AM Translator Window Not Free Spectrum, Oxenford Says

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s statement Thursday that providing an AM-only FM translator window amounts to a giveaway of spectrum “simply does not withstand review,” Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford said in a blog post Friday. Wheeler made the statement in a post-meeting news conference in response to a question from Communications Daily. “This cannot be the full reason for his opposition,” he said. “An AM-only window for FM translators is no more a give-away of free spectrum than is any other translator filing window.” Wheeler may have other reasons for opposing the window, Oxenford said. “In the rapid give and take of a press conference, the Chairman’s comments may not have reflected all of the concerns that he has about an AM-only window for FM translators.”