All-Digital AM Broadcasting, Revitalization of the AM Radio Service, 78022-78028 [2020-25252]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 233 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78022-78028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25252]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket Nos. 19-311, 13-249; FCC 20-154, FR ID 17233]


All-Digital AM Broadcasting, Revitalization of the AM Radio 
Service

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission provides an option for 
AM stations to broadcast using an all-digital signal.

DATES: Effective January 4, 2021, except for new rule Sec.  73.406. The 
Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
the effective date of the rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Bradshaw, Deputy Division Chief, 
Media Bureau, Audio Division (202) 418-2739; Christine Goepp, Attorney 
Advisor, Media Bureau, Audio Division, (202) 418-7834. For additional 
information concerning the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) information 
collection requirements contained in this document, contact Cathy 
Williams at 202-418-2918, or via the internet at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report 
and Order (R&O), MB Docket Nos. 19-311, 13-249; FCC 20-154, adopted on 
October 27, 2020, and released on October 28, 2020. The full text of 
the R&O will be available electronically via the FCC's Electronic 
Document Management System (EDOCS) website at https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/ or via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) 
website at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs. Alternative formats are available 
for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, 
audio format), by sending an email to [email protected] or calling the 
Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 
(voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

[[Page 78023]]

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The R&O contains new or modified information collection 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13, see 44 U.S.C. 3507. The Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, will invite the general 
public and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to comment on the 
information collection requirements contained in this document in a 
separate Federal Register Notice, as required by the PRA. These new or 
modified information collections will become effective after the 
Commission publishes a document in the Federal Register announcing such 
approval and the relevant effective date.
    In addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission 
previously sought specific comment on how the Commission might further 
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees.

Congressional Review Act

    The Commission will send a copy of the R&O to Congress and the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) pursuant to the Congressional 
Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Synopsis

