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This is a list of broadcast station classes applicable in much of North America under international agreements between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Effective radiated power (ERP) and height above average terrain (HAAT) are listed unless otherwise noted.
All radio and television stations within 320 kilometers (about 200 miles) of the U.S.-Canada or U.S.-Mexico border must get approval by both the domestic and foreign agency. These agencies are Industry Canada/Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Canada, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S., and the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) in Mexico.
Notes:
AM station classes were previously assigned Roman numerals from I to IV in the US, with subclasses indicated by a letter suffix. Current class A is equivalent to the old class I; class B is the old classes II and III, with class D being the II-D, II-S, and III-S subclasses; and class C is the old class IV.
The following conversion table compares the old AM station classes with the new AM station classes:
The following chart is a list of frequencies on the AM band and which classes broadcast on these frequencies; Class A and Class B, 10,000 watt and higher (fulltime) stations in North America which broadcast on clear-channel station frequencies are also shown.
By international agreement, Class A stations must be 10,000 watts and above, with a 50,000 watt maximum for the U.S. and Canada, but no maximum for other signatories to the relevant treaties. Mexico, for example, typically runs 150,000 to 500,000 watts, but some are grandfathered at 10,000 to 20,000 watts at night and by treaty, these sub-50,000 watt Mexican stations may operate with a maximum of 100,000 watts days.[2]
Because the AM broadcast band "emerged" before there existed technology suitable for operating directionally, there are numerous apparent anomalies, such as the U.S. use of 800 and 900, non-directionally, in Alaska, and limited to 5 kW at night, and 1050 and 1220, directionally, in the "lower 48", and without limit, each of these being assigned to specific cities (and each of these being Mexican Class I-A clear channels), in return for which Mexico received use of 830 and 1030 in Mexico City, non-directionally, and limited to 5 kW at night (and both of these being U.S. Class I-A clear channels).
The following table lists the various classes of FM stations, the reference facilities for each station class, and the protected and city grade contours for each station class:[3]
Historically, there were local "Class A" frequencies (like AM radio's class C stations) to which only class A stations would be allocated & the other frequencies could not have a class A. According to the 1982 FCC rules & regulations those frequencies were: 92.1, 92.7, 93.5, 94.3, 95.3, 95.9, 96.7, 97.7, 98.3, 99.3, 100.1, 100.9, 101.7, 102.3, 103.1, 103.9, 104.9, 105.5, 106.3 & 107.1.
The U.S. is divided into three zones for FM broadcasting, (I, I-A and II). Depending on which zone a station is located determines what class a FM station may elect to be.
Zone I in the U.S. includes all of Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. It also includes the areas south of latitude 43.5°N in Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont; as well as coastal Maine, southeastern Wisconsin, and northern and eastern Virginia.
Zone I-A includes California south of 40°N, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In Zones I and I-A there are no Class C, C0, or C1 stations. However, there are a few Class B stations with grandfathered power in excess of 50 KW, such as WETA-FM licensed to Washington, DC (zone I), which has a power of 75 kW ERP, and KPFK in Los Angeles (zone I-A) at 110 KW ERP.
All Full power analogue television station transmissions in the USA were terminated at midnight Eastern Daylight Time on June 12, 2009.[4][5] Many broadcasters replaced their analogue signal with their digital ATSC signal on the same transmission channel at that time.
LPTV (secondary) (suffix: -LP, or a sequential-numbered callsign in format W##XX with no suffix for analogue or with -D suffix for digital, or -LD for low-power digital stations):
The LPTV (low-power television) service was created in 1982 by the FCC to allocate channels for smaller, local stations, and community channels, such as public access stations. LPTV stations that meet additional requirements such as children's "E/I" core programming and Emergency Alert System broadcasting capabilities can qualify for a Class A (-CA) license. [9]
Broadcast translators, boosters, and other LPTV stations are considered secondary to full-power stations, unless they have upgraded to class A. Class A is still considered LPTV with respect to stations in Canada and Mexico.
Class-A stations (U.S.) (suffix: -CA or -CD for digital class A):
The class-A television class is a variant of LPTV created in 2000 by the FCC to allocate and protect some low-power affiliates. Class-A stations are still low-power, but are protected from RF interference and from having to change channel should a full-service station request that channel. [10]
Additionally, class-A stations, LPTV stations, and translators are the only stations currently authorized to broadcast both analogue and digital signals, unlike full-power stations which must broadcast a digital signal only.
In Canada, there is no formal transmission power below which, a television transmitter is considered broadcasting at low power. Industry Canada considers that a low power digital television undertaking "shall not normally extend a distance of 20 km in any direction from the antenna site," based on the determined noise-limited bounding contour.[11]
The United States Federal Communications Commission lists the following services on their website for television broadcasting:
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, Spanish language, Colombia, Mexico
Republican Party (United States), Anchorage, Alaska, Democratic Party (United States), Canada, United States
Hawaii, Honolulu, Maui, Oahu, United States
Puerto Rico, Barack Obama, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands, Democratic Party (United States)
Laval, Quebec, Quebec, Canada, Paris, France
Frequency, Wlir-fm, Syracuse, New York, Watt, Metre
Frequency, Houston, Texas, Watt, Koda
Connecticut, Wshu-fm, Long Island, Classical music, Westchester County, New York
Frequency, Keni, Watt, Kotz, Kjnp-fm
City of license, Big Lake, Texas, Texas, Frequency, Megahertz