CEMA Urges FCC To Continue Protecting FM Radio Listeners From Objectionable InterferenceStudy Finds That Consumers' Radio Receivers Are Incompatible With Proposed Low Power FM Service

CopyCiting the results of its recent FM receiver interference study, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to maintain current protections limiting the radio frequency (RF) interference created by FM broadcasts.The FCC is considering eliminating some protections against FM interference in order to issue new low power FM (LPFM) broadcast licenses that would allow community radio stations to broadcast on or near the radio frequencies currently occupied by traditional FM radio stations. CEMA's study, initiated with support from National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, found that lifting the current protections would result in the severe degradation of FM radio service to the listening public. CEMA detailed the study's findings and its concerns about the LPFM proposal in a filing submitted to the FCC last week. ""CEMA does not object in principal to the creation of a low power FM radio service, but we believe lifting the interference restrictions to do so would adversely effect consumers' investment in the 710 million FM receivers currently in use in the United States,"" explained Gary Shapiro, CEMA President. ""We have found that current home, portable and mobile FM receivers would not be able to distinguish LPFM signals from the signals of established commercial radio stations, thus limiting consumers' ability to listen to either source.""At issue are the second adjacent, third adjacent and intermediate frequency channel protections currently mandated by the FCC. These rules specify the acceptable relative signal strength levels of stations broadcasting on neighboring radio frequencies. The rules are designed to provide enough geographic distance and/or radio frequency separation for FM receivers to reject unwanted signals in favor of the selected programming. ""The current restrictions are the minimum required to prevent stations from interfering with each other,"" noted Ralph Justus, CEMA director of Technology and Standards. ""Our tests found that even modern FM radios will experience extensive objectionable interference if the LPFM service is deployed as proposed. Further, the LPFM service would threaten some emerging digital broadcast formats that could bring consumers more services and higher quality than is currently possible,"" Justus continued. ""Community radio is definitely a worthy use of the public airwaves,"" added Shapiro. ""But digital technologies offer consumers more services and higher quality within a limited amount of bandwidth. The proliferation of real-time services on the Internet demonstrates how inexpensive, accessible and flexible consumer services can become once a digital infrastructure is in place."" More information on CEMA's LPFM study will be posted shortly on www.CEMAcity.org. CEMA's filing with the FCC also can be viewed at this site. For more information on the filing, visit the FCC's Web site and enter procedure number 99-25 for complete details.