Yearbook of radio and television (1958)

«-<-« < <■<■<<< < < <■<-<< < < < < <<-<HHHHHHHHHHHK-< <<<<<< <r«««"> Broadcasting Expansion During 1957 Increased Heavy Burdens On The FCC -<r<-<HHK-<-< < < < < < <HHH--<-<:-<-< < < <<<<<<-<<<<<< <K-<-< < < < < < <r< r« THE close of 1957 finds the Commission with about 1,900,000 radio authorizations on its books. This is the largest number in its 23 years of existence. It is significant that for every broadcast facility there are nearly 50 radio stations of other kinds which serve the public, commerce and individuals. Altogether, about one and a quarter million fixed and mobile transmitters are in use. Broadcast authorizations collectively now approximate 8,500. They include: About 3,300 AM stations. More than 800 TV stations. Of these, over 650 are commercial, over 100 are translators, and over 50 are educational. More than 700 FM stations. Nearly 600 of these are commercial and over 150 are educational. Two stations which send programs overseas. Auxiliary, remote pickup, studio-transmitter links and other adjuncts account for the remaining 3,600 broadcast authorizations. The Commission has recommended to Congress that the law be changed to permit licensing broadcast stations for 5 instead of 3 years. The Commission is studying a special staff report on TV network operations. "Satellite" and "translator" stations are bringing TV service to smaller communities. In addition, the Commission is proposing "booster" and "repeater" stations to extend TV service to even more isolated places. Channels reserved for educational TV use now number 256. This is 14 more than allocated originally. A special industry group known as the Television Allocations Study Organization is completing an engineering review of present and potential UHF and VHF television service. Commercial FM stations show their first numerical increase in 9 years. Resolvement of the "clear channel" and "daytime skywave" problems affecting AM operations is receiving priority consideration at special meetings of the Commission. The United States and Mexico have agreed on AM and UHF-TV channel use along the border. The Senate has pending the 1950 North American Regional Broad JOHN C. DOERFER Chairman Federal Communications Commission casting Agreement on AM operation. The Commission is re-examining its frequency allocations to radio services throughout most of the radio spectrum in the light of present and future needs and technical developments. It is dealing with new spectrum-saving techniques such as "offset carrier," "single sideband" and "split channel" transmission, also tropospheric and ionospheric "scatter" techniques, and expanding "microwave" operation. The growing height of antenna towers requires joint consideration by Federal agencies concerned with hazards to air navigation— especially since the advent of the jet plane. The Commission proposes that towers over 500 feet high be grouped on "antenna farms" away from the air lanes. It also seeks legislation to require the painting and lighting of abandoned towers. About 90 TV towers exceeding 1,000 feet in height are operating authorized or applied for. The FCC monitoring network helped obtain positioning data on the two Russian earth satellites. This was in addition to its normal around-the-clock patrol of the ether highways, including furnishing bearings on ships and planes in distress, detecting spectrum traffic violators, and determining areas of interference. Competition and interference considerations now require one-third of all applications for new TV or AM stations to go to hearing. Hard-fought cases take at least a . year to go through the prescribed application and hearing procedure, not considering further delays due to crowded dockets and extra time needed to handle the flood of associated pleadings. Many of these filings are repetitious and still further delay final determination. To sum it up, the Commission is trying to handle an administrative load which has more than doubled in volume and complexities since World War II with little change in amount of appropriations or personnel. 83