Subject: [NEXTEL-1] House Intros Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 18:55:10 -0500

News

House Intros Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act

Washington - Mar 24, 2004 - H. R. 4026 has been introduced to the
House of Representatives by Charles Pickering of Mississippi and
Gene Green of Texas. Called House Intros Local Emergency Radio
Service Preservation Act of 2004, the description of the act states that

its purpose is to "preserve local radio broadcast emergency and other
services and to require the Federal Communications Commission to
conduct a rulemaking for that purpose."

The bill declares that a primary objective and benefit of the nation's
regulation of radio broadcasting is the local origination of
programming. There is a substantial governmental interest in
ensuring its continuation. The bill goes on to cite the importance of
local radio broadcasts because of the relevancy to the communities
they serve and because of the penetration of radio receivers in
consumer use.

The main point of the bill is to limit the ability of the satellite
radio
providers to distribute local traffic and weather services. If enacted,
the bill would require the FCC to complete a rulemaking proceeding
to determine whether digital audio radio satellite service licensees
should be permitted to provide locally oriented services on nationally
distributed channels, taking into account several points:
the effect of locally-oriented satellite radio services on the viability

of local radio broadcast stations and their ability to provide news and
other services to the public the ability of digital audio radio
satellite service licensees to afford
listeners the same emergency and other information as is afforded
listeners of local broadcast radio stations whether digital audio radio
satellite service licensees committed to providing only national
services
to obtain authorization for their servicewhether the same level and
quality of emergency communications
services could be provided to consumers by digital audio radio
satellite service licensees as by local broadcast radio stations.

The debate is not a new one. The NAB has already issued a
statement supporting the act.

http://beradio.com/ar/radio_currents_59/index.htm#house#house
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