    1. Introduction. In this R&O, the Commission adopts rules regarding 
all-digital AM broadcasting that it proposed in a notice of proposed 
rulemaking, FCC 19-123, 34 FCC Rcd 11560 (2019), 85 FR 649 (Jan. 7, 
2020) (NPRM). These rules allow AM stations, on a voluntary basis, to 
cease broadcasting an analog signal and broadcast using only an all-
digital signal in the HD Radio MA3 mode. This measure will benefit AM 
stations and their listeners by improving reception quality and 
listenable coverage in stations' service areas and will advance the 
Commission's goal of improving and modernizing the AM radio service. 
Currently, the AM broadcasting service suffers from interference and 
reception issues caused in part by increased emissions from various 
consumer electronic devices as well as broadcast sources. As a result, 
many AM stations are constrained to low-fidelity voice formats such as 
talk radio. Under the current rules, AM and FM stations are permitted 
to broadcast using either an analog signal or the hybrid analog and 
digital system licensed by Xperi Corporation under the brand name HD 
Radio. In the United States, the only technology for digital 
broadcasting in the AM and FM bands approved by the Commission is the 
HD Radio IBOC system. Although many FM stations have converted to 
hybrid broadcasting, various technical and other issues have prevented 
the widespread adoption of hybrid broadcasting by AM stations.
    2. Testing and experimental broadcasting indicate that all-digital 
AM transmission has the potential to improve signal ``robustness''--or 
resistance to interference and other impairments--as well as the 
ability to transmit auxiliary information to accompany the main audio 
programming. This robustness will result in a clearer signal for 
listeners and a greater area of listenable coverage compared to an 
analog signal. All-digital broadcasting will increase the format 
choices that AM broadcasters can offer to their audiences, including 
the option of music programming. Digital operation also eliminates the 
tradeoff between receiver audio bandwidth and noise performance. In 
addition, digital broadcasting allows visual and other metadata, such 
as song and artist identification, station identification, and 
emergency information, to be transmitted along with the audio content. 
Such auxiliary information is increasingly expected by consumers and 
considered to be a vital component of modern broadcasting. Finally, 
all-digital broadcasting will result in energy and spectrum 
efficiencies, because it provides additional and/or improved services 
over the same allocated frequencies.
    3. The Commission anticipates that potential loss of service to 
analog-only listeners will be mitigated by the gradual, voluntary 
nature of the transition, the financial interest of radio stations in 
reaching a wide audience, duplicate programming provided by co-owned AM 
stations, and analog broadcasts on FM translators affiliated with all-
digital AM stations.
    4. The Commission finds that a sufficient number of digital 
receivers are currently in use to support a voluntary option to convert 
to all-digital. Moreover, as the number of digital receivers increases, 
more markets will be able to support all-digital broadcasting. 
Similarly, the cost of conversion is not an impediment to providing a 
voluntary option to convert, because stations can make their own 
decisions whether to pursue all-digital operations based on their own 
financial and technical situation as well as the needs and interests of 
their audience and the number of digital receivers in their market. The 
Commission notes that at the time of adoption, Xperi has stated that it 
will waive licensing fees for AM stations that choose to go all-
digital.
    5. Operating and technical rules. In the R&O, the Commission 
establishes that the power limits for all-digital stations must be 
calculated using the average power of the all-digital signal, including 
the unmodulated analog carrier and all of the digital sidebands, to 
determine whether the station complies with the nominal power limits 
set out in Sec.  73.21 of the Commission's rules. Using the average 
power to calculate compliance with the nominal power limit will enable 
more stations to use existing transmitters for all-digital operations, 
thus reducing the cost of upgrading to all-digital and allowing more 
stations to convert. In addition, this method of calculating nominal 
power will result in a lower operating power for all-digital stations, 
which will be less likely to cause interference with analog signals 
while still maintaining improved listenable coverage areas.
    6. The Commission applies the emissions mask set out in Sec.  73.44 
of the Commission's rules to all-digital operations. This emissions 
mask attenuates--or limits--spectral emissions outside a bandwidth of 
20 kHz to the point where they do not cause significant adjacent 
channel interference. The Commission concludes that these emissions 
limits will adequately protect stations on adjacent channels from all-
digital interference. It declines to impose the stricter emissions 
limits set out in the HD Radio specifications, which may not be set at 
technically feasible levels and may need to be revisited in light of 
field data from all-digital experimental operation. Although testing 
indicates that the digital signals may cause some increased degradation 
to analog signals, in most cases this will be masked by the noise 
floor, and in any case there is no evidence that interference will 
occur within service areas that are currently protected under our 
rules.
    7. Recognizing that digital power measurement is an evolving and 
highly technical area, the Commission provides all-digital licensees 
the flexibility to choose any reliable and reasonably accurate method 
to measure their compliance with the Commission' operating power and 
power spectral density rules, including measurement tools integrated 
into digital transmitters, thermocouple RF ammeters, or averaging the 
power spectral density in a 300-Hz bandwidth over a minimum time span 
of 30 seconds and a minimum of 100 sweeps.
    8. Each all-digital station is obligated to provide at least one 
free over-the-air

[[Page 78024]]

