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hamhead t1_jdd7o3f wrote

Reply to comment by andylikescandy in FCC Fines 15 Year-Old Pirate Radio Station in NYC $2 Million by blankblank

>I'm guessing from a company who got there first and are doing nothing with it?

Why would you guess that? AM/FM stations can't be silent for more than 1 year (and often less than that... they have to inform the FCC within 10 *days* of going silent) or they lose their license.

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andylikescandy t1_jdgjqf9 wrote

Was not aware of this, was aware of spectrum squatting happening in the past.

Point is noone else was using the spectrum, it wasn't like they were stepping on another station's broadcasts. Whole point of the system is to ensure that this is fundamentally what happens -- not to gatekeep and make it cost-prohibitive for anyone but large companies who bought up a ton of small stations in the past. I mean it is once politicians with donors get involved, but it's not supposed to be that way.

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