Don’t Touch That Dial! Low-Power Radio Is About to Make FM Hot Again

Later this year, the Federal Communications Commission will begin distributing licenses to registered nonprofit organizations that want to start low-power FM radio stations.

The goal is to dot the country with 100-watt transmitters, primarily in urban areas, and restore some of the diversity lost to corporate consolidation of radio. “It’s the largest expansion of community radio in this country’s history,” said Ian Smith, program director of Prometheus Radio, which has been lobbying the government for more than a decade to permit such stations. Broadcasting would, ideally, be done in addition to streaming, extending the reach – and effectiveness – of community organizations and activists, some of which also publish newspapers. “Our vision is a nationwide network of multimedia centers that incorporate local radio,” he said. “For radio to maintain its relevancy, it has to be incorporated into a larger toolkit.” This may well be the last distribution of FM radio licenses by the FCC, so competition will be intense.