digital programming stream that is comparable to or better in audio 
quality than a standard analog broadcast. Beyond this requirement, an 
all-digital licensee can use its additional digital bitrate capacity 
for either broadcast or non-broadcast services consistent with the 
Commission's technical rules. The Commission permits each AM 
broadcaster to select either core-only or enhanced mode transmission as 
their situation dictates.
    9. The Commission imposes the same carrier frequency tolerance 
applicable to analog and hybrid stations (20 Hz) on all-
digital AM stations. It declines to impose a 1 Hz AM 
carrier frequency tolerance standard on all AM stations as proposed in 
the NPRM, on the basis that the benefit to audio reception of doing so 
would not outweigh the burden on already struggling AM stations. The 
Commission also declines to incorporate by reference the National Radio 
Systems Committee's NRSC-5-D standard governing all-digital 
transmission into the Commission's rules, as proposed in the NPRM, 
finding that there is no need to do so and that--as a voluntary 
industry standard--the standard can be more readily updated in response 
to technological developments or operational feedback from all-digital 
stations.
    10. The Commission prohibits all-digital stations from causing 
interference as currently defined in the rules. Although testing 
indicates that the potential for co-channel interference is higher for 
all-digital than for analog, the Commission concludes that neither 
adjacent- or co-channel interference as defined in the rules is likely 
to occur. The potential for additional co-channel interference is 
mitigated in the presence of a high level of environmental noise, in 
which case the all-digital interference is likely to be subsumed by the 
overall noise floor, masking the interfering effect of the all-digital 
signal. However, if prohibited interference occurs, the Commission 
establishes a remediation procedure based on the procedures currently 
applicable to hybrid stations. Specifically, the Commission expects AM 
all-digital operators and complaining stations to work together to 
identify whether interference exists and to resolve it in a mutually 
acceptable fashion, including voluntary power reduction.
    11. The new rules permit up to 6 dB power reduction, without prior 
approval, in the all-digital secondary or tertiary sidebands (but not 
the primary digital sidebands) to avoid or resolve prohibited 
interference. The Commission expects that the gradual nature of the 
transition will enable it to resolve any immediate issues using 
existing rules and the remediation procedure. Both daytime and 
nighttime all-digital AM operation are permitted, and any prohibited 
interference resulting from nighttime skywave transmissions must be 
promptly resolved. Finding that the record demonstrates the technical 
feasibility of all-digital broadcasting, the Commission concludes that 
it is not in the public interest to delay implementation by requiring 
additional tests or require that stations undertake potentially 
expensive digital conversions under experimental licenses.
    12. All all-digital AM stations, like other broadcast stations, 
must participate in the nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS). This 
obligation extends to ensuring that any ``downstream'' EAS participant 
stations are capable of receiving and decoding EAS alerts from the all-
digital station or can adjust their monitoring assignments to receive 
EAS alerts from another nearby station. The Commission concludes that 
listeners will have sufficient access to EAS alerts without mandating 
that EAS alerts be transmitted using analog signals. In addition, all-
digital stations can transmit useful emergency information to listeners 
other than on the main audio stream, including, for example, text in 
multiple languages or images such as missing persons or evacuation 
routes.
    13. The Commission adopts a modified version of the current digital 
notification procedure for all-digital stations by adding a 30-day 
waiting period for certain operational changes. Specifically, it 
requires licensees to electronically file a digital notification, using 
the existing FCC Form 335-AM Digital Notification (or any successor 
notification), to notify the Commission of the following changes: (1) 
The commencement of new all-digital operation; (2) an increase in 
nominal power of an all-digital AM station; or (3) a transition from 
core-only to enhanced operating mode. All-digital AM notifications will 
be placed on a Commission public notice, and new operation may begin no 
sooner than 30 calendar days from the date of this public notice. This 
will minimize the paperwork required for all-digital AM conversions 
while giving local co-channel and adjacent channel stations time to 
gather baseline data on their existing coverage before the new all-
digital operation begins. Digital notification must be submitted within 
ten days of implementing all other changes, namely: (1) Any reduction 
in nominal power of an all-digital AM station; (2) a transition from 
enhanced to core-only operating mode; or (3) a reversion from all-
digital to hybrid or analog operation.
    14. Although the Commission directs broadcasters to use the current 
Form 335-AM for all-digital notifications, additional information is 
required for notification of all-digital operations specifically. 
Therefore, until the Form 335-AM is updated to display all-digital 
operation requirements, the Commission directs filers to select ``N/A'' 
as appropriate within the form and submit an attachment with the Form 
335-AM containing the following information: (1) The type of 
notification (all-digital notification, increase in nominal power, 
reduction in nominal power, transition from core-only to enhanced, 
transition from enhanced to core-only, reversion from all-digital to 
hybrid or analog operation); (2) the date that new or modified all-
digital operation will commence or has ceased; (3) a certification that 
the all-digital operations will conform to the relevant nominal power 
and spectral emissions limits; (4) the nominal power of the all-digital 
station; (5) a certification that the all-digital station complies with 
all EAS requirements; and (6) if a notification of commencement of new 
all-digital service or a nominal power change, whether the station is 
operating in core-only or enhanced mode.
    15. During the 30-day period established above, the Commission 
requires that an AM broadcaster commencing new all-digital operation 
must provide reasonable notice to its listeners that the station will 
be converting to all-digital operation and will no longer be available 
on analog receivers. Because broadcasters have a strong incentive to 
promote such a change to their listeners, the Commission gives them 
flexibility to use reasonable methods intended to reach their audience, 
including on-air and website announcements. However, in the event that 
the reasonableness of notice of conversion to all-digital operation is 
challenged, the Commission would consider it presumptively sufficient 
if the broadcaster provided at least the same amount of notice as that 
set out in Sec.  73.3580, the local public notice rule, with which 
broadcasters are already familiar.
    16. The Commission declined to consider alternative technologies to 
HD Radio, such as Digital Radio Mondiale, finding that in the absence 
of any data regarding DRM performance in the U.S. AM band, it cannot 
evaluate its merits. Because it is in the public interest to provide an 
immediate path forward for

[[Page 78025]]

AM stations to broadcast in all-digital as their circumstances allow, 
the Commission approves the HD Radio MA3 mode as the only currently 
feasible technology option before it, but does not foreclose the future 
consideration of alternative transmission technologies.

