The FCC: Spectrum management in the public interest

Alternative title: Who will really benefit from all digital AM HD Radio™?

Remember when, at license renewal time, radio and TV stations played this announcement:

On (date of the last renewal grant), (station’s call letters) was granted a license by the Federal Communications Commission to serve the public interest as a public trustee until (license expiration date)…

Emphasis mine.

There seems to be a disassociation between those words and the actions of certain broadcasters who view their licenses as a matter of fact and have little regard for the public interest.  The FCC exacerbates the situation with the attitude that everything, including the entire radio frequency spectrum, is for sale to the highest bidder.  John Anderson (DIY Media) has a great article on how big business interests game federal regulators into doing what they want.  This happens in all sectors; banking, agriculture, energy, health care, media, military and so on.   There are many examples of shoddy regulators and big business gone wild over the last ten years to fully prove this theory.  If you don’t believe me, do a little research.  There is no reason to think that the FCC is different from any other federal regulatory agency.

The vast majority of mass media outlets in the US are owned by just six major corporations (see below).  Radio remains the only piece of the mass media system that has not been completely rolled up in consolidation.  Currently, there is a small number corporate radio owners who own a combined ~2,300 stations and one public broadcasting network that accounts for another ~900 stations. I include public radio here because the majority of those station’s upgrades were footed by the taxpayer though grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That leaves a majority of the approximately 8,500 radio stations that are still owned by a diversified collection of medium and small groups and individuals.

Forcing radio stations to adopt the proprietary, all digital HD Radio™ as the broadcasting standard would, in effect, drive many of those small owners and individuals out of business because of the exorbitant costs for equipment upgrades, antenna modifications, and licensing fees.  This would create a new wave of consolidation as smaller groups and single station owners sold out.  Any remaining small station owners will not have the legal wherewithal to fight against the coming waves of digital interference on both the AM (medium frequency) and FM (VHF) bands.

Therefore, the short answer to the question; who benefits from an all conversion to all digital HD Radio™ is iBquity and its investors, many of whom are found in the list of consolidated media corporations below.  Who looses? Just about everyone else; small and medium group owners, independent radio owners, listeners, communities of license, radio employees, advertisers etc. For those sitting on the fence, thinking “I’ll just do my job any everything will be just fine.”  Full implementation of HD Radio™ will destroy what is left of broadcasting in this country.  Radio is already on shaky ground as a result of product dilution, staff cuts, mediocre programing and competing media systems.  One more step backward, such as adopting a technically flawed digital system that works worse than its analog counterpart, and the remaining listeners may just say “screw this,” and abandon radio altogether.  When the last radio station is turned off, what do you think will happen to your job then?

At the big NAB Las Vegas confab, FCC commissioner Ajit Pai and to a lesser extent, Commissioner Rosenworcel, encouraged people to write or email them with their ideas on how to revitalize AM radio.  I suggest we take advantage of that invitation and tell them what HD Radio™ really is.  There is a shrinking window of opportunity to join the discourse and be heard, now is the time.

Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. ~John Stuart Mill

What is at stake?  The future of diversified media and radio broadcasting in the US.

Sidebar: Mass Media Consolidation

Can the public trust a mass media that is owned mostly by six mega corporations to honestly and without bias report news, current events, investigate corruption, and be a government watch dog?  History says no.

Who owns the media?

Time Warner

  • Home Box Office (HBO)
  • Time Inc.
  • Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
  • Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
  • CW Network (partial ownership)
  • TMZ
  • New Line Cinema
  • Time Warner Cable (spun off in 2009)
  • Cinemax
  • Cartoon Network
  • TBS
  • TNT
  • CNN
  • HLN
  • MapQuest
  • Moviefone
  • Castle Rock
  • Sports Illustrated
  • Fortune
  • Marie Claire
  • People Magazine

Walt Disney

  • ABC Television Network (8 stations owned, 200 affiliates)
  • Disney Publishing
  • ESPN Inc.
  • Disney Channel
  • Radio Disney (31 stations, 2 affiliates)
  • SOAPnet
  • A&E
  • Lifetime
  • Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  • Buena Vista Theatrical Productions
  • Buena Vista Records
  • Disney Records
  • Hollywood Records
  • Miramax Films
  • Touchstone Pictures
  • Walt Disney Pictures
  • Pixar Animation Studios
  • Buena Vista Games
  • Hyperion Books

