On the Beam

For years, the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates radio stations, has been having trouble with college networks. These networks frequently jammed commercial stations; Amherst's station kept veterans' wives from hearing their soap operas, and Dartmouth's WDBS blacked out a sizable surrounding area when someone tried to make it reach White River Junction.

Last spring the FCC decided to clean things up. It notified college stations, including WHRB, that they would have to meet requirements for regular non-profit stations or lose their permits. Most of the requirements were perfectly legitimate--they involved assigning stations to specific channels and approving their equipment.

One clause of the new regulations, however, limits the power of these stations to around a tenth of what they had been using. WHRB and about seventy other stations send their programs through steam pipes and coaxial cables, a process which takes a lot of power. If the cut is enforced, they will be reduced to broadcasting soft squeaks.

At the present time, the final adoption of these rules will be held up until the FCC finishes talking about color television. When they finally come up for approval, the FCC ought to reconsider its clause on cutting power. The rest of the regulations can eliminate the problem of interference quite nicely, and college radio does not deserve to be short-circuited out of business.