SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FISCAL YEAR ENqtO JUNE 30, 1950 (With notation alsUb;~e~~portantdevelopments) JUNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE· WASHINGTON. 1951 For sal. by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. Price 40 cents COMMISSIONERS MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (as of December 1, 1950) CHAIRMAN WAYNEOoy (Term expires June 30,1951) PAUL A. WALKER ROBERT F. JONES (Term expires June 30.1953) (Term expires J'une 80,1954) ROSEL H. HYDE GEORGE E. STERLING (Term expires June 30,1952) (Term expires June 30,1957) EDWARD M. WEBSTER FRIEDA B. HENNOCK (Term exnires June 30, 1956) (Term expires June 30. 1955) n LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, Washington 25, D.O., December 29, 195(J. 1'0 the Oongress 0/ the UnitedState8: The sixteenth annual report of the Federal Communications Com mission is submitted herewith in compliance with section 4 (k) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. By custom, this report deals primarily with Commission activities for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950. However, telecommunica tious is such a fast-moving subject that it has been found appropriate to include in tlie introductory summary brief reference to subsequent events up to the time of going to press. The attention of the Congress is invited, in particular, to the little publicized yet highly important developments in the nonbroadcast field. Here new and augmented services have a material public impact in utilizing radio for the protection of life and property, as adjuncts to commerce and industry, and in furthering common car rier telephone and telegraph service. Respectfully, 'WAYNE COY, Ohairman. ill [ Page IV in the original document is intentionally blank 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pap INTRODUCTORY SU¥MARY • ._ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ 1 1. Highlights of the fiscal year____________________________________ 1 2. Subsequent events • • ... _. ... __ ... 8 Chapter I. GENERAL ... _. 13 1. Authority__________________________________________ 13 2. Functions ... • ... _... 13 3. Commissioners_ ......... .___ __ __ 14 4. Staff organizatioD___________________________________ 15 5. Personnel ... 18 6. Appropriations_____________________________________ 18 7. Litigation ... .____ __ __ 19 8. Legislation • .___ __ __ __ 22 9. National defense____________________________________ 23 10. Hearings__________ __ 25 11. Licenses and other authorizations_____________________ 26 12. Applications and other filings_________________________ 26 13. Correspondence, releases, and publica.tiollS_____________ 26 II. COMMON CARRIERS_________________________________________ 27 1. Common carrier regulation___________________________ 27 2. Domestic telephone .:._____ 28 General________________________________________ 28 Domestic telephone services______________________ 29 Construction of facilities_____________________ 29 Microwave relay systems____________________ 30 Channels for TV program transmission________ 31 Speed of service____________________________ 32 Discontinuance, reduction or impairment of service______ __ __ 32 Domestic public land mobile radio service______ 32 Rural subscriber and short haul toll radio- telephone services_________________________ 34 Service in Hawaiian Islands__________________ 34 Coastal and Alaskan service__________________ 35 Cable landing licenses_______________________ 35 Foreign attachment cases____________________ 35 Rates and tariffs________________________________ 36 Rate schedules_ ___ __ __ __ _ 36 Special permissions___________ __ __ __ 36 Unlawful use of telephone facilities____________ 36 Studies of long lines operations_______________ 36 Toll rate study_____________________________ 37 Separation of property, revenues and expenses__ 37 Western Electric cost and price review_________ 37 State telephone rate cases____________________ 38 ,. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page II. COMMON CARRIERS-Continued 2. Domestic telephone-Continued Other regulatory matters_ _________ __ __ __ __ __ _ 38 Depreciation ________________ ______ __ __ __ ___ 38 Allocation of depreciation reserves of multi- state companies__________________________ 39 NARDC Committee on Depreciatioll .. _ 39 NARDC Committee on Accounts and Statistics_ 39 Financing and refinancing____________________ 40 Pensions and relieL_________________________ 40 Preservation of records.. 40 Restatement of plant accounts on basis of orig- inal cost_ _____________________ __ _________ 40 Annual report Form M (applicable to class A and class B telephone companies)__________ 41 Annual report Form H (holding companies)____ 41 3. Domestic Telegraph_________________________________ 41 GeneraL___ _______________________ _____ __ __ _ 41 Service and facilities_ ________________________ __ _ 42 Western Union modernization program________ 42 Deskfax and facsimile_______________________ 42 Construction of wire facilitics_ __ ________ _____ 42 Speed of service____________________________ 42 Microwave relay system_____________________ 43 Discontinuance or reduction of telegraph service_ 43 Rates and tarilfs________________________________ 43 Rate scheckJ.lcs_ _________________ ____ _______ 43 Special permi8sions____ _______ ______ __ 44 Western Union domestic rates________________ 44 Baseball-sportsservice by message and directwire_ 44 Other regulatory matters_. _______ ______ ____ __ 45 Depreciation_ _____ ________________ __ __ _____ 45 Relief and pensions - 45 Reclassification of plant accounts_____________ 45 Continuing property records_________________ 45 Uniform system of accounts__________________ 45 Retirement units___________________________ 46 Report forms_______________________________ 46 Preservation of records______________________ 46 4. International telegraph and telephone_________________ 46 GeneraL____ __________ ____ __________________ __ _ 46 International service_ __________________ __ __ _____ 47 Telegraph circuits_ ___________ ___ __ _______ __ 47 Telephone circuits__________________________ 47 Frequencies_ ____________________ __ _______ __ 47 Equipment and operating techniques__________ 48 Applications_ ____ __ __ _____ __ _ 48 Docket ca8cs_______________________________ 48 International conferences ___________ __ ___ __ __ _ 50 International Administrative Telephone and Telegraph Conference, Paris, 1949__________ 50 London revision of the Bermuda Telecommuni.. cations Agreement________________________ 50 Other conferences .. 51 International merger ...... _ 51 TABLE OF CONTENTS VII Chapter 'Page II. COMMON CARRIERS"":"""Continued 4. International Telegraph and Telephone------Continued Rates and tariffs________________________________ 52 Rate schedules_____ ____ __ _____ _______ _______ 52 Special permissions____ ______________________ 52 Telephone rates between United States and Cuba.. 52 International rate case_______________________ 52 Elimination of special reduced government rates- 53 Multiple address press rates__________________ 53 Acceptance and delivery practices____ _________ 54 Distribution of international traffic____ _____ __ _ 54 Other regulatory matters_________________________ 55 Depreciatioll________ ________________ __ ___ 55 Continuous property records~___________55 Pensions and relieL_________________________ 55 Reclassification of plant______________________ 55 Part 34 (Uniform System of Accounts forRadio~ telegraph Carriers)________________________ 55 Annual report Form R (applicable to class A and class B radiotelegraph carriers)_____________ 55 Monthly report forms________________________ 56 Preservation of records______________________ 56 5. Statmtics___________________________________________ 56 Telephone carriers________ _______________________ 56 Land linetelegraph~~____________________________57 Radiotelegraph and ocean-cable carriers______ ______ 57 Radiotelegraph carriers_ ______________ _______ 57 Ocean-cable carriers__ ____ _____ ___ __ _____ 58 International telegraph traffic • 58 Business and residence telephones by States_________ 59 Common carrier radio authorizations_ __ ___________ 60 Common carrier applications_____________________ 60 III. SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES_______________________ 61 1. GeneraL___ ___ ________ __ ___ ___ __ ____ _____________ __ 61 2. Marine radio services________________________________ 62 GeneraL_______________________________________ 62 Safety on the Great Lakes_______________________ 63 Safety of life at 8ea______________________________ 64 Radio aids to navigatioll_________________________ 65 Radio Technical Commission for Marine Services___ 66 International frequency coordination______________ 67 International technical standards~___________68 Voluntarily equipped radiotelephone ships__________ 69 Commercial coast stations________________________ 69 Alaska, fixed public and public coastal services___ __ 71 Interference problems_______ ________________ _____ 71 Equipment developments, problems and approvals_ _ 71 3. Aeronautical radio services___________________________ 72 GeneraL__ ____ _____ __ _______ _____ __ _________ 72 Aviation organizations and conferences_ ________ ___ 73 Aircraft radio_ ____________________________ __ ___ 75 Aeronautical landand aeronautical fixed radio stations_ 75 Civil Air Patrol stations • 76 Airdrome control stations________________________ 76 Aeronautical mobile utility stations_ ____ _____ __ 76 VIU TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page- III. SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERYICEs-Continued 3. Aeronautical radio services-Continued Aeronautical navigation radio stations_____________ 76 Flying school radio stations______________________ 77 Flight test radio stations_________________________ 77 Aeronautical public service radio stations. 77 4. Public safety radio services___________________________ 77 Police radio service______________________________ 78· Fire radio service_______________________________ 78 Forestry-conservation radio service____ ____________ 79· Highway-maintenance radio service_______________ 79 Special emergency radio service. ;.____________ 79 5. Land transportation radio services 4 80· Railroad radio service___________________________ 81 Urban transit radio service_______________________ 82 Taxicab radio service____________________________ 82 Intercity bus radio service__ _ __ 84 Highway truck radio service______________________ 84 Automobile emergency radio service~_85 6. Industrial radio servioos_____________________________ 85 Power radio service_____________________________ 87 Petroleum radio service ...... 87 Forest products radio service_____________________ 89 Relay press radio service_________________________ 89· Motion picture radio service__ .. 90 Special industrial radio service____________________ 90 Low-power industrial radio service .... _.. _.. ____ 91 7. Experimental radio services .. 91 8. Industrial, scientific, and medical servioo .... 93 9. Restricted radiation deviceB .. 95· 10. Statistics_ ______ __ __ __ __ 95 Safety and special radio authorizations .. __ __ _ 95· AeronauticaL .... _.. 96 ~arine____________________________________96 Public safety • 96 Industrial__________________________________ 96 Land transportation_________________________ 96 ExperimentaL_______ __ 96, Fixed portable and mobile transmitters_______________ 97 Safety and special services_ 97 Common carrier .. 9R· Safety and special radio applications__________________ 98 AeronauticaL ____ _____ __ _______ _____ ___ __ _ 98· ~arine________________________________________98 Public safety__ __ ___ ____ ___ __ __ 98 Industrial______________________________________ 98 Land transportation_____ _________ ___ __ _ 98- ExperimentaL _____ ___ __ __ __ __ 98; TABLE OF CONTENTS IX Cbapter Paae IV. RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES~99 1. Broa.dcast regulatioll .____ _ 99 Scope of authority • ... 99 ~etworks______________________________________101 Receiving sets • __ __ __ __ __ _ 101 Types of broadcast stations______________________ 102 Growth of broadcasting__________________________ 102 2. Television (TV) broadcast service_____________________ 102 Increase in TV applications and service____________ 102 Experimental TV service_________________________ 103 Other TV developments_________________________ 103 Ultra high frequency TV~104 Color television~_____ 105 Television hearing~105 3. Standard (AM) broadcast service_____________________ 105 Expansion and other developments________________ 105 Clear channels____ ___ __ ___ __ __ _ __ __ _ 107 North American Regional Broadcasting Conference _ 107 4. Frequency modulation (FM) broadcast servioo_________ 109 5. Noncommercial educational FM broadcast service~110 6. Facsimile broadcast servioo_ ________ __ __ __ __ __ 110 7. International broadcast service • 111 8. Remote pickup broadcast service_____________________ III 9. ST (studio-transmitter) broadcast servioo_______________ 112 10. Developmental broadcast service_____________________ 112 11. Statistics .________ _____ ____ __ ________ __ 112 Broadcast authorizations_____ _____ __ _____ _ __ _ 112 Broadcast authorizations by States and cities___ 113 Broadcast authorizations by States________ 114 Broadcast authorizations by cities with 10 or more stations_________________________ 115 Broadcast distribution • __ .. 115 General____________________________________ 115 AM expansion in small communities... .. • 115 FM broadcast distribution___________________ 117 TV broadcast distribution____________________ 111 Broadcast industry financial data_________________ 118 General____________________________________ 118 Standard (AM) broadcast financial data_______ 118 FM broadcast financial data_ ___ 121 TV broadcast financial data__________________ 121 Broadcast applications • __ 123 AM broadcast applications___________________ 123 FM broadcast applications__~.. 123 TV broadcast applications __~_• __~___124 All other broadcalit applications_ __ _ 124 Total broadcast applications_ _______ 124 Broadcast deletions •~~_124 Assignments andtransfers~_____ ____ 124 x TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterPa~e V. RADIO OPERATORS_____ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ 125 1. General____ _______ ____ __ ___ __ __ __ ____ __ ______ 125 2. Commercial radio operators__________________________ 125 3. Special aircraft radiotelephone authorizations__________ 130 4. Amateur radio service_______________________________ 130 5. Citizens radio service________________________________ 132 6. Statistics_ ________ ______ __ __________ ______ __ ___ ____ 135 Authorizations • ____ 135 Applications_____ __ ____ _____ _____ ____ __ __ _______ 135 Radio operator examination points________________ 135 Quarterly points_ ____ __ ________ ______ __ __ ___ 136 Semiannual points__ ..~_~______136 Annual points~_____136 VI. FIELD ENGINEERING AND MONITORING_______________________ 137 1. General____________________________________________ 137 2. Field offices~_____137 3. Monitoring____ ______ ________ ____ ___ ______ __ _ __ _ 137 Monitoring service_ ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ __ __ _ 139 Monitoring enforcement_ ___________ ___ __ __ __ _ 140 4. Inspections____ _________ __ _________ ____ __ ________ ___ 140 Broadcast station inspections_____________________ 140 Number of broadcast inspections______________ 140 Ship station inspections__________________________ 141 Number of ship inspections__________________ 141 Number of discrepancies discovered___________ 141 Discrepancies cleared during "inspection_ __ __ ___ 142 Inspection of other radio stations_________________ 142 5. Operator examinations~________________________142 6. Investigations~_~~_ 143 7. Technical operations_ ______ __ _______ ___ _____ __ __ _ 144 8. Disaster emergency coordination______________________ 145 VII. TECHNICAL AND LABORATORY ACTIVITIES__ ..,__________________ 147 1. GeneraL__ ____________________________ ___ ___ ____ ___ 147 2. Technical Research Division__________________________ 148 VHF and UHF propagation studies_______________ 149 Television and FM__________________________ 149 Ad Hoc Committee_________________________ 149 Measurements___ ______________ __ ___ __ _____ _ 150 Bridgeport UHF-TV project_________________ 151 Land mobile propagation study_______________ 151 Other VHF and UHF projects________________ 152 Medium frequency projects_ ____ __ ________ __ __ ___ 152 Sunspot cycle recordings_____________________ 152 Atmospheric noise______ ______ ___ __ __ _____ 153 Technical studies and standards_ ________ __ _______ 153 GeneraL___ _______________________ _________ 153 Restricted radiation devices and the low-power rules____________________________________ 153 Incidental radiation devices__________________ 154 Receiver radiation_ ____ _____________________ 154 Coordination of technical rules_ ____ __ __ __ _ 154 Single side band suppressed carrier studies__ ._ _ 154 Radiolocation_ ______________________ __ __ __ _ 155 Government-industry committees_ __ ___ __ ______ 155 Technical consulting service______________________ 155 TABLE OF CONTENTS XI Chapter Page VII. TECHNICAL AND LABORATORY ACTIVITIEs-Continued 3. Laboratory Divisioll_________________________________ 155 General functions_ ____ __ __ _____ ____ ___ ___ __ _ 155 Broadcasting~__________________________________157 Services other than broadcasting__________________ 158 Propagation____________________________________ 159 Calibration of apparatus_________________________ 159 Non-communications equipmenL_________________ 159 VIII. FREQUENCY ALLOCATION AND INTERNATIONAL_________________ 161 1. General____________________________________________ 161 2. Frequencyallocatioll________________________________ 163 Frequency allocation below 27,500 kilocycles~__ 164 Aeronautical mobile service__ • _______________ 164 High frequency broadcasting service___________ 164 :rvlaritime mobile service_____________________ 165 Fixed service._ _________ __ __ __ __ _________ 165 National frequency allocation____________________ 166 3. Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee___________ 167 4. Frequency registration and notification________________ 168 5. InternationaL_ __ ________ __ __ _________ _______ __ __ 169 Treaty activities__ ______________ __ ______________ 169 Cooperation with Canada____________________ 169 International interference cases_______________ 169 Reports of treaty infractions_________________ 169 Foreign technical assistance programs_ _______ _____ 170 International conferences_ ____ __ _____ _______ _ 170 ApPENDIX________________________________________________________ 175 1. Field offices________________________________________ 175 2. Publications_____ _____________________ ___ __ __ __ __ 177 3. Treaties and other international agreements____________ 180 INTRODUCTORY SUMMARY 1. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS 1, HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FISCAL YEAR GENERAL Demands for radio that taxed the available spectrum space, coupled with a substantial increase in radio uses and facilities which posed major interference and other regulatory problems, highlighted the sixteenth year of operation of the Federal Communications Commission. While broadcasting continued to attract the popular interest, devel opments in other fields of radio had equal, if not greater, public impact. Because they affected common carrier and safety and other radio services, the year's events were of vital concern to people who pay for the convenience of messages sped by improved telephone and telegraph facilities; people who travel on the ground, On the water and in the air with assurance of having the most modern radio safe guards; firms and persons who use radio for business or personal purposes; and individuals who operate transmitters for a livelihood or a hobby. Despite the revamping of existing services and creation of new outlets, there are stilI not enough radio frequencies for all who want to use them. This has thrown a heavy burden on the Commission to seek refinements and economies in apportioning the limited radio spectrum in the best interests of the public. This now involves work ing armngements with other nati'}lls as well as with users in our own country. Coordinating groups representative of services and in' dustries concerned have been highly cooperative in the domestic endeavor. The expanded use of radio in general, and increased television operation in particnlar, has deluged the Commission with interference complaints. Some of these cases may be resolved in a manner of minntes or hours, but many require days, even weeks, for their solu tion. Mounting use of low-power and other electrical devices which emit radiations that play hob with radio communication is another subject which is receiving mutual attention by the Commission, in- 1 2 REPORT OF THE FE>DERA:L COMM=ICATIONS COMMISSION dustry and others involved with a view of establishing rules to mini mize this type of interference. Some of the Commission's normal routine was delayed or foregone temporarily because of budgetary limitations and the press of more important problems requiring priority consideration. Examples of the latter were the time-consuming television proceedings, interna tional communication matters, legislative and litigation proceedings, and special engineering and technical investigations. The numerical extent of the Commission's supervisory and regu latory field is exemplified in the fact that, as of June 30, 1950, its records showed more than 775,000 licenses and other authorizations outstanding. This represents a net increase of about 75,000 during the year. Not included in the above total are associated portable and mobile radio transmitters, which alone exceeded 220,000. In the radio field there were nearly 35 times as many nonbroadcast authorizations as broadcast authorizations. In round figures, these groups numbered 155,000 and 4,500 authorizations respectively. Radio operator authorizations rose to 615,000, an increase of 52,000 during the year. In the same period the Commission received more than 220,000 ap· plications of all kinds. Of this number, nearly 150,000 concerned radio operators, and there were about 63,000 nonbroadcast applications IlS compared with 6,200 dealing with broadcast. Common carrier ap plications numbered 3,600. In addition, common carriers filed some 23,500 tariffs and reports requiring Commission attention. There were 595 cases on the Commission docket at the close of the year, or 60 less than for the previous year. About 90 percent of these hearing cases concerned broadcast. COMMISSION There was no change in membership of the Commission during the year. Commissioner George E. Sterling was reappointed and con firmed for a 7-year term. Major steps were taken in reorganizing the operating staff on func tional instead of professional lines. On March 3, 1950 a unified Common Carrier Bureau was established, effective April 3 thereafter, and on June 29, 1950, the Commission provided for a Safety and Special Radio Services Bureau, to become effective .July 31, 1950. At the close of the year the Commission's personnel numbered 1,285, which was a reduction of 55 duringthe year. The Commission's appropriations for the year amounted to $6,729,345. During the year the Commission made five legislative proposals, namely: (1) to enable it to purchase land and construct buildings for monitoring and research; (2) to authorize it to issue ceaSe and desist REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMlssmN 3 orders; (3) to provide that no broadcast station censor, alter or control broadcasts by legally qualified candidates for public office, and to relieve the stations from being liable for such broadcast material; (4) to provide for reimbursement to the Commission by the States for compensation, transportation, and subsistence expenses of Commission employees when made available as consultants or witnesses in common carrier regulatory matters pending before State commissions; and (5) to add a radio fraud statute to the United States Criminal Code. In the Federal courts were 32 cases which involved the Commission. Of these, 9 were decided in favor of the Commission, 2 others were reversed or remanded to the Commission, 6 were dismissed by agree ment, and 15 remained in litigation. NATIONAL DEFENSE Throughout the year the Commission cooperated with military and other Government agencies, also with civil organizations and elements of industry, in matterspertaini~to the national defense. On March 23, 1950, the Commission proposed a new Disaster Communications Service which would enable Government and nongovernment radio stations to engage in emergency communication in event of armed attack as well as during times of floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters. The Commission continued regional disaster coor dination with the Coast Guard, Navy, Army, Air Force, Red Cross, radio amateurs, and State and municipal police organizations. Its established services include the Special Emergency Radio Service, for handling matters directly relating to public safety and the protection of life and property; the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the Air Force, and the Amateur Radio Service, which maintains regional networks for emergency purposes. COMMON CARRIERS The telephone industry reac'hed new peaks, reporting a total of over 40,000,000 telephones in service, an over-all investment of around $10,000,000,000 and more than $1,000,000,000 in new facilities added. The number of telephone calls increased to more than 45,000,000,000 and revenues reached about $3,000,000,000. Improvement in facilities and installations of new types of plant continued at a rapid pace. The conversion of manual telephones to dial was accelerated. Facilities to provide dialing of long distance calls by operators are in general USC; a transcontinental micro\vave radio relay system for telephone service is well under construction; and mobile radio-telephone service is expanding as rapidly as the available radio frequencies permit. On December 21, 1949, the Commission adopted a report and order requiring the Bell system telephone companies and The 'Vestern 4 REPORT OF THE FElllERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Union Telegraph Co., among other things, to permit interconnection of their intercity television program (video) transmission channels with private noncommon carrier intercity television relay channels authorized by tlhe Commission pending availability of adequate com mon carrier service. This action was designed to encourage and expedite the development of network TV broadcasting. Hearings were also held on the question of whether Bell system companies and Western Union Should be required to establish physical connections and through routes for TV program transmissionservice. Domestic telegraph service, which experienced a gradual decline in revenues and volume of business for several years, reached a leveling off point and registered some gains. Western Union completed and installed a Nation-wide uniform rate structure during the year. Modernization of facilities has continued and plans for an extensive microwave radio relay system for telegraph service are materializing. Improvement of facilities and operating efficiency, coupled with an increase in the volume of business, are producing profits, thereby bettering the earnings situation of Western Union that had been unfavorable for several years. International telegraph business continued the downward trend of the past several years but indications of a reversal were evident at the close of fiscal 1950. A new international message service providing for direct connections between customers was inaugurated, on May 15, 1950, between New York City and The Netherlands. International radiotelegraph service was being furnished directly to 14 countries and through them indirectly to nearly every other country. International telegraph (radio and cable) traffic during the calendar year 1949 amounted to more than 400,000,DOO words, of which amount nearly 260,000,000 was out-bound. International radiotelephone service was furnished directly to 56 countries and through them to about 30 more countries. The volume of overseas telephone calls ran about 8 percent over the previous year with 615,000 calls in the calendar yeltr 1949. A rate reduction, amounting to $280,000 a year, on telephone service between this country and Cuba was agreed to during the year to become effective July 1, 1950. SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES Increasing interest and activity was reflected in the safety and special radio services which embrace radio aids for the protection of life and property as well as utilization of radio for business and other purposes. Authorizations in this category (exclusive of amateurs, citizens, and special aircraft which, for the convenience of this report, are treated under "Radio Operators"), exceeded 66,000, not counting about REPORT OF 'I'H1!i FEDERAL COMMUNICATWNS COMMI&.6'!ON 5 three times that many associated portable and mobile transmitters. The safety and special radio authorizations are almost 15 times the number of all broadcast authorizations. The largest single classification was the marine services, in which ship and coastal stations totaled nearly 25,000. Aeronautical stationlT-both aircraft and ground-approximated 24,000. The public safety radio services, comprising police, fire, forestry-conserva tion, highway maintenance, and special emergency, numbered more than 7,600. Stations in the industrial radio services, such as power, petroleum, forest products, relay press, motion picture, etc.,ex~ded 6,000. Land transportation radio services held nearly 3,500 authori zations in the railroad, urban transit, intercity bus, taxicab, highway truck, and automobile emergency classifications. There were nearly 500 experimental authorizations. However, the foregoing figures do not reflect the actual number of transmitters involved, since one authorization can cover hundreds of portable and mobile units. For example, in addition to ships and aircraft, there were nearly 60,000 portable or mobile units in the pub lic safety services (including over 47,000 police units) ; nearly 52,000 in the land transportation services (including nearly 48,000 taxicabs), almost 34,000 in the industrial services (including over 23,000 in the power field), and more than 4,500 in the experimental service. The public safety, land transportation, and industrial radio services operated their first full year under extensive rule changes which went into effect on July 1, 1949. The mounting interest in the safety and special services is attested by- the fact that more than 62,000 applications were received during the year in the groups previously mentioned, exceeding those of the previous year by over 10,000. BROADCAST The broadcast year witnessed mounting interest in television, a fur ther slackening of FM authorizations and applications, but a con tinued growth of AM facilities, particularly in the smaller communities. Authorized AM, FM, and TV commercial broadcast stations totaled 3,144 at the close of the fiscal year, which was only 17 mote than the year previous. However, the number of licensed sta tions rose to 2,658, an increase of 305. On June 30, 1950, there were 351 TV, 277 A.M and 17 FM applications on file for new stations. The number of broadcast receivers was approaching 81,000,000. The aggregate revenues of the aural and television broadcast in dustries reached $450,000,000 in 1949 or 8 percent above 1948. TV revenues were $34,300,000, or almost four times the 1948 amount. Despite this tremendous increase in TV revenues, however, aural broadcast industry revenues rose to about $415,000,000 or about 2 per- 909925-51-2 6 REPORT OF THE FE'DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION cent above 1948. Aggregate aural and TV income (before Federal income tax) dropped to $27,300,000 in 1949, or 41 percent below the preceding year largely as a result of the $25,300,000 loss sustained by the television industry. Hearings on color TV proposals consumed 62 days between Septem ber1949 and May 1950, during which nearly 10,000 pages of testimony was taken and nearly 300 exhibits were introduced. This was the first phase in the Commission's TV proceeding, announced July 11, 1949, looking towards new standards to curh interference, providing addi tional channels, and consideration of color. Decision on the color issue was pending at the close of the year. Despite the attendant "freeze" on new TVstation construction, there were 109 previously authorized TV stations at the year's end., of which number 47 were licensed. Altogether', 106 TV stations were on the air serving 64 cities and metropolitan areas, as compared with 71 stations serving 42 cities the year previous. An estimated 7,000,000 TV re ceivers were in the hands of the public. More than 200 experimental TV stations were functioning, including nearly 160 auxiliary TV broadcast stations. For the first time the number of licensed AM stations passed the 2,000 mark. They totaled 2,118, or 155 more than in 1949. AM authorizations mounted to 2,303, an increase of 103 during the year. Most of this AM expansion took place in nonmetropolitan districts, particularly in communities which previously had no local AM out lets. Decision in the clear channel proceeding was held in abeyance because of negotiations for a new North American regional broadcast ing agreement. Despite deletions which reduced FM broadcast authorizations from 865 to 732, the year closed with 493 licensed EM stations, a gain of 116. The number of FM stations on the air decreased by 46, leaving 691 in operation. However, FM programs remained available over most of the eastern half of the United States, over most of the west coast area, and in a number of cities and adjacent rural areas in the West. FM audiences were using approximately 5,500,000 receivers. A few FM stations provided facsimile service during the year. Due, in part, to the economies of low-power operation, noncom· mercial educational FM broadcast stations grew from 58 to 82. Dur ing the year the Commission set aside a channel in this service for the United Nations headquarters in New York. International hroadcast stations, which operate under the auspices of the Department of State, increased from 37 to 40. Miscellaneous auxiliary broadcast services (remote pickup, studio transmitter, and developmental) accounted for 1,038 additional au thorizations, or 416 more than the year previous. