This document describes a proposal for creation of an Amateur Broadcast Service in the FCC rules.
When the current rules governing AM band broadcasting were adopted, AM was the only broadcast radio service available. Over crowding lead to band expansion and tight station spacing that required expensive engineering gymnastics to make it all sort of work together. In response to tight spacing, receiver manufacturers cranked down their passbands leading to low-fi reception. With low-fi on AM, talk flourished and music fled to the FM band.
The adoption of microprocessors and high speed electronic switching techniques in nearly every consumer and industrial system has raised the noise floor on the MW band so that in many areas AM reception almost impossible at significant distance from the transmitter.
Economic pressure has caused the majority of local owners to sell or simply shut down. Often the land under the tower(s) is worth more than the entire station. Further, economic pressure on national broadcast owners that must service the debt taken on to buy up the local stations has lead to syndicated, cheap content delivered by satellite while local staffs have been evicerated.
Given the challenges to listening and content quality issues, it's no surprise that the public has largely abandoned AM. They are no longer being served. The diminishing audience puts more economic pressure on the broadcasters who then must starve their stations with cheap content and limited engineering in order to attempt to make their stations profitable. It's a vicious cycle that has effectively doomed commercial AM broadcasting on the MW band.
Despite all the technical, economic, and programming issues on AM there are still people that want to serve their neighborhoods and local communities with broadcast radio. "Pirate" broadcasting is one, more anarchistic, expression of this desire. A more civic example is the enthusiastic response to the LPFM filing opportunities. However the barriers to LPFM are still quite high and many groups find it impossible to raise the money to build out and sustain their operations and are turning in their licenses and CPs.
An Amateur Broadcast Service would provide an opportunity for the MW spectrum to be once again used in service of the public interest. Let's look at each word individually.
"Amateur" - Amateurs have a long history of public service from disaster response to supporting community events. The amateur is always ready with station and skill for service to country and community. Amateur doesn't mean second rate, it means they build and operate their stations for the "love" of the radio art and service to community rather than for pecuniary interest.
"Broadcast" - in the Amateur service, the public is served through what is essentially third party communications. Amateurs conduct two-way contacts with other amateurs and the public benefit is realized through an interface with served agencies or groups. Amateur Broadcasting would provide the opportunity to serve the public directly with one-way communication.
"Service" - classifying it as a service establishes the regulated nature while also differentiating it from the existing communication services.
A set of rules would be crafted that incorporate the rules that govern the Amateur Service but provide exceptions to allow one-way "broadcast" communication in the medium wave band or a portion thereof. In general terms: 1) Continuous one way communication, "broadcasting", would be permitted in the medium wave band. 2) There are no restrictions on the content of the audio programs transmitted with the exception that promotional content on behalf of for-profit businesses would not be permitted. Commercials, no. PSAs, yes. 3) Licensees are not permitted to accept money or barter value in exchange for broadcasting specific content or messages. 4) Licensees would be persons first licensed in the Amateur Service and their participation in the ABS would be predicated on their agreement to participate in voluntary coordination of frequency and power. Similar to how amateur repeaters are coordinated voluntarily to minimize interference other users. 5) ABS participation is on a secondary basis to existing broadcast licensees. ABS broadcasters must protect primary licensees' service contour. 6) The permitted transmission mode would be defined in terms of type of emission, bandwidth, and required harmonic suppression. 7) Licensees would identify their stations with their amateur call letters at the start and conclusion, and at least once per hour during each broadcast period(in which the carrier is transmitted). A secondary suffix could be appended to the call sign to indicate participation in the ABS. e.g "This is W1XYZ AM" 8) Unattended operation would be permitted from a fixed location at or near the licensees primary amateur station location. A licensee may only operate a single ABS station. The amateur license requirement, especially if limited to Amateur Extra class licensees, would help prevent Citizens Band-type mayhem from trashing the band. And by their licenses, amateurs could be held to a standard of engineering consistent with the scale of operation.
There has been a lot of discussion and debate lately about how to "Save AM." But it's clear that we can't save AM as it was in the 20th century, that time has passed. Technical tricks like HD Radio are inappropriate for the band and will not bring listeners back in any numbers that even approach economic viability under the past business model. Old mass media models are withering in the face of technological changes and economic pressures of all sorts.
What can be saved is the ability for the medium wave portion of the RF spectrum to be use in service of the public interest. Amateurs, with their radio skills, abilities, and interest in the medium of radio are perfectly suited to occupy the band in service to their neighbors and communities.