I have read all 74 pages of the FCC's "AM Revitilatization" proposal and have a couple of views. I won't go page by page as it would be pointless, like much of the plan.
1-you can't save AM by moving station simulcasts to FM translators.
2-the modifications of the day time and night time coverage standards is only going to cause additional inference to adjacent channels.
3-the elimination of the "ratchet rule" only reminds one of the old saying, "the rich get richer". It essentially makes the Class A and B stations all the more powerful.
The adoption of the MDCL Technologies is long over due. Modulation Dependent Carrier Level Control is a technology that can vary either the carrier or the carrier side band power levels as a function of the modulation level, which allows the station to reduce transmitter power consumption while maintaining audio quality and signal coverage. Why it has taken this long is anybody's guess.
The central point of "AM Revitalization" is that AM radio is in trouble, not because of FCC regulation, but because of AM station owners and management. AM station owners have allowed (many of) their stations to fall apart (technically) which affects their signals, their sound quality and causes adjacent band interence. Nothing the FCC can do will ever fix stupid.
This proposal isn't going to "Revitilalize" AM radio. Only AM station owners can save themselves and they gave up years ago. There are well over a hundred AM stations that are off the air and flying under the FCC's radar. If no one is listening, no one is going to notice the station is off the air. Ask any AM/FM station broker how many stations they have listed that are not on the air and haven't been for over a year. The FCC rule says that if its been off the air for a year, the license goes back to the FCC. But if no one notices the FCC doesn't know. Those stations in Virginia Beach (AM1450 & AM1550) have been off the air for 6-years now but the FCC has never acknowledged it or put the licenses back on the market. There is an AM in Dothan, AL in the same situation. But the folks who hold the license have been trying to sell is for as long as its been off the air(4-years).
I would say that as these frequencies open up, the LPAM movement will have some breathing room and open frequencies. But the learning curve for AM is monumental compared the FM. But good luck!