Procedural Matters

    17. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. As required by the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), an Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was incorporated into the NPRM 
in this proceeding. The Commission sought written public comment on the 
proposals in the NPRM, including comment on the IRFA. Because the 
Commission amended the rules in this Report and Order (R&O), it 
included this Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), which 
conforms to the RFA.
    18. Need for, and Objectives of, the R&O. The R&O adopts several 
rule changes to allow AM stations to voluntarily broadcast an all-
digital signal using the digital broadcasting technology known as HD 
Radio MA3. This action will improve the AM radio service by providing 
enhanced audio quality, increasing listenable reception areas, and 
allowing additional metadata textual information, such as song and 
artist identification, traffic services, and digital emergency alerts, 
to be transmitted along with the main audio programming. All-digital 
operation will increase the format choices that AM broadcasters can 
offer to their audiences, including the option of music programming. 
These greater capabilities will level the playing field between AM and 
FM signals from the listener's perspective, and help AM stations 
recapture audiences lost to FM radio, satellite radio, or online 
streaming services because of their higher sound fidelity and broader 
programming array. All-digital AM operation will also provide the full 
technological benefits of digital broadcasting while avoiding the 
shortcomings of the current analog or hybrid modes of transmission, 
which are more susceptible to noise and interference, more likely to 
cause interference to other stations, and place more demands on an AM 
station's transmission and antenna system.
    19. All-digital operation provides greater usable signal coverage, 
is energy- and spectrum-efficient, and will be supported by an ever-
increasing number of digital receivers. Since all-digital operation is 
completely voluntary, and the cost of conversion will vary from station 
to station, AM broadcasters will be able to decide whether conversion 
to all-digital meets their own needs and market demand. In the R&O, the 
Commission concludes that the public interest in the long-term 
viability of AM stations and the valuable services they provide, 
outweighs a possible loss of service to some current analog listeners 
as broadcasters and the listening public transition to an all-digital 
environment. All-digital service represents a significant and singular 
opportunity to preserve the AM service for future listeners. Any 
disruption to analog listeners will take place gradually, as AM 
stations individually decide their audience is ready to convert to all-
digital, with full notice to consumers and ample opportunity to adjust 
to the new technology.
    20. In the R&O, the Commission authorizes all-digital operations 
subject to the requirement that all-digital operations not cause 
prohibited interference to existing broadcast stations. In the unlikely 
event that such interference would occur, the Commission will apply 
current remediation procedures that encourage cooperation between the 
parties to resolve complaints and include an option to voluntarily 
reduce power. The Commission adopts the proposal in the NPRM that each 
all-digital station is obligated to provide at least one free over-the-
air digital programming stream that is comparable to or better in audio 
quality than a standard analog broadcast. It also mandates that all-
digital AM stations participate in the national Emergency Alert System 
(EAS).
    21. Although all-digital conversion is a purely voluntary process 
for individual AM stations, the Commission strongly supports an all-
digital future and affirms that the objective of the proceeding is a 
viable all-digital AM service. Supporting all-digital removes any 
regulatory uncertainty about the future of the AM HD Radio system and 
should give car companies and receiver manufacturers reassurance to 
invest in AM digital receivers. Thus, an all-digital environment will 
reduce the likelihood of interference while maximizing digital benefits 
such as an improved high-quality listener experience, signal 
robustness, reliable and listenable coverage, and superior audio 
quality.
    22. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in 
Response to the IRFA. There were no comments to the IRFA filed.
    23. Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration. Pursuant to the Small Business Jobs Act 
of 2010, which amended the RFA, the Commission is required to respond 
to any comments filed by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration (SBA), and to provide a detailed statement of 
any change made to the proposed rules as a result of those comments. 5 
U.S.C. 604(a)(3). The Chief Counsel did not file any comments in 
response to the proposed rules in this proceeding.
    24. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to 
Which the Proposed Rules Will Apply. The RFA directs the Commission to 
provide a description of and, where feasible, an estimate of the number 
of small entities that will be affected by the rules adopted herein. 
The RFA generally defines the term ``small entity'' as having the same 
meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and 
``small government jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small 
business'' has the same meaning as the term ``small business concern'' 
under the Small Business Act. A small business concern is one which: 
(1) Is independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its 
field of operation; and (3) satisfies any additional criteria 
established by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
    25. Radio Stations. Radio stations are an Economic Census category 
that ``comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting aural 
programs by radio to the public. Programming may originate in their own 
studio, from an affiliated network, or from external sources.'' The SBA 
has established a small business size standard for this category as 
firms having $41.5 million or less in annual receipts. Economic Census 
data for 2012 shows that 2,849 radio station firms operated during that 
year. Of that number, 2,806 operated with annual receipts of less than 
$25 million per year, and 43 firms had annual receipts of $25 million 
or more. Because the Census has no additional classifications that 
could serve as a basis for determining the number of stations whose 
receipts exceeded $41.5 million in that year, the Commission concludes 
that the majority of radio broadcast stations were small entities under 
the applicable SBA size standard.
    26. Apart from the U.S. Census, the Commission has estimated the 
number of licensed commercial AM stations to be 4,570 and the number of 
commercial FM stations to be 6,706 for a total of 11,276, along with 
8,303 FM translator and booster stations. According to BIA/Kelsey 
Publications, Inc.'s Media Access Pro Database, as of March 2020, 4,389 
AM stations and 6,767 FM stations had revenues of $41.5 million or 
less. In addition, the Commission has estimated the number of 
noncommercial educational FM radio stations to be

