STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: Revitalization of the AM Radio Service, MB Docket No. 13-249.
Last year, over 1,000 AM radio stations acquired FM translators as a result of the Commission’s 
AM Radio Revitalization Initiative.  The stations benefiting from our initiative represent the diversity and 
localism found on the AM band.  For example, FM translators went to a Shawnee, Oklahoma station 
owned by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, as well as the student-run station at the University of Colorado 
in Boulder.  And then there’s WBTC-AM in Uhrichsville, Ohio, which switched on its FM translator last 
Fourth of July in time for its owner’s 98
th
birthday.  Among other things, the station, which has been 
owned by local resident James Natoli since 1963, broadcasts local news, sports, a program called Dial & 
Deal, where listeners can buy and sell items, and Dial & Speak, the only call-in show in all of Tuscarawas 
County.
Our efforts thus far to make it easier for AM broadcasters to obtain FM translators have been a
tremendous success.  But we’ve also heard that the Commission’s rule setting forth where an FM fill-in 
translator rebroadcasting an AM broadcast station may be sited is too restrictive and has blocked some 
AM broadcasters from being able to purchase a translator.  That’s why in 2014 the Commission sought 
comment on a proposal to relax the rule.
1
  And that’s why today we are moving ahead and changing it.
The specifics of the rule change involve technical jargon that only broadcast engineers will 
probably understand.  But the real-world impact of this Order is simple:  It will now be easier for AM 
stations to find a suitable location for their FM translators.  And that, in turn, will make it easier for AM 
broadcasters to serve their local communities, particularly at night.
I’d like to thank the dedicated staff of the Media Bureau’s Audio Division, including Jim 
Bradshaw, Peter Doyle, Tom Nessinger, and Lisa Scanlan, for their work on this Order.  I’ve said many 
times before that when it comes to promoting localism, advancing diversity, and otherwise serving the 
public interest, AM radio matters.  It’s a vital part of the nation’s communications infrastructure, and I 
hope it thrives for years to come.
                                                     
1
Revitalization of the AM Radio Service, First Report and Order, Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, and 
Notice of Inquiry, 30 FCC Rcd 12145 (2015).