Over 200 Low power radio stations are on the air in small towns around the United States today, run by schools, churches, activist groups, unions and other civil society groups. If adopted by an act of Congress, MITRE'S recommendations would allow thousands of small community groups, in cities all across the US, to build these vibrant new neighborhood institutions of democratic media.

....A few key points from the MITRE study

As predicted by the FCC and myriad LPFM advocates, only small zones of interference directly around the transmitter site of the LPFM were found.

• No significant LPFM-related degradation to a full power station's signal was ever identified at more than 333 meters from an LPFM transmitter.
• New digital radio channels and Radio Reading Services To The Blind were tested, and no significant problems were found.
• Despite public notices and a 1-800 number, there were no complaints from the public related to any low power radio test site.
• In the very worst case found, .0013 of receivers in the service area of a full power station could be affected. As the report stated, "In most cases, this fraction is orders of magnitude smaller."

The report made a few suggestions for minor rule changes that could prevent even this tiny bit of interference, if necessary. Advocates believe that the more extensive complaint procedure already developed by the FCC is more than adequate for ferreting the out the few cases of interference that may occur — especially for Low Power Radio.