The local public-access radio community is excited and cautiously optimistic about this week's Federal Communications Commission ruling that it would begin to license noncommercial low-power (under 100 watts) FM radio stations in May.
"It's a good thing," says Stephen Proviser, founder of Radio Free Allston and director of the citywide Citizens' Media Corp. The ruling will allow two categories of small stations (up to 10 watts and up to 100 watts) to broadcast legally in the spaces between larger stations' frequencies.
"It's still a secondary service, subject to the overwhelming power of the larger stations," says Proviser, noting that the new stations must be two channels (or frequency decimal points) away from existing commercial stations.