AM Interference Test Plan Gets Two-Way Radio Group Support
An interference testing plan for AM stations and wireless towers picked up further support, as a body representing two-way radio user groups said it likes the proposal (CD Sept 17 p2). The Land Mobile Communications Council is poised to back a broadcaster plan asking the FCC to require use of computer models to test for interference by wireless towers and other antennas near AM transmitters. A reworked plan that the AM Directional Antenna Performance Verification Coalition sent Sept. 7 to the FCC addressed concerns that two-way radio operators had expressed, said LMCC President Ralph Haller.
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At the council’s next meeting, officials probably will discuss whether members need to vote on formally supporting the AM coalition’s proposal, said Haller. That seems unlikely since members already approved the group’s July 9 comments in FCC docket 93-177, said Haller. That filing proposed changes in the AM group’s initial proposal, which were made, he said. “The new proposal is very consistent with what we filed,” said Haller. “Reaction to the revised proposal is positive.” The council includes lobbyists for police and fire users of emergency radios and private systems used by taxi and other companies, he said. Members, with thousands of two-way antennas, include the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Utilities Telecom Council, and the Forestry-Conservation Communications Association, headed by Haller.
All groups heavily involved in talks on moment-method modeling protocol now publicly support the AM broadcasters’ proposal. The Wireless Communications Association likes the plan, Paul Sinderbrand, a lawyer for the group, said Friday. In a late Monday FCC filing, WCA endorsed the modified AM Coalition proposal, although it said it still has concerns. The plan is “a reasonable middle ground and should be adopted by the Commission,” WCA said. The radio coalition hopes AM stations and tower operators will save by using computer programs to check for interference rather than take physical measurements in the field, costly in time and money. Council member PCIA, on behalf of wireless tower owners, said last week it supports the plan. The council wants the FCC to update its website so two-way radio antenna owners can plug in coordinates to see whether they're near AM transmitters.
If approved by commissioners, the rules would require for the first time that owners of two-way radio towers whose services aren’t sold to third parties take responsibility for minimizing interference with nearby AM stations, said Haller. FCC rules now don’t say which, if any, tests such Part 90 operators must perform, he said. “There would be a clear-cut rule that would allow everybody to know whether they are going to cause a problem to an AM station or not,” Haller said. “Once a tower is constructed and it’s found to be causing a problem to an AM antenna, nobody wins.” - Jonathan Make