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Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

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Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#11

Post by whyrlpool »

sh-run wrote: post #5

I'm completely unfamiliar with this, but could they not get HAM licenses and operate on amateur radio frequencies? Or simply turn what they are doing into a podcast? Or is the issue that their target audience only has access to AM/FM radios?

Playing music on HAM frequencies is against the terms of pretty much every license, and commercial radio receivers that everyone has in their house and car won’t pick up transmissions on HAM frequencies. Assuming a disproportionate amount of pirate radio stations operate in low-income areas, access to equipment is a high barrier to entry for listeners. Internet radio is one solution, but who wants to listen to the radio from their phone when their apartment already has an FM receiver?

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#12

Post by Zak »

Is there a real problem to be solved by this proposed legislation?

Of course, in theory, it's necessary that radio stations not transmit on the same frequency too close to each other, or there's interference. If this is happening in practice, then increased enforcement might well be called for.

If, on the other hand, interference isn't happening in practice, then increased enforcement seems like both a waste of resources and... is there a name for social benefit coming out of things being in a legal grey area?

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#13

Post by mindslight »

mc32 wrote: post #7
ChuckMcM wrote: post #3

Back in the day I listened to a pirate station that broadcast out of Arizona. Similar to what the article mentioned, that station was run by people who were passionate about music, camping, and what was going on with respect to the National Forest service and the BLM with respect to public lands. Objectively, they met all the mission requirements that the FCC at the time said they stood for, use of the common air wav…

Was getting in compliance too burdensome for them? For every well-behaved pirate, there’d be many ill-mannered pirates if you didn’t seize their operations.

"Ill-mannered" ? I can't think of anything more ill-mannered than a handful of companies abusing the letter of the law by "owning" all of the licensed spectrum in a given area, and then filling it with lowest common denominator chum in a race to the bottom.

In this day and age where main societal attention has moved past radio, most of the FM band should be put under a regime similar to 2.4GHz. Preserve the few remaining high power commercial broadcasters to maintain the capability for emergency communication, and let a vibrant ecosystem (without the revenue to pay hefty license fees) regrow on the rest.

(edit: Well, the exact 2.4GHz regime might not be the most appropriate, because the obvious play is to broadcast on every frequency for more exposure. But the spirit of my argument remains - "pirate" operations remain vibrant because they can't be bought up and consolidated the way legalized stations do, and so their operation should be encouraged)

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#15

Post by elicash »

bobowzki wrote: post #2

I like pirate radio but it's illegal by definition. They completely fail to mention that spectrum is limited and that you are probably causing interface for someone else. The right thing to do would be to give them free or subsided licenses.

How much space is going unused? I vaguely remember something back in 2013 about nonprofit groups having a small window to apply for community FM radio stations. But I assume there hasn't been a window since then.

Is that because there's no availability left anymore? Because radio stations don't want competition? Because it'd take an act of Congress and Congress isn't doing anything anytime soon? I genuinely have no idea.

I'd be more or less sympathetic to pirate radio based on the fairness of the legal avenues available. (And clearly I don't know much about those processes.)

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#16

Post by fortran77 »

I loved listening to the pirate stations in NY in the late 70s and early 80s. WFAT, WFSR, WLAU, etc.

But there are more options today for "broadcasting" over the Internet than there were then.

While I wouldn't want to see any "pirate" face jail time or huge fines for a first or second offence, it still can be disruptive to the legally licensed radio stations that were granted use of those frequencies. Like it or not, the airwaves are a limited resource, and need to be managed and provisioned.

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#17

Post by fortran77 »

sh-run wrote: post #5

I'm completely unfamiliar with this, but could they not get HAM licenses and operate on amateur radio frequencies? Or simply turn what they are doing into a podcast? Or is the issue that their target audience only has access to AM/FM radios?

You are restricted from "broadcasting" most things over Ham frequencies.

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#18

Post by anon73044 »

mc32 wrote: post #7
ChuckMcM wrote: post #3

Back in the day I listened to a pirate station that broadcast out of Arizona. Similar to what the article mentioned, that station was run by people who were passionate about music, camping, and what was going on with respect to the National Forest service and the BLM with respect to public lands. Objectively, they met all the mission requirements that the FCC at the time said they stood for, use of the common air wav…

Was getting in compliance too burdensome for them? For every well-behaved pirate, there’d be many ill-mannered pirates if you didn’t seize their operations.

Several thousand in licensing fees might have been too much for 2_3 volunteers or people doing it as a hobby.

http://www.insideradio.com/free/fcc-approves-lower-annual-fe...

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#19

Post by [deleted] »

Zak wrote: post #12

Is there a real problem to be solved by this proposed legislation? Of course, in theory, it's necessary that radio stations not transmit on the same frequency too close to each other, or there's interference. If this is happening in practice, then increased enforcement might well be called for. If, on the other hand, interference isn't happening in practice, then increased enforcement seems like both a waste of resou…

[deleted]

Re: Pirate Act: what the law says and how it threatens pirate radio stations

#20

Post by webreac »

bobowzki wrote: post #2

I like pirate radio but it's illegal by definition. They completely fail to mention that spectrum is limited and that you are probably causing interface for someone else. The right thing to do would be to give them free or subsided licenses.

Illegal behaviour is often what causes improvements of society.
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