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATWNS COMMIElS'lON 7 RADIO OPERATORS The largest single group which the Commission administers com prises more than 615,000 radio operators, and over 88,000 radio sta tions licensed to amateurs and individual citizens. There are over 408,000 commercial operators, 120,000 private flyers holding special aircraft radiotelephone authorizations, nearly 87,000 amateur opera tors, and 88,000 amateur stations, and over 300 authorizations to indi viduals for personal radiocommunication, etc. Together these serv ices accounted for nearly 148,000 applications during the year. Changes made in rules affecting commercial radio operators in cluded establishment of a third-class operator permit for nonteclmical duties, definition of the qualifications of persons who adjust or test ship radar installations, and liberalization of the requirements for physically handicapped persons to obtain operator licenses. The Commission amended its amateur rules to clarify eligibility for two-letter calls, and to provide a year of grace for renewal of licenses expiring after January 1, 1951. Established on a regular basis as of June 1, 1949, the citizens service has been handicapped by lack of type-approved manufactured sets and inability of home constructors to meet the technical standards required for low power transmitter-receivers to operate in this per sonalized service. FIELn ENGINEERING AND MONITORING The Commission's field engineering work was conducted through 9 regional offices supervising 23 district offices, 6 suOOffices, and 3 ship offices, augmented by 11 primary and 8 secondary monitoring stations. Monitoring operations resulted in the serving of nearly 10,000 violation notices, haudling over 100 requests for assistance involving Jost or disabled aircraft, and helping trace sources of interference. During the year the field staff handled more than 8,600 investiga tive complaints and closed down 149 illegal radio operations. In spection of nearly 2,000 broadcast stations revealed more than 1,100 technical discrepancies. Over 10,000 ship station inspections showed more than 8,900 discrepancies. Nearly 13,000 other nonbroadcast radio-station inspections resnlted in about 3,700 deficiencies being cited. The engineering field staff also gave examinations to radio opera tors, and as a result, granted more than 100,000 operator authoriza tions of all classes. In addition, it engaged in 128 technical engineering projects for the Commission and other Government agencies. 8 REPORT OF THE FElDERA'L COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TECHNICAL RESEARCH AND LABORATORY The Commission's research and technical studies were conducted by the Technical Research Division with the assistance of the Labora tory Division and the Field Engineering and Monitoring Division. During the year emphasis was placed upon VHF (very high fre quency) and UHF (ultra high frequency) propagation studies, with attention also given to restricted and incidental radiation devices, l"eceiver radiation, single and side band snppressed carrier studies, and radiolocation, but with continuance of medium frequency projects, such as sunspot cycles and atmospheric noise. The laboratory at Laurel, Md., investigated various methods of transmission and reception, tested transmitters and receivers, and monitoring equipment, and investigated interference produced by noncommunication use of radio-frequency energy. Its testing of equipment prior to marketing is an interference preventative because cooperating manufacturers take any remedial meaSures which may be necessary in order to obtain type approval prior to production and distribution of units in large number. INTERNATIONAL Besides its contiuuing regulatory work having to do with frequency allocations, the Commission was active in preparing to bring into force domestically the international table of frequency allocations below 27,500 kilocycles. The Atlantic City table of frequency alloca tions above 27,500 kilocycles is now in force and is reflected in part 2 of the Commission's rules. During the year, the Commission assisted iIi the United States preparation and participation in 19 international meetings and con ferences having to do with all types of electrical communication media. At the close of the year, it was preparing for 24 additional international sessions. It IIlso made extensive changes in its fre quency records and system of notifying the International Telecom munications Union at Geneva. The Commission handled nearly 400 cases of international interfer ence, and prepared approximately 3,000 reports of treaty infractions for transmittal to nearly 150 foreign countries. 2. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS INTEllNATIONAL On August 25 the Commission released the list of proposed fre quency assignments below 27,500 kilocycles, with special reference to those in the 2,000-3,500 kilocycle band to be recommended for interna tional rec;istration in connection with the Extraordinary Administra tive Radio Conference of the International Telecommunication Union !REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL C'OMMUNICATLONB C'OMMIBB!ION 9 (ITU). This conference, which had been scheduled for The Hague in September, was postponed because of world conditions. The final protocol of the Paris International TelCj;(l'aph Conference and United States adherence to the International Telewoaph Regula tions, with reservations, was ratified by the United States Senate on August 9, and proclaimed by the President on November 20. The second session of the North American Regional Broadcasting Conference, in Washington on November 15, concluded an awoeement relating to operating policies and procedures for AM broadcasting in that region. NATIONAL DEFENSE Proposed rules were issued by the Commission on August 3 for a new Disaster Communications Service which would provide emer gency radio communication in time of floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., as well as armed attack. On the same date, rules were proposed to enable non-Government radio stations to use Government frequencies for intercommunication where such cooperation is required, such as the conduct of joint opera tions. They were finalized October 30. Reactivation of the State Guard Radio Service was proposed Sep tember 8 and effected October 30. This service is for guard units which function in States where the National Guard has been called into Federal service. Texas received the first grant in this reactivated service (November 8). COMMON CARRIERS The American Telephone & Telegraph Co., on September 1, placed into service a microwave relay system between New York and Chicago to auwnent existinj!; coaxial cable routes. The first microwave cir cuit between Los Alll!;eles and San Francisco was opened by the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. on September 15. By October the Bell System intercity coaxial cable-microwave network had extended from Boston to Jacksonville, thence to Atlanta and Birmingham; from Philadelphia westward to Omaha and Kansas City, with links to Minneapolis and St. Paul; St. Louis and Memphis; Columbus, Day ton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Louisville; Cleveland to Rochester; and New York to Syracuse. Because applications for mobile radiotelephone carrier operations in New York, Chicago, Honston, Dallas, and Los Angeles exceeded available frequencies, the Commission in the late summer and fall scheduled competitive hearings in those areas. As of August 18, the Commission amended its rules governing pres ervation of records by common carriers to separate the provisions applying to telephone and telegraph companies. 10 REPORT OF THE FEaJERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION On October 18 the Commission instituted an investigation into the lawfulness of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and certain Bell System companies tariffs governing the allocation of intercity video relay facilities (docket 9816). The Commission on November 14 (in docket 9433) found that prac tices in acceptance and delivery, to and from hinterland points, of overseaS and foreign telegraph messages were just and reasonable, but ordered carriers to file certain covering tariffs before December 20. SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES On September 15 the Commission announced rule-making looking to extensive revisions of its rules governing the Maritime Radio Serv ices-Part 7, Coastal and Marine Relay Services, and Part 8, Ship Service. They are designed to bring these rules in step with marine radio developments and to reflect new international treaties and agree ments affecting these services. As of August 21, the frequency 6210 kilocycles was made available as an international calling and working frequency for private and carrier aircraft. Establishment of Aerouautical Advisory Stations in the Aeronautical Radio Services was effected November 22. On Oc tober 13 it was proposed to transfer rules and regulations governing aeronautical services in Alaska from Part 14 to Part 9. The effective date for implementing the aeronautical VHF (very high frequency) program was postponed from July 1 until further notice. Revision of the experimental rules, as proposed August 3, would replace the present classes I, 2, and 3 authorizations with two new classifications-research and developmental. On industry complaint, the Commission on August 2 withdrew its type approval of a diathermy machine produced by a New York manufacturer. The case went to hearing. BROADCAST As a result of the extensive hearing mentioned elsewhere in this report, the Commission on September 1 issued its first report on the color issue in the general television proceedings (dockets 8736 et a!.). It found that the field sequential color system of the Columbia Broad casting System more fully met the Commission's criteria for a TV color system. However, in view of the compatability problem and the possibility of improvements in TV color systems generally, the Commission proposed postponing a color decision and adopting mono chrome "bracket standards" which would enable black-and-white TV sets incorporating those standards to receive CBS color transmissions in monochrome. This proposal was conditioned to receiver manu facturers agreeing to equip future TV sets with a manual or automatic switch for that purpose. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSiON 11 But the response from set makers was insufficient and, in accordance with its September 1 announcement, the Commission on October 11 issued a second report in which it adopted the field sequential color system for commercial broadcasting, effective November 20. In so doing, it held the door open for consideration of competitive systems or developments on the basis of testing and practical demonstration. At the same time, the Commission announced that at a later date it would hold a 'hearing on bracket standards for the present mono chrome TV system. The Radio Corp. of America and two subsidiaries litigated the Com mission's color TV decision and, on November 16, the United States District Court at Chicago issued a temporary order restraining such commercial color broadcasts pending a decision by that court. Mean while, on October 16, Commission hearing on other phases of the TV proceedings was resumed at Washington. On October 5 the Commission proposed temporary rule-making (docket 9807) which would maintain competition between TV net work organizations during the current "freeze" period, when the num ber of interconnected stations in many cities is less than the number of networks available to supply programs to those cities, by limiting the number of hours a TV station could use the programs of any single network. In November, '''OR-TV, New York, was authorized to test the "Skiatron Subscriber-Vision" system. Zenith Radio Corp. postponed its "Phonevision" tests in Chicago to December l. The Commission announced, on .July 21, that a review of the record of its hearing on the sale of national spot advertising by networks (docket 9080) was insufficient to support a finding t'hat this practice violates the chain broadcasting regulations but was still considering whether it was in the public interest. On October 6 the Commission dismissed its proceedings in the matter of adopting rules relating to forfeiture of broadcast construc tion permits if a contract for transfer or assignment is entered into priorto completion of station construction (docket 9553). The STL (Studio-Transmitter-Link) broadcast rules were amended September 8 to permit AM as well as FM use of such facilities. On September 27 the Commission proposed rules to permit remote control operation, under certain conditions, of low-power noncommer cial educational FM broadcast stations. As of July 21, the Commission resumed processing of AM broad cast applications in a single processing line instead of the two classi fications (simple and complicated) which had been in effect since August 16, 1946. 12 REPORT OF THE FI'lDERA:L COMMUNIC'ATIONS C'OMMISSION OPERATORS Two new classes of commercial radio operator permits--radiotele phone third class and radiotelegraph third class--became effective September 1, when the restricted radiotelegraph operator permit was discontinued. The renewal section of the amateur rules was waived for 1 year, from November 13, for applicants in the military service. At the same time, the amateur rules were clarified to permit photo stating of amateur operator licenses. COMMISSION In the late summer the Commission completed microfilming its official minutes, and those of its predecessor Federal Radio Commis sion. By this means, 99 volumes (78,000 pages) were reduced to 46 small reels. The latter were offered to the National Archives for safekeeping. As of October 31, the number of radio authorizations outstanding on the Commission's books, for the first time, exceeded the 800,000 mark. This represented a gain of nearly 30,000 since the close of the 1950 fiscal year. Comparative figures for groups and services follow: Service June 30, Oct. 31, Increase or 1950 1950 (decrease) "'1 ------_._... 26 ------·-(i7) 41 315 26 933 8 27,870 4,076 27,184 ',263 8,139 53' 7,336 1,246 3,001 406 89,739 1,772 380 45 .80 14 166,029 10,304 2,336 33 711 (21) 87 • 10' --··--··--2i 227 40 --------(47) '56 29 ------------ 6 -------~---. 4,501 (') 419,595 11,374 126,692 6,142 88,338 1,676 634,625 19,192 805,088 29,045 408,221 120,550 86,662 Total •--------I~"'6=15~,'C.33""'I,~=""'~lo~~= Grand totaL •• •__ + •• __ 775,543 CHAPTER I-GENERAL 1. AUTHORITY 2. FUNCTIONS 3. COMMISSIONERS 4. STAFF ORGANIZATION 5. PERSONNEL 6. APPROPRIATIONS 7. LITIGATION 8. LEGISLATION 9. NATIONAL DEFENSE 10. HEARINGS 11. LICENSES AND OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS 12. APPLICATIONS AND OTHER FILINGS 13. CORRESPONDENCE, RELEASES AND PUBLICATIONS 1. AUTHORITY The Federal Communications Commission was created by and op erates pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Its authority under this statute extends to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other possessions, but not to the Canal Zone. As an independent Federal agency established by Congress, the Com mission reports directly to Congress. 