Our Issues

Many people know Prometheus for our work building radio stations or fighting in Congress to expand low power radio. In this section, we share a lesser-known side of our struggle to free the airwaves: the world of regulatory policy. In other words, the rules.

Rules about the airwaves (aka the radio spectrum) are set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is supposed to manage the radio spectrum as a public resource (just as other agencies manage other public resources, such as water or forests). The public can participate by commenting about proposed rules, or even proposing rules of our own. At Prometheus, we advocate for rules that allow greater access to the airwaves for those historically marginalized from media ownership. We think media should be controlled by communities, not corporations. We believe that communication is a fundamental right. Since so much communication relies on the radio spectrum (from radio to broadband to satellites), we see access to the spectrum as a right worth fighting for.

You can learn about our key regulatory issues in the menu on the right, or read below for the latest updates on our regulatory work.

Our Policy Updates

April 12, 2010

Interesting article from The Guardian on the problems with DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast), the digital radio system used in the UK. This comes out as the UK has just passed the Digital Economy Act, which among other things will facilitate a transition to digital radio.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Washington, DC-- The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a blow to media justice on Tuesday, allowing a single company to own even more news outlets in a given community. In the latest news from the landmark Prometheus vs. FCC case, the Court has lifted a stay against the Federal Communications Commission. The stay had prevented the FCC from allowing a single media company to own a newspaper and broadcast TV station in the same market.

On July 6, Prometheus filed comments with the FCC to oppose a proposed power increase for digital radio signals (aka "HD radio"). But since most people haven't heard enough about digital radio to even weigh in on the issue, this month we've put together our Top Ten Problems with Digital Radio.

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1. If you don't already own a radio station, HD Radio isn’t for you.