Viacom

  • Paramount Pictures
  • Paramount Home Entertainment
  • Black Entertainment Television (BET)
  • Comedy Central
  • Country Music Television (CMT)
  • Logo
  • MTV
  • MTV Canada
  • MTV2
  • Nick Magazine
  • Nick at Nite
  • Nick Jr.
  • Nickelodeon
  • Noggin
  • Spike TV
  • The Movie Channel
  • TV Land
  • VH1

News Corporation

  • Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
  • Fox Television Stations (25 stations)
  • The New York Post
  • Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Beliefnet
  • Fox Business Network
  • Fox Kids Europe
  • Fox News Channel
  • Fox News Radio
  • Fox Sports Net
  • Fox Television Network (175 affiliates)
  • FX
  • My Network TV
  • MySpace
  • News Limited News
  • Phoenix InfoNews Channel
  • Phoenix Movies Channel
  • Sky PerfecTV
  • Speed Channel
  • STAR TV India
  • STAR TV Taiwan
  • STAR World
  • Times Higher Education Supplement Magazine
  • Times Literary Supplement Magazine
  • Times of London
  • 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  • 20th Century Fox International
  • 20th Century Fox Studios
  • 20th Century Fox Television
  • BSkyB
  • DIRECTV
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Fox Broadcasting Company
  • Fox Interactive Media
  • FOXTEL
  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • The National Geographic Channel
  • National Rugby League
  • News Interactive
  • News Outdoor
  • Radio Veronica
  • ReganBooks
  • Sky Italia
  • Sky Radio Denmark
  • Sky Radio Germany
  • Sky Radio Netherlands
  • STAR
  • Zondervan

CBS Corporation

  • CBS News
  • CBS Sports
  • CBS Television Network (16 stations owned, 200 affiliates)
  • CNET
  • Showtime
  • TV.com
  • CBS Radio Inc. (130 stations)
  • CBS Consumer Products
  • CBS Outdoor
  • CW Network (50% ownership)
  • Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books, Scribner)

NBC Universal

  • Bravo
  • CNBC
  • NBC News
  • MSNBC
  • NBC Sports
  • NBC Television Network (10 stations owned, 200 affiliates)
  • Oxygen
  • SciFi Magazine
  • Syfy (Sci Fi Channel)
  • Telemundo
  • USA Network
  • Weather Channel
  • Focus Features
  • NBC Universal Television Distribution
  • NBC Universal Television Studio
  • Paxson Communications (partial ownership)
  • Trio
  • Universal Parks & Resorts
  • Universal Pictures
  • Universal Studio Home Video

Large and medium group radio owners:

Bain Capital Partners, LLC Thomas H Lee Partners, LLC

  • Clear Channel Outdoor
  • Clear Channel Broadcasting (800 stations)
  • Premier Radio Networks
  • Radio Computer Services (RCS)

Cumulus Media (public)

  • Cumulus Broadcasting (550 stations)
  • Cumulus networks (formerly ABC Radio networks)
  • Broadcast Software International

Townsquare Media (220 stations)

Entercom (109 stations)

Salem Communications (97 stations)

Saga Communications (88 stations)

Univision (69 radio, 42 television stations)

Radio one (69 stations)

Family Broadcasting (63 stations)

Beasley Broadcast Group (47 stations)

Moody Radio (36 stations)

 

Servicing the UPS

A client of ours, WDST in Woodstock, NY, has this Best FE7KVA UPS. This unit is several years old and has already been through a couple of battery replacements.  These are good units, however, Best Power has been bought up by Eaton/Powerware and they are no longer made apparently are still made.

Best Power FE7KVA UPS
Best Power FE7KVA UPS

Regardless of that, the UPS is still functional, but like all UPS’s, it needs battery replacement every so often.  This unit has three battery cases, each holding four 75 Ah (20 hour rate) 12 volt sealed lead acid batteries.  Each battery is slightly larger than an average car battery.  There is one important detail here, the batteries must be gas recombinant because the UPS has a four stage battery charging system.  Gel or AGM batteries will not make it past the first or second equalizing charge.