2. FUNCTIONS The Commission is, in general, charged with regulating interstate and international communication by telephone and telegraph, and broadcast and other forms of radio services. Its duties embrace supervision of rates and services of subject com mon carriers; allocation of radio frequencies; licensing of nongovern ment radio stations and radio operators; promoting safety through the use of radio on land, water, and in the air; encouraging more effective and widespread utilization of radio; participating in the formulation and domestic administration of wire and radio provisions of treaties and other international agreements to which the United States is a party; and helping coordinate the many forms of electrical com munication with the national security effort. The Commission's regulatory functions include the establishment and enforcement of rules and regulations, and engineering standards, 13 14 REPORT OF THE FEtDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION and making and carrying out policies to meet expansion and develop ments in this field. In so doing, it must conform to the Administrative Procedure Act which prescribes uniform rule.making practices for Federal agencies to follow. Licensing by the Commission is limited by the Communications Act to citizens of the United States. No fee or charge of any kind is exacted by the Commission in con nection with its licensing and regulatory functions. 3. COMMISSIONERS The Commission is administered by seven Commissioners who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Presi dent designates one of these Commissioners to serve as Chairman. The normal term of a Commissioner is 7 years. Terms are staggered. Not more than four Commissioners may be members of the same political party. Throughout the fiscal year the Commissioners continued to function as a unit, directly supervising all activities of the Commission, with delegations of responsibility to boards and committees of Commission ers, individual Commissioners, and the Commission stall'. Policy determinations were made by the Commission as a whole. On June 2, 1949, the Chairman was given additional administrative responsibility by the Commission. On policy matters, such as prepara· tion of budget requests, he was given the responsibility of developing proposals for Commission action. On nonpolicy matters he was given authority for final action with the Commission to be merely informed as to the actions he takes. At the same time, the Office of Administration was made directly responsible to the Chairman in order to aid the Chairman in carrying out his increased responsi. bilities. The' mounting workload and growing complexity of problems re quiring policy consideration caused provision to be made early in fiscal 1950 for a legal assistautto each Commissioner. On March 27, 1950, the Commission changed the name of its special legal and technical group to t'he Office of Formal Hearing Assistants. This unit, created June 2, 1949, comprises special legal and technical assistants assigued to work on hearing matters for the Commissioners as a body. There was no change in the membership of the Commission during the year. On May 26, 1950, Commissioner George E. Sterling (who took office on January 2, 1948, under a recess appointment) was re nominated by the President and, on June 20, 1950, was confirmed by the Senate for a 7-yearterm from June 30, 1950. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSilON 15 4. STAFF ORGANIZATION During the year, the Commission began reorganizing its operating staff on functional instead of professional lines. By orders of March 3, 1950, effective April 3 thereafter, the Offices 'of General Counsel, Chief Accountant and Chief Engineer were set up as major staff units withth~seduties: Office of General Oouwel.-Advise and represent the Commission in matters of litigation; advise and represent the Commission, and co ordinate and make recommendations to the Commission on proposed legislation and international agreements with which the Commission is concerned; interpret the statutes, international agreements, and regulations affecting the Commission and advise the Commission (in cluding the Common Carrier Bureau) as to the authority and power the Commission possesses under sueh statntes, agreements, and regu lations; formulate and make recommendations on procedural rules of general applicability and review all rules for consistency with other rules, uniformity, and legal sufficiency; conduct research in legal matters as directed by the Commission; participate in and render advice to the Commission in proceedings and matters involving rule making which concern jointly the common-carrier services and any sewices other than corrunon carrier; maintain liaison with other agencies of Government on common-carrier matters; provide repre sentation for the Commission on Commission-wide and interdepart mental committees; deal with members of the public and of the industries concerned; perform such other duties as may be assigned or referred by the Commission; exercise such authority as may be assigned or referred by the Commission pursuant to se.etion 5 (e) of the Communications Act. The Office of General Counsel functions with a Broadcast Division and a Litigation and Administration Division. Office of Ohief AccO'1Pnt4'nt.-Recommend the accounting principles which shall be observed; conduct research in and advise the Com mission on economic matters to be considered in policy determinations; advise the Commission and its bureaus regarding accounting, eco nomic, and statistical matters; maintain liaison with other agencies of Government on common-carrier matters; provide representation for the Commission on Commission-wide and interdepartmental commit tees, and on the National Association of Railroad and Utilities Com missioners' Committees on depreciation and on accounts and statistics; deal with members of the public and of the industries concerned; perform such other duties as may be assigned or referred by the Commission; exercise such authority as may be assigned or referred by the Commission pursuant to section 5 (e) of the Communications 16 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMl\<1ISSION Act. The Office of Ohief Accountant comprised three divisions-Ac counting Systems, Broadcast, and Economics. OfJice of Ohief Engineer.-Advise the Commission and the Common Carrier Bureau on matters of applied technical research; advise and represent the Commission in the deliberations on the allocation or radio frequencies; collaborate with the Common Carrier Bureau in the formulation of standards of engineering practice and the rules and regulations related thereto, and advise the O>mmission on such mat ters; participate in and render advice to the Commission in proceed ings and matters involving rule-making which concern jointly the common-carrier services and any services other than common carrier;: maintain liaison with other agencies of government on common carrier matters; provide representation for the Commission on Com mission-wide and interdepartmental committees; deal with members of the public and of the industries concerned; perform such other duties as may be assigned or referred by the Commission; exercise such authority as may be assigned or referred by the Commission pursuant to section 5 (e) of the Communications Act. Divisions of the Office of Chief Engineer embrace Aural Broadcast, Television Broadcast, Field Engineering and Monitoring, Technical Research, Laboratory, and Frequency, Allocation and Treaty. Also effective April 3, 1950, the Commission created a Oornmwn Oarrier Bureau with four divisions-Telegraph, Telephone, Inter national, and Statistics. This new bureau, which unifies related legal, engineering, and accounting activities, is charged with "carrying out the common-carrier regulatory program of the Commission under applicable statutes, international agreements, and rules and regula tions, including the regulation of common-carrier rates, services, and accounting, and the licensing of common carrier wire and radio, services." Its duties include the initiation of rules and regulations, except as otherwise specifically provided in the functions of the Offices of the Chief Accountant, Chief Engineer, General Counsel, and the Office of Formal Hearing Assistants; collaboration with representatives of State regulatory commissions and with the National Association of Railroad and Utilities Commissioners in the conduct of cooperative studies of regulatory matters of common concern; participation on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission in international conferences involving common-carrier matters; and, further, assist,. advise, and make recommendations to the Commission and represent the Commission in matters pertaining to common-carrier regulation. The Common Carrier Bureau comprises Telephone, Telegraph, Com mon Carrier Statistics, and International Divisions. !REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMlfflICATIDNS COMMIS5IION 17 On June 29, 1950, the Commission established a Rafety and Special ~adioServices Bureau, to become effective .July 31 thereafter. This new bureau will consist of five divisions--Aviation, Marine, Indus try and Commerce, State-local Government and Amateur, and Author ization Analysis--supplemented by an Enforcement Unit in the Office ·of the Chief. It will unify the regulation of practically all the non broadcast and certain nonexclusive common carrier radio services. In general, it will "assist. advise and make recommendations to the Com mission with respect to the development of a safety and special services regulatory program and Shall be responsible for the performance of any work, function or activities to carry out that program in accord ance with applicable statutes, international agreements, and rules and regulations, except insofar as functions are specifically delegated to ·other bureaus or staff offices of the Commission." Its prescribed functions are to "issue authorizations for radio sta tions (in the safety and special services) ; initiate rule-making pro Tnlm.is sion, 86 U. S. App. D. C. - 180 F. (2d) 28 (1950), the Com mission denied the applications of Mansfield for station licenses where it was shown that Mansfield's actions as the sole owner of a newspaper in Mansfield, Ohio, were taken for the purpose of suppressing compe tition and of securing a monopoly of mass advertising and news dis semination and that such practices were likely to continue by its acquisition of a radio station in Mansfield. The applicant used its position as sole newspaper in the community to coerce its advertisers to REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIION 21 enter into exclusive advertising contracts with the newspaper and to refrain from utilizing radio station WMAN for advertising purposes. Accordingly, the applications of Mansfield for radio station licenses were rejected on the ground that a grant to itwould not be in the public interest. On appeal, the court affirmed the Commission, holding that it was fully within the Commission's jurisdiction to hear evidence on the monopolistic practices of the appellant, regardless of ,whether or not s\lCh practices were specifically forbidden by the antitrust laws, and to deny the licenses upon its finding that such practices had taken place and were likely to carryover into the operation of the radio station. The court also ruled that the mandate of the first amendment did not preclude the Commission from considering the competitive practices of the newspaper applicant. 3. In Edwin W.Pauley, et al dlb a8 Televi8ion Oali!tYfflia v. Federal OommwnicatioruJ Oommi88ion, 86 U. S. App. D. C. -, 181 F. (2d) 292 (1950), petitioner was an applicant for a construction permit for a television station in San Francisco, Calif. Since the number of available channels was smaller than the number of applicants, the Commission ordered a consolidated hearing. Petitioner objected to an order of the Commission severing from the consolidated proceeding an application which had been filed several years previously but upon which no action had been taken pending the outcome of related pro ceedings, concerning the qualifications of such other applicant. Petitioner sought review under section 402 (b) of the act which pro vides for an appeal to the Court of Appeals for the District of Colum· bia Circuit from an order resulting in the grant or denial of an application. The court determined that ithad no jurisdiction to enter· tain the appeal, reasoning that the order neither granted nor denied any of the applications so that at most there was" • • • no more than a lessened statistical probability th&t petitioner will ultimately succeed in getting a station." 4. In Roy L. Albert80n v. Federal Oommunications Oommi8sion, - U. S. App. D. C. 182, F [2d] 397 (1950), the court held that where the Commission entertains a motion for rehearing, filed to request the Commission to reconsider a denial of a previous motion for re hearing, consideration of the second motion on the merits suspends the running of the period for taking an appeal from the order denying the first application for rehearing. In that case, the Commission dismissed Albertson's application for rehearing, which alleged that the grant of a station license to Dunkirk Broadcasting Corp., Dun kirk, N. Y., would cause interference to it, for failure to comply with the requirements of the Commission's rules with respect to petitions for rehearing. The court did not question the validity of the rules but held that Dunkirk having admitted the interference in its re- 909925-51-3 22 REPORT OF THE FE'DERA'L COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION sponsive pleading, Albertson was entitled to a hearing despite non compliance with the rule. 5. In Radio Oinoinnati, Inc. v. Federal OommunioatioW! Oom mission, 85 U. S. App. D. C. 292, 177 F. (2d) 92 (1949), the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a decision of the Commission granting the application of 'VJIM, Inc., for a station license in Lansing, Mich., and denying the mutually exclusive application of Radio Cincinnati, Inc., holding that the Commission had been eminently fair and diligently conscientious in complying with section 307 (b) of the act which provides that "* * * In considering applications for licenses * * * the Commission shall make such distribution of licenses * * * among the several States and communities as to provide a fair, efficient, and equitable distribution of radio service to each of the same." 8. LEGISLATION During the fiscal year 1950 the Commission submitted five pro posals to the Bureau of the Budget as part of the Commission's legis lative programs. These proposals included: (1) An amendment to section 4 (g) of t'he Communications Act, which would authorize the Commission to purchase land and construct buildings to be used for monitoring and research purposes; (2) the addition of a new section to the act ,which would authorize the Commission to issue ceaSe and desist orders; (3) an amendment to section 315 of the act, which would pro vide no radio station licensee has the power to censor, alter or control broadcasts by legally qualified candidates for public office and that licensees cannot be held criminally or civilly liable for material broad cast by any such candidate; (4) an amendment to section 410 (b) of the act to provide for reimbursement to the Commission by the States for the compensation, transportation, and subsistence expenses of Commission employees when they are made available to State commis sions to act as consultants or witnesses in common carrier regulatory matters pending before such commissions; and (5) a proposal to add a radio fraud statute to the Unit~dState Criminal Code. All of these proposals were approved for submission to Congress. The Commission's proposals with respect to authorizing purchas ing of land for monitoring station and research activities, the issu ance of cease and desist orders and enacting a radio fraud statute were included in S. 1973, introduced by Senator McFarland, which passed the Senate on August 9, 10"19. These same three proposals were included in S. 1626, introduced by Senator Johnson (Colorado), and the proposals concerning' cease and desist orders and political broadcasts were embodied in H. R. 60JO, introduced by Mr. Sadowski. No action had been taken on either of these latter two bills. H. R. 4251, which also authorizes the Commission to purchase land to be REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSJON 23 used for monitoring stations, was passed by the House of Represent atives on May 16, 1949. The Commission's proposal to amend sec tion 410 (b) has not been introduced in Congress, bnt a similar amendment to section 410, advanced by the National Association of Railroad and Utility Commissioners, was embodied in H. R. 738l>. The Commission prepared and submitted detailed comments on eaell of these bills. There were also nnmerous bills considered by the Congress which directly or indirectly concerned the Commission, and on which it was called to snbmit its views. The most important of these were: S. 1973 and H. R. 6949, both of which, in addition to embodying some of the Commission's legislative proposals, would extensively amend the Communications Act as we.ll as lllake substantial changes in Com mission .organization and procedure; H. R. 5481, introduced by Mr. Hobbs, which would revise the procedure for handling appeals to the courts from Commission decisions and orders, and which was passed by the House of Representatives June 5, 1950; H. R. 7310 introduced by Mr. Sheppard, which would place restrictions on the ownership and use of radio broadcasting stations engaged in network operations; and S. 3358 and H. R. 1233, which would prohibit or restrict the transmission of certain gambling information in inter· l'itate commerce by means of communications facilities. Member'S of the Commi'Sion's staff aided in the drafting of S. 3358 and the Chairman of the Commission gave extensive testimony on the bill at a hearing held before a subcommittee of the Senate Com· ll1ittee on Interstate and Forei h '1:1 Commerce. and the committee favorably reported the bill to the Senate on May 26, 1950. The Chair man also testified on the use of interstate conlffiunications facilities in the dissemination of gambling information before the Special Senate Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. In addition to its legislative drafting activities and the testimony presented before congressional committees, the Commis sion prepared comments for the Congress and the Bureau of the Budget on more than 40 proposed bills, other than those specifically mentioned above, which contained provisions concerning the. Com mission's functions. 