October 6, 2010: FCC Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle said at the Future of Music Coalition’s Policy Summit this week in Washington, DC, that only “about 150 stations” have notified the FCC of their interest in increasing power for their HD Radio signals.
The Media Bureau in January adopted an order that allows most stations to increase their HD power levels by 6db with a simple notification to the commission. HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital, with the support of broadcasters, requested the increase in 2008; HD stations had previously been allowed to broadcast at a maximum of 1 percent of analog power.
Doyle said he was disappointed by the slow response but hoped the number would increase over time.