Best Power FE7KVA individual battery
Best Power FE7KVA individual battery

A bit about batteries and battery charging.  Most battery chargers are three stage units; bulk, absorption, and float.  The rate of charge depends on the voltage of the battery.  Bulk charging sends the most current to the battery and for 12 volt cells, this anything below 12.5 volts or so.  Absorption stage reduces the charging current and supplies a steady current until the battery reaches full charge of 13.8 volts or so.  Float or trickle charging draws very little current, just enough to maintain the battery at full charge.

The forth stage of charging is equalizing which is important for multiple battery series/parallel installations.  This is when the batteries are deliberately overcharged for a period of time.  The reason for equalizing charges is to intentionally boil off some hydrogen gas and knock any sulfur crystals off of the lead plates.  With multiple battery banks in a parallel configuration, it is important to maintain the battery resistances as close as possible so that each bank of batteries is drawn on and charged equally.

In flooded lead acid batteries, this works well and the battery either vents off the hydrogen gas or recombines it will oxygen to make water again.  In non-gas recombinant cells, the hydrogen will be released into the room which may pose an explosion hazard.  Additionally, the electrolyte level will need to be checked after every equalization charge. With a sealed non-recombinant battery, the case my bulge and split, spilling electrolyte and ruining the battery and battery enclosure.  Thus the importance of ordering the correct replacement batteries.

Best Power FE7KVA UPS and battery enclosures
Best Power FE7KVA UPS and battery enclosures

After all, the reason for the UPS is to protect the expensive computer equipment connected to it.  It simply will not do to install the wrong stuff and do more damage than if the UPS did not exist at all.

Panopticon

I have read an interesting series of articles on something called Panopticon. This is a concept put forward by an English social engineer where a prison is built in such a way that allows all inmates to be observed at any time without knowing whether they are under observation.   Jeremy Bentham described it alternatively as “a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in quantity hitherto without example,” or “a mill for grinding rogues honest.”

Panopticon, courtesy of Wikipedia
Panopticon, courtesy of Wikipedia

A few examples were built and used for a while:

Presidio Modelo Prison, Cuba
Presidio Modelo Prison, Cuba

This is, of course, tied to the current situation that the nation finds itself in with the NSA. The defenders of these actions have two common refrains; nothing we did is against the law and if you are not doing anything wrong than you have nothing to fear. Both are wrong, of course.

First, the notion that constitutional rights can be regulated away is incorrect. The US Supreme Court has ruled that (Marbury V. Madison) in the Constitution, the people established a government of limited powers: “The powers of the Legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken or forgotten, the Constitution is written.” The limits established in the Constitution would be meaningless “if these limits may at any time be passed by those intended to be restrained.” Chief Justice John Marshall observed that the Constitution is “the fundamental and paramount law of the nation”, and that it cannot be altered by an ordinary act of the legislature. Therefore, “an act of the Legislature repugnant to the Constitution is void.” The limits of government intrusion provided in the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States stand, regardless of what the USA PATRIOT Act or any other recently passed federal legislation says.

Secondly, things have not ended well when a government has given itself this much power. In conjunction with the NSA’s all-seeing eye, the executive branch has also acquired the power to detain and hold indefinitely without charge anyone deemed a threat (defined as “terrorist”) to the government (NDAA 2012, 2013) and the ability to extra-judicially kill all they see fit (Justice Department: US drone strikes constitutional). Of course, neither of these things are constitutional either.

As the former East German Stasi officer Wolfgang Schmidt states “It is the height of naivete to think that once collected this information won’t be used.”  We have, through our own lethargy and inattention brought upon ourselves the overly attached government, only not as cute as that, something like this:

I will be your girlfriend
I will be your girlfriend

Heaven forbid.

I wrote, a while back, that we have not reached a Runnymede moment. I retract that statement, we have indeed reached a point in time where civil disobedience may be necessary in order to restore our constitutional republic.  The time for being safe, sitting on the fence, flying under the RADAR is over.  As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said:

And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?… The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If…if…We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation…. We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.

Let us not learn the hard way.