9. NATIONAL DEFENSE Use of wire and radio communication to aid the national defense, along with promotion of safety of life and property in general, is among the stated pnrposes of the Commission under section 1 of the Communications Act. In event of war, or public peril or disaster, or other national emergency, special powers in connection with such communication are conferred upon the President by section 606 of that act. 24 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Under this authority, the President in 1940 created the Defense Commnnications Board, which later became the Board of War Com munications. Headed by the then chairman of the Commission, this board coordinated electrical communication facilities in the war effort. Having served its emergency mission, the board was dissolved in 1947. Also during World War II, the Commission cooperated with the Army Air Forces in maintaining a constant vigil on the coasts, at times closing down radio transmissions which might have furnished bearing to enemy aircraft; and, with the Office of Civilian Defense, worked to guard vital communication facilities against sabotage. Further, during that conflict, the Commission established a Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Rervice which monitored and analyzed broad cast programs from overseas for military and other Government agen cies. Its own Radio Intelligence Division policed domestic frequen cies. The latter located nearly 400 unlicensed transmitters, most of which, fortunately, did not involve espionage. Employing the same direction-finding equipment, it was able to furnish bearings to several thousand planes and vessels in distress. The FBIS was absorbed by the armed services in 1945 and the RID was merged with the Commis sion's Field Engineering and Monitoring Division the following year. Despite the necessary freeze on new construction during "Vorld War II, operating broadcast stations-including some in the then new FM and TV services--continued to function. However, amateurs were required to cease operation for the duration, and some common carrier and other nonbroadcast radio facilities were diverted to temporary military and other government nse. The Commission is, of course, unable to publicly detail its current activities relating to the national defense. This is largely due to their classified nature, plus section 4 (j) of the Communications Act which, in effect, enjoins the Commission from publicizing information affecting thenational security. However, in general, itcan be reported that the Commission is cooperating closely with military and other Government agencies engaged in such work and with organizations and other elements of industry. In particular, liaison is maintained with the communications divi sions of the National Security Board and the Department of State. Further Government military and civil cooperation is effected through the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee and the Telecommu nications Coordinating Committee. Of special national defense siguificance during the year was the Commission's initiation, on March 23,1950, of a proposed new Disaster Communications Service which would enable both Government and nongovernment stations to furnish emergency communication in event REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONB COMMISSIION 25 of armed attack as well as during times of floods, earthquakes, hurri canes, and other disasters. The Commission has long maintained regional disaster emergency coordination with the Coast Guard, Navy, Army, Air Force, Red Cross, amateurs, and State and municipal police organizations. Its established services include the Special Emergency Radio Service, for handling matters directly relating to public safety and the protection of life and property; the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the Air Force whose stations are licensed by the Commission, and theAma teur Radio Service, which has long provided regional networks for emergency purposes a.nd now has a. military amateur radio system affiliated with the Army and Air Force. The country's radio and wire installations which have been greatly augmented and improved since the last war, constitute an important and speedy media for Government and mass communication in time of national emergency. Indeed, no other nation is so well equipped with civilian radio facilities-facilities which can be used to help insure our national security in war as well as contribute to our efficiency, economy, convenience, and enjoyment in peace. 10. HEARINGS The Commission, under the provisions of the Communications Act, cannot deny an application for new facilities or modify an existing authorization without affording an opportunity for a hearing. The great bulk of Commission hearings concern broadcast and are required in order to determine which of several mutually exclusive applications should be granted, and whether the facilities applied for would inter fere with the operation of stations already authorized. Standard (AM) broadcast cases continue to predominate the Commission's hearing workload. Applications may be disposed of in three ways: First, by a decision after hearing; second, by removal from the hearing docket and grant without hearing when the application has been amended to eliminate the conflict which necessitates a hearing; and, third, by dismissal of the application at the request of the applicant. Docket statistics for the 1950 fiscal year follow: PendtnR Designated Disnosed Disposed of Pending June 30, for hearing of without following June 30, 1949 he3ring hearing 1966 Broadcast_ ••_________ "••••___________ . ____ 599 351 2.19 166 M6 Safety and speciaL ________________________ 19 '" 10 13 I" Common carrier_____________ . ___________ ._ 28 25 18 7 'J:7Other_____________________________________ 9 2 3 1 7 TotaL.___________ . _•. ______ . ________ 1\55 398 2iO 187 595 26 REPORT OF THE FE'DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION II. LICENSES AND OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS The Communications Act limits licensing by the Commission to citizens of the United States. Fnrther, it denies the license privilege to corporations in which any officer or director is an alien, or of which more than one-fifth of the capital stock is owned or controlled by foreign interests. At the close of the year the Commission had more than 775,000 radio licenses and other authorizations outstanding, not counting over 220,000 associated portable and mobile units. The first mentioned figure is approximately 75,000 more than in 1949. Nonbroadcast radio services held over 155,000 authorizations as compared with 4,500 for the broadcast services. Amateur, commercial, and other operator authorizations together exceeded 615,000. 12. APPLICATIONS AND OTHER FILINGS The Commission received more than 220,000 applications of all kinds during the year, which was about 4,000 less than in 1949. Nearly 150,000 of this total concerned amateur and commercial operators, some 63,000 were in the nonbroadcast services, over 6,200 were broad cast, and over 3,600 were from common carriers. These figures do not include legal filings, periodic reports, or common carrier tariff sched ules. Common carriers and holding companies filed some 1,900 annual and monthly reports. Tariff schedules numbered 21,600. 13. CORRESPONDENCE, RELEASES AND PUBLICATIONS Nearly 1,200,000 pieces of correspondence in the form of letters, telegrams, etc., were received or handled through the Commission's Mail and Files Branch during the fiscal year. Of this number. about 860,000 involved receipt and distribution of incoming messages, while outgoing messages exceeded 332,000. Mimeographed public notices, orders, decisions, and opinions issued during the same period required about 521,200 stencils, 7,550,000 sheets of paper, and 11,367,000 impressions. The Commission's printed publications are processed by the Govern ment Printing Office and sold by the Superintendent of Documents. A list of those currently available from that source appears in the appendix. CHAPTER II-COMMON CARRIERS I. COMMON CARRIER REGULATION 2. DOMESTIC TELEPHONE 3. DOMESTIC TELEGRAPH 4. INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE 5. STATISTICS I. COMMON CARRIER REGULATION The Commission regulates interstate and foreign communication by telephone and telegraph, whether by wire; oCean cable, or radio. Such communication which is purely intrastate in character is not, in general, subject to Comulission jurisdiction. Provisions of the Communications ...Act affecting COlllmon carriers reflect congressional policy that the public interest in adequate public comffiunieations service and reasonable rates is to be protected and promoted by Fedcral regulation. Among the regulatory provisions of the act is the requirement that every subject common carrier furnish service upon reasonable request and at reasonable charges. No carrier may construct or acquire addi tional facilities, or curtail 01' discontinue service, without Commission approval. All charges, practices, classifications, and regulations in connection with interstate and foreign communication service must be just and reasonable and nondiscriminatory. To implement this re quirement, the common carriers concerned file tariff schedules with the Commission, and those schedules are subject to review and regu lation by the Commission. The Commission regulates rates for interstate telephone and tele graph services, as well as rates for such serviees between tbe United States and foreign and overseas points. At the same time, it reviews tbe adequacy and quality of these services. To aid its regulation of rates and services, the Commission is em powered to prescribe the forms of records and accounts kept by the earriers. Under this authority, it has established uniform systems of aecounts for them to follow. Commission regulation in this respect includes the establishment and maintenance of original cost account ing, continuing property records, pension cost records, and deprecia tion records. 27 28 REPORT OF THE FE'DEML COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION The Commission regulates the interlocking of officers and directors of common carriers, it being unlawful for any person to hold office in more than one carrier unless specifically authorized by the Com mission. The Commission also passes upon applications of domestic telephone and telegraph carriers for authority to merge or consolidate. The Commission licenses the operation of common carrier radio stations under provisions of the act which require the licensing of all radio transmitters. The Commission receives applicatious to land or operate submarine cables connecting the United States with other countries, and advises the President with respect to the granting of such licenses, after re ceiving the approval of the Secretary of State. 2. DOMESTIC TELEPHONE GENERAL The development of the telephone industry in the United States reached new peaks. During the year ended December 31, 1949, the industry installed more than 1,850,000 telephones so that at the close of that ealendar year a total of 40,600,000 telephones were in service of which 33,400,000, or 82 percent, were accounted for by the Bell system. The cost of additions to telephone plant by the industry amounted to well over $1,000,000,000, with the Bell system reporting total gross telephone plant investment of more than $9,430,000,000 as of December 31, 1949, as compared to $8,610,000,000 as of Decem ber 31, 1948. Telephone conversations also reached a record high in the calendar year 1949 with the Bell system handling 43,000,000,000 local and 2,000,000,000 toll calls. Other services furnished by telephone Com panies, including teletypewriter exchange service (TWX) and pri vate line services, likewise increased. Bell system revenues reached almost $2,900,000,000, an inerease of $270,000,000 over the preceding year. The growth of the Bell system is evident from the following tabulation which shows selected data of the system au a consolidated basis for the prewar year of 1940 and the calendar years 1945 through 1949, inclusive: Year 1940..~~•• •• _ 1945.__ •~.._.__ 1946 . _ 1947~.~~~. __ . _ 194fL~•• ._._ 1949 •~_~_••_•• ._•••• _ Number of Plant Revenues Employees telephones investment 17,483,981 $4,701,177,364 $1,174,322,517 275,3t7 22, 445. 519 6,702,056,557 1,930,889,452 387,300 25,709,458 6,294,419,079 2,093,664,941 496,438 28,506,795 7,348,802, 8fi5 2,224,582,932 524,120 31,364,493 8,618.842,204 2,624,827,067 546,723 33,388,258 9,432,749,584 2,893,273, 356 515,854 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATWNS COMMISSJION 29 During the past year the telephone carriers continued the improve ment of their facilities. The proportion of dial telephones in the Bell system increased to 73 percent by December 31, 1949, as compared with 68 percent a year earlier. Facilities for dialing of long-distance toll calls by operators are in service so that mOre than 800 cities and towns can be reached by this means and 30 percent of long-distance toll calls are handled in this manner. The speed of service in han dling toll calls has improved. Television program transmission net works had been extended to most of the larger cities in the general area from Boston southward to Norfolk, as far west as St. Louis, and northward to Milwaukee, Detroit, and Buffalo. Demands for tele phone service remained at a high level. Despite an increase of OVer 2,000,000 telephones in the past calendar year, the Bell system still had unfilled orders for over 750,000 more. Earnings on interstate telephone operations showed a steady rise bothin amount and in return on investment. On the other hand, many telephone companies are currently seeking permission of State regu latory authorities to increase further their rates for local exchange and intrastate toll service. As indicated more fully elsewhere in this chap ter, the Commission has been called upon by various State commis sions and municipalities to provide assistance in matters of mutual interest that are involved in State rate proceedings and, in addition, has been cooperating with the States through the National Association of Railroad and Utilities Commissioners (NARUC) in the study of telephone regulatory problems of common concern. DOMESTIC TELEPHONE SERVICES O0n8truotion 01 laoilitie8.-The telephone companies expended over a billion dollars for new construction in the expansion, replacement, and modernization of exchange and toll plant. The bulk of this con struction consisted of central office equipment, buildings, exchange lines, and station apparatus. Most of the additions to toll lines were provided through carrier systems, with a relatively small part through additions of physical lines. During fiscal 1950 the telephone industry requested Commission au thority to construct $19,330,168 in interstate wire and cable facilities. Besides six applications carried over from the preceding year, 161 ap plications were received during the year requesting authority to con struct, acquire, extend, and lease wire facilities. The Commission approved 153 of these, including 141 for construction. The Amer ican Telephone & Telegraph Co., and certain associated companies, filed a blanket application and a supplemental application covering most of the construction to be undertaken by the Long Lines Depart- 30 REPORT OF THE FE'DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ment during the calendar year 1950. This construction amounted to $12,093,000, of which $6,253,000 was authorized during fiscal 1950. The following table sets forth the amount of wire and cable construc tion authorized by the Commission during the past 7 years: Fiscal year Projects Cost Sheath miles of c:1ble TubemiJes Conductor of c03xial miles of units open wire ------------------1---1--- 1944 • _ 194IL. __ • • _ 1946 _ 1947. _ 1948. •• _ 1949. ••~. _ 1950•• _ 12l 210 2:19 289 348 313 141 $9, 582,'2~\) 7O,(}!