Because the Internet doesn't exist...?

@1 no, because not everyone gets free Internet3, as all research universities will, with 1000 Gbps streaming within 3 miles of campus nationwide.

Unless they adopt that, which would make us a First World nation, instead of Third Tier.

It's like WART radio, from Pete and Pete! Just get a Krebstar 3000 transistor radio and beef up the frequency with a plate in mom's head!

@2

http://www.freedompop.com/

Looks like a 100W FM kit is around $1,000, plus another hundred for an antenna. Double that if you want something already set up and ready to plug in.

But yeah, what @1 said.

For $1000 you can get a Microsoft Surface Pro. It's not that expensive, @5.

Did you know you can buy a car in the EU that costs about $2500, and gets 60 mpg?

You can run your stuff concurrently on the Internet. Having local radio just means extra ad revenue.

I'm imagining a small surge in local talk and political type content. A local Pacifica type radio for each city? Sent to the Internet at the same time for broader reach?

If Station A in downtown sets up, what's to stop station B in Ballard, Station C in West Seattle, Station D in Queen Anne, Station E in the UW, and Stations in other nearby areas all just carrying the same content with local targeted advertising?

This could get very, very interesting.

@1 is a fucking moron. LPFM is what my new hobby will be, free electronic music forever, now that I have more time I want to help. All my life growing up I've hated the bullshit that clogs up our radio waves, this finally gives me a chance to fix it and its about fucking time if you ask me. Long the fuck overdue, these are our airwaves, take them the fuck back.

So awesome. Where did these come from/why has the FCC been holding onto them? I have dreamed of this for years...some real community radio in Seattle. Not 24hrs of folk, not car talk, not the grateful dead station. Lots of possibilities here!

KFAI in Minneapolis started in a church at 10 watts and is stronger than ever 30 years later (now 125 watts, plus a translator in St. Paul) bringing in $100K twice a year to support a modest staff and studios, plus tons of volunteers. We always said we may be volunteers, but we were also professionals. People took it seriously! Three alarms to wake up for a morning shift, drive through freezing rain to get to studio on time. Fun times! I won't forget when the mayor called to ask about a song we'd played...

We are going to try make Hollow Earth Radio terrestrial, for reals!

Also, LPFM is great because not everyone has constant or any access to the internet and the radio is a lot more accessible for the general population. LPFM empowers community members to create radio, thus creating more opportunities for different perspectives not usually heard on the radio waves. LPFM often broadcasts information that is pertinent to the surrounding community.

Ok if you really want to get down to it, why actually stream bytes over a channel.

For example, my music service, Rhapsody has a "radio" section. It is basically a playlist their music coordinators put together. Also users can create playlists.

So in theory all you have to do is post a play list and have users go and select the music and listen to it...like a computer program for your brain.

Great idea. 20-100 years too late. They might as well hand out free printing presses too.

Good luck. These things tend to get snapped up by religious organizations.

Bailo, Freedompop is ripping people off. I was sort of excited about their subsidies until I learned of it. Dig around and you'll find the details.

@7... and other comments

The FCC stipulates that the organization's campus must be located within ten miles of the transmitting antenna. Additionally, 75% of its governing board must reside within ten miles of the transmitting antenna. The LPFM program started back in the late 90's but the FCC hasn't had a licensing window since 2000.

They can't run "ads" but they can run underwriters which is a little different in that they are informative radio spots aired in exchange for a donation, but they are not necessary for a station's operation. "This programming is brought to you in part by..."

In fact, the only real content requirements are that a station must air their station I.D. on the hour, provide a minimum amount of public affairs/news programming that is relevant to their area's demographics (and be able to show how and why the programming is relevant), and be on the air for a minimum amount of time each week (they don't have to broadcast all day).

Once a LPFM station is set up its operating costs are extremely low compared to regular stations. Rent and electricity bills are the highest expenses followed by music licensing, which about $1050 a year for LPFM stations (if they also have a webstream).

Starting a station obviously isn't as simple as plugging a board into a transmitter and then into an antenna. The engineering involved is pretty tricky and can cost a lot of money just to get the proposal that the FCC will either accept or reject. The transmitter needs to be able to put out at least 150 Watts (to broadcast at 100 Watts) as power is lost in the connection to the antenna, and a transmitter, antenna, and coaxial transmitting line will run around $3000 on the cheap side.

Then there's all the monitoring equipment like the Emergency Alert System that runs between $2,500-$4000 in the cheaper range, and modulation monitors (to ensure the licensed power levels are being adhered to) that run around $3,000. Then there's all the studio equipment which you house... well it depends. If the engineer determines that the studio and transmitting site can't be in the organization's campus then they're screwed having to set-up remote links or STL's and paying additional rent on separate buildings.

So... obviously, $9,000,000 in grants is really awesome news.

I'm thinking about the populations that would be most interested/best served by this... I wonder if Real Change would be into starting a station?

@8 Be careful, there will be music licensing and royalties to consider even if you take the WFMU route.