Please seriously consider my comments, in regards to the creation of the
proposed classes of "micro-radio." Our city of Minot has already lost a 5,000
watt AM station - it's license was forfeited and sent back to the FCC - because
it was not commercially viable. The last expansion of licenses resulted in all
of our radio stations being unable to support themselves. We had the most
competitive market in the nation, with 10 commercial frequencies competing in a
population of about 35,000 people. The only solution to that was consolidation,
which has occurred. I understand that it isn't the FCC's job to insure the
profitablility of the currently licensed radio stations. However, commercial
success is the only thing that allows us to produce the necessary service that
we provide.
I understand that the final structure of this service, commercial, non
commercial, is still undecided. However, for our area, additional commercial
signals - whether 1,000 watts or 10 watts - will ultimately result in the
denigration of service. The fact is that "for-profit" and "non-profit"
businesses alike, which fail to produce enough cash to support their operations
ultimately cease to exist. The last round of additional station licenses
resulted in the need for consolidation - because the additional stations weren't
commercially viable. The addition of "micro-radio" licenses will ultimately
result in the same scenario in the future. The reason i