Talks on the 8th floor about an oft-delayed digital radio order include consideration of whether the FCC should issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on multicast reporting obligations, said an agency official and activists involved in the issue. An order to permit FM multicasting and nighttime digital AM broadcasts already has the backing of Chmn. Martin and the other 2 Republican commissioners (CD Aug 14 p3). At stake now is what compromises might bring Comrs. Adelstein and Copps aboard.

Concurrent with a vote on the multicast order, the FCC likely would start an inquiry on what types of data radio stations should report to the agency, said the official. Martin favors a notice of inquiry (NOI) asking such questions, the staffer said, adding that the Democrats have indicated they’ll vote for such an item if the chairman agrees to issue an NPRM. An NPRM would send industry a stronger message that the FCC wants to hear annually of what programming is multicast, said the official...The multicast order, said by an industry source to have been drafted in April 2005, was pulled from the July agenda meeting...

Broadcasters appear not to be suffering from the order’s state of suspended animation; many stations are multicasting already, New America Foundation’s Jim Snider, also a Nov. call participant, said: “It’s languishing in a de jure sense, but not a de facto sense... It’s sort of irreversible when you have all that equipment out there and more than 500 stations already multicasting.” Broadcasters should be asked to pay for the extra spectrum they’re using, he said...

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