> > Thought some might be interested in the British community
> > radio antenna.
>
> Here is the "glass fibre" mast style pre-made that are sold
> as companion to the Radica LPAM System.
>
As a side note, when you have a chance look at the Ofcom site. Ofcom is the British equivalent to the FCC. It's fasinating to compare their methods for licensing stations verses the U.S.
For one thing, there is no auction. A prospective broadcaster pays a 5000 pound ($8700.00) application fee. Ofcom has already done some of the engineering and determined which frequencies are available in a given area and what stations have to be protected as well as plots a contour of how the signal should radiate. It's up to the applicant to show, based on where the applicant decides to place the antenna, how their signal will conform to it.
But Ofcom is far less anal obsessive about interference than the FCC is. Instead they are much more concerned about programming and financial responsibility. A proposed station must provide programming not already available to the area. A proposed station must provide a certain percentage of local programming and it must have the approval of the community as part of an exhibit when the application is made. In this way, the community is far more aware and involved in the establishment of a new station then the FCC would ever allow. The applicant must also provide a business plan showing how the station will sustain itself.
Ofcom also has a schedule showing when application windows will be opening far into 2007. No guessing as to when a window will open up.
So while it isn't perfect, Ofcom does have much that the FCC could do well to copy. They are much more community-friendly and while they place less of a financial burden on a new applicant they do place a greater burden of responsibility for a new station owner to truly serve the interests of the community.
db