[[Page 78026]]

4,197. NCE stations are non-profit, and therefore considered to be 
small entities. Accordingly, the Commission estimates that the majority 
of radio broadcast stations are small entities. The Commission notes, 
however, that, in assessing whether a business concern qualifies as 
small under the above definition, business (control) affiliations must 
be included. Our estimate, therefore, likely overstates the number of 
small entities that might be affected by our action, because the 
revenue figure on which it is based does not include or aggregate 
revenues from affiliated companies.
    27. Moreover, as noted above, an element of the definition of 
``small business'' is that the entity not be dominant in its field of 
operation. The Commission is unable at this time to define or quantify 
the criteria that would establish whether a specific radio station is 
dominant in its field of operation. Accordingly, the estimate of small 
businesses to which rules may apply does not exclude any radio station 
from the definition of a small business on this basis and therefore may 
be over-inclusive to that extent. Also, as noted, an additional element 
of the definition of ``small business'' is that the entity must be 
independently owned and operated. The Commission notes that it is 
difficult at times to assess these criteria in the context of media 
entities and the estimates of small businesses to which they apply may 
be over-inclusive to this extent.
    28. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements. The rules changes adopted in the R&O establish 
a straightforward procedure for stations to notify the Commission of a 
change to all-digital operations. The notification requirement for all-
digital operations, is as follows: AM licensees must electronically 
file a digital notification, using the existing FCC Form 335-AM Digital 
Notification (or any successor notification form), to notify the 
Commission of the following proposed changes: (1) The commencement of 
new all-digital operation; (2) an increase in nominal power of an all-
digital AM station; or (3) a transition from core-only to enhanced 
operating mode. All-digital AM notifications will be placed on an FCC 
public notice, and new operation may begin no sooner than 30 calendar 
days from the date of this public notice. This notification process 
will minimize the paperwork required for all-digital AM conversions, 
while giving local co-channel and adjacent channel stations time to 
gather baseline data on their existing coverage before the new all-
digital operation begins. Digital notification must be submitted within 
ten days of implementing all other changes, namely: (1) Any reduction 
in nominal power of an all-digital AM station; (2) a transition from 
enhanced to core-only operating mode; or (3) a reversion from all-
digital to hybrid or analog operation. There is no fee for filing a 
digital notification.
    29. The R&O does not adopt recordkeeping requirements. However, it 
does require licensees converting AM stations to all-digital operation 
to provide reasonable notice to its listeners that their station will 
be converting to all-digital operations and will no longer be available 
on analog receivers.
    30. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Impact on Small Entities 
and Significant Alternatives Considered. The RFA requires an agency to 
describe any significant alternatives that it has considered in 
reaching its proposed approach, which may include the following four 
alternatives (among others): (1) The establishment of differing 
compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into 
account the resources available to small entities; (2) the 
clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance or 
reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; (3) the use 
of performance, rather than design, standards; and (4) an exemption 
from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small entities.
    31. Conversion to all-digital AM transmission (and then, consequent 
compliance with the rules governing all-digital operation) is 
completely voluntary and therefore flexible, based on an AM 
broadcaster's assessment of its individual financial and technical 
circumstances, including size. AM broadcasters overwhelmingly support 
the proposal to allow all-digital AM broadcasting, as do broadcast 
engineers, technology companies, and individual listeners. Of the 
technical requirements contemplated in the NPRM, the Commission 
evaluated several alternative options. The Commission originally 
considered imposing a (non-voluntary) stricter frequency tolerance 
standard of 1 Hz on all AM broadcasters, but decided that the benefits 
of doing so would not outweigh the associated burden of upgrading 
transmission equipment, particularly for smaller AM broadcasters, and 
declined to adopt the requirement. In addition, the Commission 
considered incorporating the NRSC-5-D Standard governing the technical 
implementation of HD Radio all-digital radio into the rules, but upon 
careful consideration of the record, decided that doing so would be 
unnecessary and could stifle industry innovation regarding the all-
digital HD Radio technology. Therefore, in reaching the approach taken 
in the R&O, the Commission considered various alternatives and their 
effects on AM broadcasters, including small entities.
    32. Report to Congress. The Commission will send a copy of the R&O 
to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the 
Congressional Review Act. In addition, the Commission will send a copy 
of the document, including this FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy 
of the SBA. A copy of the document and FRFA (or summaries thereof) will 
also be published in the Federal Register.
    33. Paperwork Reduction Act. This R&O contains new or modified 
information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. The requirements will be 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under 
section 3507(d) of the PRA. OMB, the general public, and other Federal 
agencies are invited to comment on the new or modified information 
collection requirements contained in this proceeding. In addition, the 
Commission notes that pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief 
Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), it 
previously sought specific comment on how the Commission might further 
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees.
    34. Congressional Review Act. The Commission has determined, and 
the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, concurs, that these rules are ``non-
major'' under the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The 
Commission will send a copy of this R&O to Congress and the Government 
Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act.

