Genesee Media Corp. President Brian P. McGlynn has submitted comments in support of RM No. 11779, writing that “GMC emphatically supports the adoption of synchronous booster technology and mandatory carrier synchronization for the AM broadcast service.”
He was reponding to the proposed Amendment of Part 73 to Permit Permanent Licensing of AM Synchronous Booster Stations, giving the perspective of a local broadcaster with stations in the medium-sized Rochester, N.Y., market.
GMC supports the Kintronic Laboratories proposal to immediately open local synchronous booster stations to permanent licenses. McGlynn writes that “GMC sees immediate benefit in the use of synchronized transmission facilities to supplement coverage in dense areas.” He explains this would permit stations like WRSB to increase nighttime coverage without substantial expense.
He also is in favor of the second Kintronic proposal to mandate regional/national synchronization of all AM stations. McGlynn says the benefits for AM will outweigh the downsides for broadcast, comparing it to “the mandated transition to CAP-based EAS and the transition to HD television.” He writes that “GMC sees the incremental costs to implement GPS-locked carriers as a net benefit to the entire industry and not an undue burden.”
His comments note that the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers has also shared data in support of both Kintronic proposals.
McGlynn calls this solution “a reasonable way to boost nighttime signals in critical areas of the service area without substantial capital outlay for complex arrays” and concludes, “We believe that failure to adopt these proposals would leave the service with antiquated technical standards and unable to address the challenges of the modern communications user.”
In a related development, Wilfredo G. Blanc-Pi recently submitted a petition to review the FCC’s order that he shut down his own AM synchronous boosters in Puerto Rico on May 7, and he requests an order to stay, permitting the continuous operation of the boosters until the initiated rulemaking is concluded. (As we reported earlier, Blanco-Pi lost his experimental licenses.)
He argues that both the logic behind the shutdown order and the order itself are incorrect. He also alleges that Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle, who ordered the shutdown, is being “selective and discriminatory” in this decision, since no boosters in the continental U.S. have been similarly ordered to cease operations.
At this time, it does not appear that the petition to review was granted by the requested May 7 date.
