James Delahunty
15 Feb 2007 14:47
Terrestrial radio stations/broadcasters are once again showing off their fear of digital radio by attempting to convince Government to limit their potential offerings. Specifically, a new bill introduced to the U.S. Congress, titled "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2007," H.R. 983, aims to ban services like XM and Sirius from offering "locally differentiated services".
The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) and Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) and unsurprisingly has received backing from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). The backers claim the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) only intended satellite radio services to provide national programming.
Local services include weather programming, traffic alerts and other public safety information. An example of how satellite services offering such services can be beneficial over terrestrial broadcasters is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when they became an important resource as other local stations were knocked off the air.
Source:
Ars Technica