}1,14O 78,896,450 126, ;;25. 771 127, H\2, 499 38, 63!!, 919 13,230,678 574.8 2,378.3 3,1918 5.587.7 2,1337.5 1,~70.5 399.3 7,958 2,9&.1 12,261 15,976 16,373 7,278 3,491 No authorizations for construction of coaxial cable were requested or granted during the year; however, some of the construction author ized in previous years had not been completed. The Bell system had 8,330 route miles of coaxial cables installed, the principal routes con sisting of a transcontinental link from New York to Florida and on to the west coast; a route from New York, through Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis to join with the transcontinental line at Jackson, Miss.; and a number of shorter routes supplementing these as well as other long-distance facilities. During the 1950 fiscal year, the Bcll system added about1l;~million toll message circuit miles to its facilities, an increase of 6'12 percent over circuit mileage in servicc at the begiuning of the year. About 90 percent of the channels added during fiscal 1950 were provided by carrier systems. Only a few of the emergency type EB carrier sys tems were authorized by the Commission during the year. Microwave ,'elay systeJns.-The establishment of microwave radio relay stations for providing intercity television program transmission, telephone and telegraph scrvices has assumed an important role in modern communication. Although the use of microwave for trans mission over extensive intercity radio relay systems is still, relatively, in its infancy, telephone carriers' experience has proven the reliability of this medium. During the latter part of the fiscal year the Commission granted constrnction permits to the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. for a microwave system consisting of 55 stations to be located between Omaha, Nebr., and San Francisco. This is the final link in its New York-San Francisco microwave relay route which is expected to be completed by January I, 1952. The New York-Chicago link of the transcontinental system has been completed and scheduled to be avail able for television service on September 1, 1950. Construction of the links between Chicago and Omaha was well under way at the end of REPORT OF THE FEDERAL C'OMMUNICATLONS C'OMMI&S[QN 31 fiscal 1950 and it is expected that television service between these points will be available by the end of September 1950. Construction of the link between Des Moines and Omaha was progressing with the expec tation that TV service will be available on that circuit by April 1951. In addition to providing television service, the Omaha-Denver link will be used at the outset to furnish toll telephone service. The magnitude of the project may be illustrated by the fact that the total initial cost of the transcontinental system is estimated by the A. T. & T. to be $37,590,000, and will include more than 100 micro wave relay stations. The over-all facilities are capable of providing channels for both intercity television and telephone service. At the eastern end of the transcontinental circuit, A. T. & T.'s New York to Boston microwave system was used for television relay opera tion throughout the year. At the western terminus, The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. completed construction of its Los Angeles to San Francisco microwave system and intercity TV service over this latter system was planned for the fall of 1950. A number of addi tional intercity microwave relay systems of Bell system companies were in use or were under construction to supplement existing facilities or to join additional cities to the television network system. All of these facilities are being installed initially for TV service, but are expected to provide an important palt of the future toll telephone network. Channels for TV program transmission.-The fourteenth and fif teenth annual reports referred to the investigation and hearing insti tuted by the Commission on April 28, 1948 (docket 8963) into the law fulness of rates, regulations, practices, and services of A. T. & T. and 'Western Union in furnishing intercity channels and facilities for the transmission of the video portion of TV programs. On December 23, 1949, the Commission issued its final report on the issue involving the reasonableness of the restrictions contained in the Bell tariffs regard ing interconnection of its facilities with the facilities of others. It required the Bell system companies and1Vestern Union to connect their intercity video transmission channels with private microwave relay facilities authorized by this Commission, pursuant to its policy of permitting private intercity video transmission by TV broadcasters pending availability of adequate common carrier facilities. Hearings onthe remaining issues were to be held in the future. Concurrently with the issuance of its report in docket 8963, the Commission instituted an investigation on its own motion to deter mine whether or not it is necessary or desirable in the public interest to require interconnection of the intercity video transmission facilities of the Bell system companies with existing and proposed intercity video transmission facilities of 1Vestern Union (docket 9539). Hear ings were completed on June 30, 1950. 32 REPORT OF THE FEtDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Speed of BeTVice.-The speed of service on telephone toll calls is a measure of the time interval from the appearance on the recording sigual at the originating toll board to the start of conversation or, in the case of person·to-person calls, to a report of delay in reaching the desired party, including calls encountering such a report of delay as a "busy" or a "don't answer" at the called station. The average speed of service required to complete a toll call on the Bell system was 1.6 minutes during June 1950, compared to 1.7 minutes in June 1949 and 2.1 minutes in June 1948. The increase in the number of toll ch"nnels, additional toll board facilities, expansion and conversion to dial of the exchange plant, more efficient personnel, and dialing of toll calls by operators have had a marked effect upon the improve ment in the speed of service. Discontinuance, reduction, or impairment of 8eTVice.-The Com mission received four applications for authority to discontinue tele phone service, of which two were granted during the year and two were pending on June 30, 1950. The two applications granted were filed by the Bell system; one to discontinue local exchange service in Kelsey, Calit, and establish toll stations and toll service stations in lieu thereof, and the other to discontinue exchange service at Clifton, Tex., where another carrier planned to provide the same service. The joint applieation filed during fiseal year 1949 by Western Union to discontinue its public message toll, private liue, and program tele phone service; by the A. T. & T. and certain Bell system companies to acquire the telephone business and certain telephone property of Western Union located in 30 States; and by the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. and the Bell Telephone Co. of Nevada to discontinue all message telegraph service rendered by them in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada (docket 9235) was the subject of exteusive formal proceedings during fiscal 1950. The application represented a consummation of negotiations between the parties over a period of several years. Western Union acquired the telephone business from Postal Telegraph & Cable Co. at the time of merger of that company with Western Union in 1943. As of July 1, 1949, Western Union was furnishing message toll tele phone service to 2,559 subscribers in 157 cities. The Pacific Co. and Bell of Nevada now provide message telegram service throughout their territories. On July 28, 1950, the initial decision of the hearing exam iner recommending approval of the application was issued. Dome8tic Public Land Mobile Radio Se1'Vwe.-The Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service provides communication service for hire. primarily between fixed points and mobile units on land. Secondarily, the. service is afforded to vessels and remote fixed points, and, under some circumstances, a nontelephonic sigualing service is offered. This REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS C'OMMISB!ION 33 service is of two general classes: that furnished by land line telephone common carriers and which connects with the land line telephone sys tem; and that furnished by others than the land line telephone compa nies which does not provide direct connection with the land line telephone system. This service was established on a regular basis as of July 1, 1949, following several years of developmental experimentation. During its first year of regular operation, the service showed a steady expan sion and growth with authorizations granted to cover service to nearly 24,000 mobile units. Authorizations for mobile radiotelephone sys tems in. 158 cities had been granted to the miscellaneous or nontele phone company carriers. Telephone company carriers also received authorizations for such systems in 158 cities. However, the number of communities actually receiving mobile radiotelephone service wos considerably larger because the service range of the licensed facilities often extends to additional communities beyond the physical location of the base station. The need for additional frequencies for this service has become increasingly evident because of the widespread public acceptance of, and demand for, the service. In the larger cities, the telephone com pany carriers have a substantial backlog of orders for service which they are unable to provide on the available frequencies. Also, in such areas, the number of miscellaneous common-carrier applicants for facilities in this service usually exceeds the number of frequencies available for assignment. To meet the problem of expanding frequency space for the service, two separate steps were taken during the latter part of fiscal 1950. First, in docket 8736 et al., in connection with the television pro ceedings, the Commission conducted hearings to determine whether an allocation of 30 megacycles of frequency space between 470 and 500 megacycles could be provided for the development of a broad band multichannel system of public mobile operation from which there might be derived as many as 150 additional two-way communica tions channels. No decision had been reached in this matter. The second step was the proposal, on May 12, 1950, in docket 9648, to establish a policy of effecting adjacent channel assignments (60 kilo cycle separation) to the miscellaneous carriers in lieu of the present practice of making assignments on an alternate channel basis (120 kilocycle separation). No final determination had been made on that proposal. Much interest has been manifested by the carriers inpro~iding radio communication service to mobile stations on board vessels, on a secondary basis, through the facilities licensed for operation in the Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service. Thus, many of the car- 34 REPORT OF THE F'E,DERA:L COl';Ii\IUXICATIONS COMMISSION )·jers serving areas contiguous to navigable 1-vaters have requested authority to provide service to vessels. ...\ number of such special authorizations have been granted where it has been shown that t.here is a need for this service and that it would not degrade primary service t.o land vehicles in the area. The grant of authority to provide service to vessels is made subject to the condition that it HUlst be dis eontiuued within 60 days after the establishment of a VHF [very high frequency] public maritime mobile service in the area. A huge number ofnontelephone company carriers filed applications 101' aut.hority to establish one-way signally 01' "radio-paging" opera tions. The receivers for this type of service vary in size from a small unit which can fit into the subscriber's pocket to a large packaged lluit to be installed in yehicles. Thus, a subscriber to this service may be contacted while on the golf course, while fishing, or at other loea tions within cOHlll1unication range. At the end of the fiscal year, the Commission proposed rule-making in docket 97i12 to provide a new simplified and short annual report form to be used by the nontelephone COmpftlly common carriers in this service in lieu of their use of the more comprehensive FCC annual report Form lIf. Rural Subscriber and Short Haul Toll Radiotelephone Services. There was an increase in activity in the Rural Subseriber and Short Haul Toll Radiotelephone Services. These services are designed to provide short distance radiotelephone service in areas where rugged terrain, etc., make it impracticable to construct wire lines. The communication range of such operations is generally line-oi-sight or about 20 to 25 miles. The Rural Subscriber Radiotelephone Service was intended to pro vide a point-to-point radiotelephone service to miners, farmers, ranch ers, etc., located in remote areas where wire line facilities are not available. A substantial number of requests for such authorizations have been granted. In several instances, authorizations have heen issued to provide radiotelephone service to off-shore islands. The Short Haul Toll Radiotelephone Service is used by the tele phone companies to bridge gaps in toll telephone wire lines where direct wire interconnection is not economically feasible because of the intervening terrain. Sel~)ioein Hawaiian I8lands.-The Mutual Telephone Co. furnishes interisland radiotelegraph and radiotelephone service in the Territory of Hawaii. Much of its service is provided by means of point-to-point telegraph and telephone radio stations operating on frequencies in the 152-162 and 30-50 megacycle ranges. Features of these systems in clude simultaneous telephone and telegraph operations on a single frequency and iuterisland dialing. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL CDMMUNICATIONB CDMMIBSIION 35 Ooastal and Alaskan service.-Coastal harbor, coastal telephone, and Alaskan radiocommunications, though largely authorized on a common carrier basis, are discussed in the separate chapter on "Safety and Special Radio Services" because of their close relationship to radio aids for the safety of life and property. Oable landing lioense8.-During the fiscal year, upon the recommen dation of the Commission, the President granted two cable landing Jicenses. The first Jicense covered a private telephone line across the Rio Grande River neal' Presidio, Tex., to connect with the Bell system. The second license authorized the Cuban American Telephone & Tele graph Co. to amend its present pl'esidentiallicense covering four sub marine cables between Key 1Vest, Fla., and Havana, Cuba, to include the landing and operation of two additional submarine cables between these cities. Foreign attachment cases.-Hearings on the complaint of Hush-A Phone Corp. et al. v. American Telephone and. Telegraph 00., et al. (docket 9189), which attacked as unlawful the so-called foreign attach ment provisions in the defendants' tariffs insofar as such tariffs are eonstrued by the telephone companies to prohibit the subscribers' use of the Hush-A-Phone device in interstate and foreign telephone serv ice, were concluded January 26, 1950. The matter ,vas awaiting issuance of an initial decision by a hearing examiner. The complaint of Jordaphone Oorporation of Amerioa and JJfohawk Busines8 Maohines, Ine. v. American Telephone &\ Telegraph 00., et al. (docket 938a) requested the Commission to declare the defendants' foreign attachment tariIf provisions unlawful insofar as they are canst,rued to prevent subscribers' use of Telemagnet, an automatic telephone answering device. Other manufacturers of telephone answering devices participated in the proceeding. Hearings were held April 25 through 28, 1950, and were adjourned until October to permit laboratory and field testing of telephone ansll,oering devices. In addition, on June 8,1950, the Commission instituted an investigation 011 its own motion into tIle use of telephone answering devices in con nect.ion with interstate and foreign telephone service under broadened issues (docket 9701). Both proceedings were designated for joint hearing-. On :March 2a, 1949, the Commission dismissed the complaint of TValter S. Berkman et al. v. American Telephone &\ Telegraph Co., et al. (docket 9100), which requested the Commission to require the defendants to furnish a call waiting indicator device to signal when another call is coming in on the line at the same time. However, the matter was bejng given further study in connection with a petition filed by the complainant for reconsideration. 