround commercial stations.

But the FCC may still authorize a smaller number of stations in places where there is no such conflict â€” primarily in areas of the country that don't have much congestion on the airwaves.

In the 20 states covered by Thursday's action, the commission selected applications â€” within the parameters set by the law â€” for 255 stations from a pool 1,200 candidates. They will receive their construction permits for the stations after a 30-day comment period.

FCC Chairman William Kennard, said such licensing ``will benefit our communities and enhance the diversity of our society.''

School districts, musical arts associations, and ethnic organizations are among the chosen applicants. Community groups, churches and schools had vied for the low-power stations, seeking to fill gaps in their local news and programming. Government agencies that wanted to offer public safety or traffic information also were allowed to compete.

The commission did not have to choose between competing applications for the same channel in this round of the selection process, but the agency is still looking at cases where two groups had sought a low-power license for the same locality.

``A radio station is a way we can become involved in the community,'' said Dan Baer, who next year will become the media and technical services director at First Baptist Church in Stockton, Calif.

Baer anticipates the new station there could be used for talk-shows on marriage and family life, call-in programs that allow young adults to speak with their peers and special shows for seniors during the middle of the day. The station could even offer a show on financial issues.

Now, groups must focus on gathering funds to build new stations â€” which can cost $5,000 to $35,000. But since they operate at 50 to 100 watts, they shouldn't cost as much to run, Baer says. For a service that can cover a local area 24 hours a day, ``it is an incredible deal,'' he said.

The original proposal adopted by the FCC in January was expected to allow for more than 1,000 stations nationwide. But it met with fierce congressional and legal challenges from commercial broadcasters. Public radio also complained it could interfere with the reading services for the blind delivered on subcarrier channels.

Under the legislation, it is unclear how many stations the FCC will authorize. The agency can also experiment with removing the cushions that protect FM stations in nine test markets and report to Congress on any resulting economic impact or interference. Lawmakers would then have to decide whether to introduce new legislation allowing the agency to license more micro-radio stations.

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On the Net: The accepted applications can be found on the FCC Web site: http://www.fcc.gov