Ordering Clauses

    35. It is ordered that, pursuant to the authority contained in 
Sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 316, and 319 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 
301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 316, and 319, this Report and Order is adopted 
and will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal 
Register.
    36. It is further ordered that part 73 of the Commission's Rules is 
amended as set forth in the Final Rules and such rule amendments will 
become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, 
except for new Sec.  73.406, which contains new or modified information

[[Page 78027]]

collection requirements that require approval by the Office of 
Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act and will become 
effective after the Commission publishes a document in the Federal 
Register announcing such approval and the relevant effective date.
    37. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Report and Order, including the Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration.
    38. It is further ordered that the Commission shall send a copy of 
this Report and Order in a report to be sent to Congress and the 
Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review 
Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Radio, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 73 as follows:

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 155, 301, 303, 307, 309, 310, 334, 
336, 339.

0
2. In Sec.  73.402, add paragraph (h) to read as follows:


Sec.  73.402  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (h) All-digital AM station. An AM station broadcasting an IBOC 
waveform that consists solely of digitally modulated subcarriers and 
the unmodulated AM carrier.

0
3. In Sec.  73.403, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  73.403  Digital audio broadcasting service requirements.

    (a) Broadcast radio stations using IBOC must transmit at least one 
over-the-air digital audio programming stream at no direct charge to 
listeners. In addition, a hybrid broadcast radio station must simulcast 
its analog audio programming on one of its digital audio programming 
streams. The DAB audio programming stream that is provided pursuant to 
this paragraph (a) must be at least comparable in sound quality with a 
standard analog broadcast.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  73.404, revise the section heading and paragraphs (a) and 
(b) and remove paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  73.404  IBOC DAB operation.