36 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNIOATIONB COMMISSION RATES AND TARIFFS Rate 8ohedUles.-At the close of the year, 232 telephone carriers had tariffs and concurrences on file with the Commission, an increase of 49 over the previous year. This increase is accounted for principally by new carriers in the Domestic Public Land Mobile Radio Service. During the year, a total of 15,685 tariff publications establishing or changing rates, regulations, practices, and classifications of service were filed. Special permi8sio1lS.-Thirty-five applications for special permis sion to make changes in the tariffs or to file new tariffs to become effec tive on less than statutory notice or involving waiver of certain rule requirements were received. Of these 31 were granted and four were denied. UnlawfUl 118e of telephone facilities.-In connection with thegeneral problems of the use of electrical communication facilities for unlawful purposes, the Commission actively cooperated with law-enforcement agencies during the year. The Commission was represented at the Attorney General's Conference on Organized Crime, and its repre sentatives were active on the conference's committee on legislation. Members of the Commission's staff participated in the drafting of leg islation aimed at prohibiting the use of communication facilities for gambling and other unlawful purposes. Reference was made in last year's annual report to tariff regulations filed by the Bell system companies to the effect that service is furnished subject to the condition that it will not be used for an unlawful pur pose, and that service will be discontinued if any law enforcement agency acting within its jurisdiction advises that such service is being or will be so used in violation of law. On November 10, 1949, a com plaint was filed by Harry Katz and Bertha B. Katz against the Chesa peake & Potomac Telephone Co. and the American Telephone & Tele graph Co. alleging that snch tariff provisions constitute a denial of free speech, a denial of complainants' rights without due process of law, and are unjust and unreasonable and contrary to the public inter est. The matter was awaiting the issuance of an initial decision by a hearing exminer. Studie8 of Long Line8 operati01lS.-In the fifteenth annual report, reference was made to the series of studies which the Commission initiated with respect to all phases of the operations of the Long Lines Department of American Telephone & Telegraph Co., with the view to developing a comprehensive report to provide a more adequate basis for determination of matters involving the earnings or revenue require ments of Long Lines. Dnring the fiscal year, progress was made towards the completion of several important portions of the study, with particular attention being given to such matters as depreciation, REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMIBSIlON 37 working capital requirements, Western Electric prices, license service charges, pension and benefit payments, and swnmaries of investment and operations. Toll '>'ate s/ludy.-As also noted in the previous annual report, a co operative committee consisting of staff members of this Commission and State commissions was appointed early ill 1949 to study the toll rate problem presented by the fact that rates for the intrastate mes ..age toll service are, in many instances, higher than the rates for inter state message toll service for comparable distances. The study con templates collection and analysis of available data and infOlmation relatillg to the development of intrastate and interstate message toll telephone rates, and to the technical and economic ramifications of the toll rate problem. The working committee held a number of sessions extending over several weeks and a comprehensive report was ill the process of preparation. Separation 01 property, Te1Jenues, and eaJpense8.-Although the joint cooperative committee composed of Commission staff members and the State regulatory commissions is still functioning to review principles and methods employed in the separation of telephone property, rev enues, and expenses, there were no activities of this committee during fiscal 1950. The Bell system continues to use the separations manual prepared by the committee in 1947, for effecting separations of tele phone plant investment, expenses, and revenues among exchange, inter state toll, and interstate toll telephone services in connection with its State rate cases and also in connection with the division of itsinterstate message toll telephone revenues among its participating operating units. A recent development was that startin/!: early in 1950 the companies' practices were changed to make separations directly on a station-to-station basis, according to the principles and methods pre scribed in the separations manual, as against the former practice of first effecting a complete board-to-board separation, which is then sup plemented by a station-to-station increment based on certain selected factors. The Commission continued to study the application of the separations methods by the Bell system to the division of its interstate message toll telephone revenues, which is of particular importance in determining the level of earnings from interstate service. The matter of separations continues to be of increasing importance in rate Con siderations and is, of course, given added impetus by its inclusion as a factor in the cooperative study relating to rates covering intrastate and interstate toll services. Western Eleotrio oost and price review.-As noted in the fourteenth lind fifteenth annual reports, a cooperative committee of Commission staff members and State commissions was appointed in January 1948 to review the mattcr of prices, costs, and profits of Western Electric 909925-51--4 38 REPORT OF THE FFlDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Co., Inc. This was prompted by the fact that Western Electric is the manufacturing and supply unit of the Bell system, and the prices it charges the Bell operating companies for equipment, supplies, and services exert a considerable influence on rates and charges for tele phone exchange, and State and interstate toll service. Sales to Bell companies by Western Electric amounted to about a billion dollars for each of the years 1947 and 1948 and declined to about $760,000,000 in the calendar year 1949. Following its initial comprehensive report in 1948, the committee has issued supplemental periodic reports bring ingthe data up to date. Since the inception of these studies, Western Electric has made sev eral adjustments in its prices, the net effect of which has been to reduce prices on articles it manufactures by approximately 13 percent, a cumulative rc>duction of about $130,000,000 by the end of 1950. Be sides the indicated effect of Western Electric's prices, the committee's studies have been of value to various States in connection with Bell applications for increases in intrastate telephone rates. State telephone rate oase8.-At the request of State regulatory com missions, as well as some municipalities, assistance was rendered to the extent possible and consistent with the available staff personnel and budget, on common problems in connection with State telephone rate cases. Such assistance included advice, consultation, and fur nishing information concerning such matters as depreciation rates and charges, pension accrual rates and costs, procedures for allocation of telephone plant, and revenues and expenses between various services and jurisdictions. Some of these studies were conducted cooperatively with State commissions and testimony was presented by Commission staff members. OTHER REGULATORY MATTERS Depreciation.-On the basis of studies completed during the year, the Commission, pursuant to the requirements of section 220 (b) of the Communications Act, prescribed annual depreciation rates for the following telephone elements of the Bell system: the Long Lines De partment of A. T. ,Il; T.; New Jersey Bell; and the three Chesapeake & Potomac companies serving in the District of Columbia,~Iaryland, and Virginia. The prescribed rates resulted in annual depreciation expense charges amounting to $61,410,000 and represented a total reduction of $7,233,000, or 10.5 percent from the annual charges based Gn the rates in effect prior to the Commission action. To date the Commission has prescribed depreciation rates for eight Bell com panies including the Long Lines Department, ont of a total of 22 Bell companies. Studics necessary for prescribing depreciation rates have been completed for one additional Bell company, and are in progress with respect to three more Bell companies. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLQNS COMMISSION 39 Provision for plant depreciation by domestic telephone carriers reporting to the Commission through charges to operating expenses continued an upward trend during the year in spite of substantial reductions effected in annual depreciation rates of several of the Ben system companies. These expense charges during the 12 months end ing April 30, 1950, iu the case of 22 Ben companies, including the Long Lines Department of A. T. & T., aggregated over $328,660,000, an increase of $34,553,000, or 11.7 percent over the charges for the previ ous 12 months. During the same period, 32 other large telephone car riers (independellt systems) made depreciation provisions amounting to $16,100,000, an increase of $1,452,000, or 9.9 percent over the pro visions for the previous 12 months. This increase was almost entirely <{lue to the large increase in telephone plant, including expansion of existing manual switchboard facilities scheduled for replacement by dial equipment in the near future, which require high depreciation rates for that reason. Annual depreciation expense of the Ben system companies during the year amounted to 17 percent of their operating expenses before Federal income taxes, as compared with less than 16 percent for the prevIOUS year. Allocation of depreciation resel'Ves of multistate companies.-Co operative studies hy Commission and the Southeastern Association of Railroad and Utilities Commissioners, to serve as a basis for allocating the Southern Ben Telephone & Telegraph Co.'s depreciation reserve among the nine States served by it, wcre undertaken at the request of that association (see fifteenth annual report) . Because of substantial changes in plant composition resulting from a large construction pro .gram carried on by the company during the year, the studies were con tinued with the view to reflecting such changes in the reserve alloca tion on an equitable basis. NABVC Comnnittee on De>preciation.-The Commission partici pated inthe meetings and activities of this committee, whose function js to coordinate and consider the accounting, engineering, and economic aspects of depreciation as ,-elated to the various utilities subject to jur isdictions of Federal and State regulatory bodies. The committee was preparing a report on remaining life depreciation accounting, and a dige..st of recent State and Federal commission cases and court cases involving important phases of depreciation. NARVC Committee on Llccounts 0,00 Statistics.-The Commission "~lsoparticipated in the meetings and activities of this committee, whose function is to formulate proposed changes in uniform systems {)f accounts, annual report forms, preservation of records regulations, lmd related accounting regulations, as well as amendments to, and in terpretations of, such regulations, in order that substantially uniform 40 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COUMUNIOATJONS COMMISSION accounting requirements may be submitted for adoption by the several Stateand Federal regulatory agencies. A subcommittee, whose chair man is a staff member of the Federal Communications Commission, has the task of proposing revisions of the regulations with respect to the establishment and maintenance of continuing property records by large telephone companies. Finarwimg andTe~ng.-Collaborationhas continued with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the review of prospeotuses re quired to be filed with that commission in connection with issuance of securities by telephone companies. Pensions and relief.-Although there was a decrease in the number of employees, raises in wages, and further liberalization of minimum pension benefits resulted in continued increases in relief and pension costs to telephone carriers. For the Bell system, including manufac turing and research activities, the number of employees declined to 593,900 as of December 31, 1949 as compared with 656,500 at the begin ning of the year, and pension and other benefit costs amounted to $137,000,000, excluding social security taxes which amounted to ap proximately $27,000,000. Due to the substantial amount of and the continued increase in pension costs, problems of pension accounting, and the determination of the reasonableness of methods pursued and resulting amounts, are of importance. These problems received de tailed attention during the year and studies were continuing. PreseTVation of records.--Qn September 28, 1949, the Commission proposed a complete revision of its rules for the preservation of records by telephone [also telegraph] carriers. The changes are designed to improve records-management procedures and to provide reasonable re tention periods for records currently maintained by the several car riers. They were developed by members of the staff in cooperation with representatives of the Bureau of Standards, Bureau of the Budget, National Archives, State and Federal regulatory commis sions, and the several carriers. Recognition is given to such modern record-preservation methods as microfilming, tabulating cards, hu midified storage, etc. Final action by the Commission was pending at the end of the year. Restatement of plant accounts on basis of original cost.-Joint studies with State commissions were completed with respect to the reclassification of accounts on the basis of original cost by two of the larger independent telephone companies, and similar studies were initiated for another independent telephone company. Restatement of the present investment at original cost by telephone companies was well advanced, except for a few important instances that apply to earlier years, and an attempt is being made to complete these as rapidly as circumstances permit. Action was also taken to approve the state- REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMIS&ION 41 ment of a number of plant acquisitions at original cost in the case of several other carriers. Annual report Form M (applicable to alass A and alass B telephone eompanies) .-A number of more urgent revisions were made in this form for use for the calendar year 1949 by the simplification and clari fication of the reporting requirement of a number of schedules, and by eliminatingsome schedules. A further revision of the form was being studied. Annual report Form H (holding aompanies).-This report form is applicable to persons immediately controlling communication com- . mon carriers. Itwas revised for the calendar year 1949 by eliminating a number of schedules which were found to require information not presently needed by the Commission. 3. DOMESTIC TELEGRAPH GENERAL During the latter months of the fiscal year, The Western Union Telegraph Co. reported increases in revenues and volume of business, reversing the downward trend that has been experienced over the past several years. Up to that time t'he rate increases granted in 1946, approximating 25 percent and which might have been expected to produce revenue benefits, had been offset by declining traffic volumes. Western Union reported net income of $2,687,000 for the first 6 months of 1950 from system operations. For the calendar year 1949, it reported a net loss of $4,390,000 from operations, wilh extraordinary and nonrecurring income items reducing the net loss to $2,500,000. This is made up of a net loss of $3,468,249 applicable to the land line system and a profit of $968,000 applicable to the overseas cable sys tem. The company's improved operating experience is due princi pally to a reduction in revenue deductions made possible by its modernization and economy programs. In October 1949, Walter P. Marshall, president of Western Union, forwarded to Senator McFarland, chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, United States Senate, a recommendation for future communication policy. The program advanced to improve Western Union's position was (1) elimination of the 25 percent excise tax, (2) subject to the determination of a fair rate base, the acquisition by Western Union of the telegraph business of the telephone companies, (3) the setting up of an integrated system of domestic communications for the Gov ernment, (4) consolidation and merger of international telegraph carriers, and (5), to the extent private capital might not be available to insure accomplishment of these objectives, long-term Government financing to be provided. 