New rules protecting AM signals became effective Thursday. They were...

New rules protecting AM signals became effective Thursday. They were approved by the Office of Management and Budget Feb. 10, the FCC said in a Federal Register notice (http://1.usa.gov/1gm3TWd). The commission last year adopted an order to create a single protection scheme for tower construction near AM tower arrays (CD Aug 19 p10). The phase-in of the rules is somewhat complex, “with some potential effects stretching over a year or two,” a Fletcher Heald attorney said in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1mf9kdr). AM stations and anyone building a structure near an AM station “should take a close look at the rules to determine their potential impact on any particular situation,” the attorney said.