What Is LPFM?

Low Power FM – or LPFM -- stations are community-based, nonprofit radio stations that broadcast at the local level, to neighborhoods and small towns throughout the country.

Run by non-profits like colleges, churches, schools, labor unions and other community groups, LPFM stations provide local coverage, information and perspectives that are not available anywhere else. These non-commercial stations are uniquely positioned to meet local needs by:

• Giving a voice to local groups and people who otherwise lack access to the media.
  
• Offering a platform for discussing local issues.
• Providing news, information and viewpoints ignored by traditional media.
• Offering a training ground for students and others looking for a start in the radio business.
• Strengthening neighborhood and community identity.
• Issuing vital safety information during local emergencies.

LPFM stations may have a small broadcast range – they operate at 100 watts or less and have a broadcast reach of just a few miles – but their impact on local communities is immense. From the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts to Southwest Florida to the farming fields of the Pacific Northwest, LPFM stations are injecting a much-needed vibrancy into a radio dial gone stale from years of commercial consolidation.

Congress, the FCC and LPFM

After Congress first authorized LPFM stations in 2000, the Federal Communications Commission began to issue LPFM licenses, awarding more than 800 licenses to civil rights organizations, schools and church groups across the country.

Read About LPFM Success Stories

Soon after, Congress – under pressure from Big Media lobbyists – passed a misguided piece of legislation that radically reduced the radio spectrum available to LPFM stations because of claims of LPFM interference with signals from full power radio stations. Since then, thousands of applications for LPFM licenses have been blocked, preventing local communities from launching their own LPFM stations.

Congress ordered the FCC to study the issue, and, in 2003, the FCC released a $2 million study -- known as the "Mitre Report" -- which found that increasing the number of LPFM stations would not interfere with full power stations. The FCC then urged Congress to repeal the LPFM restrictions.

Act Now

Now, new bipartisan legislation in Congress (H.R. 1147 / S. 592) promises to open the radio dial to thousands of new LPFM stations across the country, bringing fresh music, local perspectives and community news to the public airwaves.

Take action! Click here to stop the static and bring local radio to your community! Sign the letter.