What is low-power FM?
The FCC established LPFM as a noncommercial educational service to create opportunities for new voices on the airwaves and to allow local groups to provide programming responsive to local community needs and interests. Back in 1978, the FCC repealed the Class D licenses that once permitted low-power FM stations in the United States. After two decades of pirate radio broadcasts and persistent grass-roots lobbying, FCC chairman (and low-power radio enthusiast) William E. Kennard opened a one-time 30-day application window for licensed 100 watt noncommercial radio stations. Protest from the National Association of Broadcasters has since eliminated nearly all of the remaining LPFM bandwidth in metropolitan areas. The Radiator is the only chance Burlington will be given to develop this opportunity.