    (a) The licensee of an AM or FM station, or the permittee of a new 
AM or FM station which has commenced program test operation pursuant to 
Sec.  73.1620, may commence hybrid IBOC DAB operation with digital 
facilities which conform to the technical specifications specified for 
hybrid DAB operation in the (2002) First Report and Order in MM Docket 
No. 99-325, as revised in the Media Bureau's subsequent Order in MM 
Docket No. 99-325. In addition, the licensee of an AM station, or the 
permittee of a new AM station that has commenced program test authority 
pursuant to Sec.  73.1620, may, with reasonable notice to listeners, 
commence all-digital IBOC operation with digital facilities that 
conform to the requirements set out in the (2020) Report and Order in 
MB Docket No. 19-311 and MB Docket No. 13-249. An AM or FM station may 
transmit IBOC signals during all hours for which the station is 
licensed to broadcast.
    (b) In situations where interference to other stations is 
anticipated or actually occurs, hybrid AM licensees may, upon 
notification to the Commission, reduce the power of the primary DAB 
sidebands by up to 6 dB. All-digital AM licensees, may, upon 
notification to the Commission, reduce the power of the secondary and 
tertiary sidebands by up to 6 dB, even if doing so results in non-
compliance with Sec.  73.1560(a)(1). Any greater reduction of sideband 
power requires prior authority from the Commission via the filing of a 
request for special temporary authority or an informal letter request 
for modification of license.
* * * * *

0
5. Add Sec.  73.406 to read as follows:


Sec.  73.406  Notification.

    (a) Hybrid AM and FM licensees must electronically file a digital 
notification to the Commission in Washington, DC, within 10 days of 
commencing IBOC digital operation.
    (1) All-digital licensees must file a digital notification within 
10 days of the following changes:
    (i) Any reduction in nominal power of an all-digital AM station;
    (ii) A transition from enhanced to core-only operating mode; or
    (iii) A reversion from all-digital to hybrid or analog operation.
    (2) All-digital licensees will not be permitted to commence 
operation sooner than 30 calendar days from public notice of digital 
notification of the following changes:
    (i) The commencement of new all-digital operation;
    (ii) An increase in nominal power of an all-digital AM station; or
    (iii) A transition from core-only to enhanced operating mode.
    (b) Every digital notification must include the following 
information:
    (1) The call sign and facility identification number of the 
station;
    (2) If applicable, the date on which the new or modified IBOC 
operation commenced or ceased;
    (3) The name and telephone number of a technical representative the 
Commission can call in the event of interference;
    (4) A certification that the operation will not cause human 
exposure to levels of radio frequency radiation in excess of the limits 
specified in Sec.  1.1310 of this chapter and is therefore 
categorically excluded from environmental processing pursuant to Sec.  
1.1306(b) of this chapter. Any station that cannot certify compliance 
must submit an environmental assessment (``EA'') pursuant to Sec.  
1.1311 of this chapter and may not commence IBOC operation until such 
EA is ruled upon by the Commission.
    (c) Each AM digital notification must also include the following 
information:
    (1) A certification that the IBOC DAB facilities conform to 
applicable nominal power limits and emissions mask limits;
    (2) The nominal power of the station; if separate analog and 
digital transmitters are used, the nominal power for each transmitter;
    (3) If applicable, the amount of any reduction in an AM station's 
digital carriers;
    (4) For all-digital stations, the type of notification (all-digital 
notification, increase in nominal power, reduction in nominal power, 
transition from core-only to enhanced, transition from enhanced to 
core-only, reversion from all-digital to hybrid or analog operation);
    (5) For all-digital stations, if a notification of commencement of 
new all-digital service or a nominal power change, whether the station 
is operating in core-only or enhanced mode; and
    (6) For all-digital stations, a certification that the all-digital 
station complies with all Emergency Alert System (EAS) requirements in 
part 11 of this chapter.
    (d) Each FM digital notification must also include the following 
information:

[[Page 78028]]

    (1) A certification that the IBOC DAB facilities conform to the HD 
Radio emissions mask limits;
    (2) FM digital effective radiated power used and certification that 
the FM analog effective radiated power remains as authorized;
    (3) If applicable, the geographic coordinates, elevation data, and 
license file number of the auxiliary antenna employed by an FM station 
as a separate digital antenna; and
    (4) If applicable, for FM systems employing interleaved antenna 
bays, a certification that adequate filtering and/or isolation 
equipment has been installed to prevent spurious emissions in excess of 
the limits specified in Sec.  73.317.

[FR Doc. 2020-25252 Filed 12-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P