NAB issues reply comments on nighttime IBOC
The NAB has issued reply comments to the FCC on recommendations for AM nighttime IBOC digital radio service. NAB reiterates its recommendation that the FCC extend the current interim authorization for IBOC service to permit nighttime AM IBOC broadcasts by all AM stations currently authorized for nighttime service, with an appropriate case-by-case interference resolution procedure to address unexpected instances of interference.
We provide some excerpts:
"NAB remains resolute in its belief that AM IBOC can be transformative for the AM service and, to be successful, AM IBOC needs the continuity of daytime and nighttime service. We also believe that the benefits to be gained for AM listeners and AM broadcasters will prove, over time, to far outweigh the limited additional interference predicted by iBiquity Digital Corporation's technical reports. We recognize that the mercurial nature of AM nighttime propagation may produce additional unexpected interference that will need to be addressed by an FCC
resolution process. We believe, however, that, as AM broadcasters and listeners convert to IBOC on a gradual basis, both the Commission and broadcasters will become more and more confident that AM IBOC offers benefits to core AM listening areas that will be well worth the effort to deal with limited additional interference.
On the basis of the evidence before us now, NAB believes that the FCC, broadcasters and listeners all will find the new hybrid digital AM broadcasts to be so dramatically superior that the analog AM service will pale in comparison. We believe that the concerns that have been expressed in comments on the instant Notice will pale as well. Swift authorization of interim AM IBOC nighttime service will give the FCC and broadcasters valuable experience with nighttime AM IBOC broadcasts in advance of permanent authorization of the service and the later finalization of IBOC technical rules, including those for interference resolution. There are AM IBOC broadcasters who are ready to proceed with initiation of nighttime service, and NAB urges that they be authorized to do so, without delay.
Now is the time for AM to reach a digital future. NAB thus strongly supports the FCC's moving ahead expeditiously to authorize AM IBOC operations at night on an interim basis, with notification to the FCC, and with an appropriate interim interference resolution process. With a swift interim authorization of nighttime AM IBOC, AM IBOC stations can quickly begin a continuous digital service, other AM broadcasters can convert to IBOC knowing their investment will result in a full time service and manufacturers can confidently include AM in their plans for introducing and supporting digital radio. AM listeners and AM broadcasters will be the beneficiaries."
RBR observation:
As mentioned by a few broadcasters in our August print issue, a potentially bigger problem than nighttime skywave interference is daytime interference, believe it or not. Because there are only a few AM stations currently broadcasting in digital, the problem doesn't seem to be a big one yet. Digital signals, while they are allowed to in the FCC rules, tend to bleed excessively up and down the dial from their host station, especially within a 5-10 mile radius of the transmitter. The problem is that bleeding interferes with other stations on the dial. In large markets where there are sometimes dozens of local AMs, if added HD Radio, it would reduce other stations' coverage areas. If analog listeners all of a sudden hear an underlying (or overbearing) hiss on their favorite station, they are likely to turn it off. Our suggestion: where this becomes a problem with certain stations in certain markets, the analog stations that can prove interference problems should be able to up their power a bit under special temporary authority.
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