42 REPORT OF THE FE-DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION SERVICES AND FACILITIES Western Union rnodernizatiolt progru111.-'Vestern Union's lllOd ernization program insofar as it relates to reperforator switching at relay offices, was nearing completion. The last of 15 such offices was being installed at Portland, Oreg. The improved I)lechanized system results in reduced handlings and permits faster over-all service be tween points of origin and destination. In terms of cost, Western Union had expended, as of December 31, 1949, $40,000,000, or 56 per cent of the $72,000,000 estimated total cost of plant and equipment to be added under the program. The constrnction of the large terminal reperforator offices planned at New York, Chicago, and 'Washington had not yet been started. According to company estimates, the re maining $32,000,000, or 44 percent of the expected costs for completion of the modernization program, \vill be expended in the next 8 years as follows: Reperforator equipment, $12,000,000; carrier equipment, $9,000,000, and the microwave relay system, $11,000,000. DeskfaGJ and faosimile.-1Vestern Union continued the development and nse of the facsimile process for terminal handlings of telegrams. "Deskfax" instruments to the number of 1,861 were in use by cus tomers in nine cities. These machines provide t:wo-way transmission of messages in picture f01'111 between customers' premises and thecen~ tral telegraph offices. In addition, 191 larger types of facsimile machines known as "Telefax" were in customer offices and a number of others were being used in branch and agency offices. Con8truction of wire facilities.-The year brought 25 requests covering wire tele;2:raph construction and extensions. Two such ap plications were carried over from the preceding year, making a total of 27. One was withdrawn and 25 granted. Those granted covered the leasing by 1Vestern Union of 198,800 telegraph channel miles of line at an annual rental of $364,954 and the construction of 30,856 telegraph channel miles of line and associated equipment at a cost of $2,133,797. Speed of 8erviee.-The quality of domestic telegraph service ren dered by Western Union showed some improvement over the preceding year. The origin to destination speed of service (the interval from the time a message is filed to the time it is delivered, or first attempt) for fiscal years 1949 and 1950 and the average time required to relay a message through a large message center is shown in the following table: ~---~-------~-------------- Average speed in minutes Origin to destination 1949 1950 Delivered by: Telephone_~~. Messenger • _ Private tie-Iine_ _ _ Office relay drag • ,_____________ _ .. 41 47 39 11.5 41 46 37 9.9 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSION 43 Microwave relay system.-The microwave radio triangle connecting New York, 'Washington, and Pittsburgh, and the link between New York and Philadelphia, were being operated on a full-time basis carrying telegraph traffic formerly transmitted over wire line facilities.. Western Union plans to expand its microwave facilities and has acquired tower sites extending as far west as Kansas City and south ward to Atlanta, a total of 8,527 route miles. In hearings in docket 9589, in the matter of the establishment of physical connections and through routes and charges applicable with respect to intercity video transmission service (see telephone section), 'Western Union intro duced plans to provide TV transmission service over some of these routes. The furnishing of this service is dependent, in part, on the outcome of this proceeding. Discont1"nuance or red'uction of telegraph sel"vice.-During the year,. 1,093 applications for reduction of office hours or closure of public offices were filed. In addition, 214 such applications were pending at the beginning of the year. With few exceptions, these applications were filed by Western Union. Of the total, 1,060 applications were granted, 16 were withdrawn, and 281 were pending at the close of fiscal 1950. Generally, where hours were reduced or offices closed, alternate service was made available. With respect to applications where the matter or employee protection was raised, the COlnmission,. pending formulation of a general policy on the matter, reserved juris diction to consider the question of whether conditions should be im posed for the protection of employees who may be adversely affected. The Commission on .January 18, 1950, issued its final report and order in docket 8088 in .which it granted the application of Western Unionfor authority to close permanently a branch office in Dallas, Tex. In so doing, the Commission reserved jurisdiction to consider whether conditions should be imposed for the protection of employees who may have been adversely affected by discontinuance of the office. The joint application filed during fiscal 1949 by 'Western Union to discontinue its public message toll, private line, and progrmll tele phone service; by the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and cer tain Bell system companies, for authorit.y to acquire the telephone business and certain telephone property of 'Western Union located in 80 States; and by the Pacific Telepbone & Telegraph Co. and the Bell Telephone Co. of Nevada, for authority t.o discontinue all message telegraph service rendered by them in California, Oregon, Washing ton, Idaho, and Nevada, was the subject of extensive formal proceed ings during fiscal 1950. (See telephone section.) RATES AND TARIFFS Rate 8chedule8.-At the close of the fiscal year, 70 domestic tele graph carriers had tariffs or concurrences on file with the Commission. 44 REPORT OF THE FEOERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION During the year, Western Union, the principal domestic telegraph carrier, filed 865 tariff publications establishing or changing rates, regulations, practices, and classifications of service, including concurrences. Special permissiom.-During the year, 15 applications for special permission to make changes in tariffs or file new tariffs to become effective on less than statutory notice, or involving waiver of certain requirements of the Commission's rules, were granted. Western Union domestio TateB.-Western Union revised its inter state telegraph message rate structure, effective February 1, 1950. The revised rate structure is the result of a long and intensive study made by Western Union at the suggestion of the Commission, and represents a major step toward the rationalization of interstate tele graph rates (see fourteenth and fifteenth annual reports). The new rate pattern establishes uniformity in rates for the transmission of messages over equivalent distances between points within the United States, and so eliminates the geographical inequalities in Western Union's former charges, wherein substantially different rates applied between different pairs of points the same distance apart. Minimum message charges and additional word rates for all classes of domestic message telegraph service were revised. The establish ment of a minimum message charge for any nondeferred telegraph message, including press telegrams, of 35 cents, and a minimum mes sage charge for a deferred message or a night letter of 30 cents corrects the apparent inequalities in the former minimum message charges which, in the case of press telegrams, were as low as 12 cents. Although the new rate structure, wherein the rate steps are based on airline distances, produces increased charges in some cases and reduced charges in others, special traffic repricing studies by Western Union indicate that no material change in revenues will result. Baseball-spOTts s81'1Jice by messaile IlJnd diTect wiTe.-As reported in the fifteenth annual report, Western Union on March 1, 1949, filed new tariff schedules, effective April 18, 1949, revising charges and regulations applicable to the furnishing of baseball-sports service by message and direct wire. Follo.wing a complaiut of a radio broad caster concerning these revisions, insofar as they imposed an addi tional charge for service to subscribers who engage in network broadcasting, the Commission, on its own motion, entered into an investigation of the matter (docket 9286). After public hearings, the Commission on May 15, 1950, concluded that the additional charge imposed by 'Western Union for each station in a subscriber's network using baseball-sports service was an unlawful discrimination and charge within the meaning of the Communications Act. In com pliance with the Commission's order, Western Union on May 29, 1950, REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMIS&:WN 45 filed revised tariff provisions, effective June 1, 1950, which eliminate all restrictions and additional charges for each station in a radio network other than the subseribing station. OTHER REGULATORY MATTERS Depreoiation.-Since prescription of depreciation rates applicable to the various classes of Western Union's land lines plant in February 1948 and April 1949, pursuant to the provisions of section 220 (b) of the Communications Act, a review was made of the application of the company's rates in its accounts. Particular attention was directed toward the manner in which the rates, which had been prescribed for plant classifications that were in existence before the current system of accounts became effective, were applied to the balance in the accounts as classified under the presently effective systenl of accounts. Relief arut pe1l8i01l8.-Western Union provides for pensions and relief on a "pay as you go" hasis. Matters given consideration by the Commission during the fiscal year were, chiefly, minor changes in, or variations of, Western Union's pension plans respecting employees transferred incident to the sale of telegraph lines to the railroads. RealCl88ifiaation of plant axounts.-Western Union completed the restatement of its accounts on the basis of original cost, in accordance with the requirements of the currently effective uniform system of accounts, as to all plant and equipment not previously reclassified (principally that used in rendering international telegraph service) and the reclassification adjustments were recorded in its books of ac count. Examinations and investigations by the Commission's staff were undertaken, and are expected to continue into fiscal 1951, to verify the entries and to determine the reasonableness and propriety of the reclassification methods, computations, and amounts. Oonti1lJUing property reeo,*.-The completion of Western Union's restatement of its accounts on the basis of original cost and the com plete establishment of coutinuing property records permitted the in itiation of comprehensive studies for verification of the form and contents of these records and the evaluation of the effectiveness ofcon tinuing property record procedures as to both land lines and eable plant. Uniform 8Y8tem of lWoount8.-The operating revenue aecounts in cluded in the system of accounts which became effective January 1, 1943 (part 35 of the Commission's rules), were designed to reflect the several sources of revenues of wire-telegraph and ocean-cable car riers as then existing. During fiscal 1950 these accounts were revised in order to provide changes occasioned by progress in the art of tele graph communication and to provide uniformity in the operating revenue accounts of all types of international telegraph carriers. 46 REPORT OF THE FE,DERAL COM.cWUNICATIONS COMMISSION Retirement wnits.-At the time of promulgation of part 35 (Uni form System of Accounts for Wire-telegraph and Ocean-cable Car riel'S) the matter of prescribing a list of retirement units under sec tion 35.1-6-1 was deferred pending a review by the carriers of the presel'ibed accounting and an inventory of the IJl'operty as reclassi fied under the newly prescribed plant accounts. An amendment was adopted in 1946 which incorporated a list of retirement units for out side plant and work equipment as a part of section 35.1-6-1. An ",ther amendment was made during fiscal 1950 which incorporated in section 35.1-6-1 a list of retirement units for inside plant. This completed the list for wire-telegraph and ocean-cable carriers. Report fOTTll8.-Annual report Form 0 for wire-telegraph and ocean-cable carriers, classes A and B, was revised :for filing informa tion for the calendar year 1949. The revisions simplified and clari fied the reporting requirements of a number of the schedules and deleted a substantial number of other schedules. The amendments were designed to reflect the improvements which had been developed by an interdepartmental staff committee which started functioning in 1948 for the purpose of improving the statistical program of the Commission. Form 905A, "Monthly Report of Revenues, Expenses and Other Items," applicable to certain wire-telegraph carriers, was rescinded dnring the year for a new form, No. 905. A nnmber of revisions were incorporated in the latter to bring it into C'J, 700 Rhode Is)J)nd __ •~_v~.v~_v__68,300 1116,400 233,700 South Carollna__ •.• •~~_____70,800 158,000 228,800 South Dakota~~~.~____34,400 114,000 148,400 T0nn~.v.~~~vvv .__ 100, 30043~,fiOO 005,900 T(lX8S~• vv~~• __ v~__~____.'558,700 1,1.52,300 1, 711, 000 Utah •~~~__~• ._v__ 54,000 133,700 187,700 Vennont •~~~..v .v_______ 23,900 71,600 95,400 Virginia. v v~~.vv~~_____202,900 446, fiOO 649,500 *~~~-~~=::::::::::::::::====::::::==::::::=:=::::::::::::::~:~~:m~~:~ W yorning -- - v __ - __ - - v_ - - - - __~- - - - __ v v - - - --- ---v -- - - ---v - - - - - - -.-1_cc-: 23 _'.,- 600 c:-1 -,,-.,-'":::.:'009=_I_.,-,-':72..:-.:""'c.: United States totaL._.v_~. .._.~_.._ 12,381,000 28,327,000 40,708,000 COMMON CARRIER RADIO AUTHORIZATIONS Base radio stations authorized to the common carrier services fluctuate around 1,0()() in number. At the close of the last fiscal year there were 925 such authorizations as compared with 1,052 of the year previous. The following figures do not include associated mobile units : June 30,1949 lune 30, 1050 Increase llr decrease 26 26 -.v-----·-i- " 58 '96 651 (-244> 174 29Q 1I6 1,0.'52 92. (-127 Class otst&t1on Fixed public tl'Iephone •• .'. v. _ i>1~~~~~bli~~e~~b8~~~:=~-_-_-:~==============:::==========: ExperimentaI.__ •__ • • • • v • 1------1------1---- Total ••._~• •••v_v •• .v__ COMMON CARRIER APPLICATIONS The Commission received more than 3,600 applications from com mon carriers during the year, which was nearly 500 more than for the previous fiscal period. Comparative figures follow: PendingP~ndtng June 30, Received Disposed June 30, 194. 1'50 " 11' 15. 6 59 199 203 " 46 1,342 1,012 28. 52 '" ... , 12 20' 193 3 156 1,342 1,301 6' 394~6613,351 ... Class of statton i~~Jyct~i:~*8!=:::=::::::~::::::::::::::::::::: ~~s\~~:r:~iensloD8~~=:=:=====:======:===========::: wIreservlcereductions._~__._~vv· •·• I-----I-_--'-__1----'---1---- Tota1 •__ ._.~__ •• ._ •• _. _ CHAPTER III-SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES I. GENERAL 2. MARINE RADIO SERVICES 3. AERONAUTICAL RADIO SERVICES 4. PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SERVICES 5. LAND TRANSPORTATION RADIO SERVICES 6. INDUSTRIAL RADIO SERVICES 7. EXPERIMENTAL RADIO SERVICES 8. INDUSTRIAL, SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL SERVICE 9. RESTRICTED RADIATION DEVICES 10. STATISTICS I. GENERAL For administrative purposes, the many radio services which are neither broadcast nor common carrier are grouped in what is known as the Safety and Special Radio Services. They comprise a broad field of radio utilization by commerce, industry, and individuals. These services fall into five categories: Safety .ervices.-Aeronautical, Marine, Police, Fire, Forestry-con servation, Highway Maintenance, and Special Emergency. Land t,.anapo,.tation serviee8.-Railroad, Urban Transit, Intercity Bus, Highway Truck, Taxicab, and Automobile Emergency. Industrial serviees.-Power, Petroleum, Forest Products, Motion Picture, Relay Press, Special Industrial, and Low-power Industrial. Developmental servieeB.-Industrial, Scientific and Medical; Ex perimental, and Low-power Radio Devices. Operata,. 8erviees.-Commercial radio operators, Amateur, and Citizens. Included in the aviation, marine, special emergency, and experi mental services are certain radio stations whose operations cut across both the common carrier and safety and special services. For con venience, radio operators are treated in a separate chapter. Until comparatively recent years, the employment of radio for pur poses other than broadcast and common carrier communication was by circumstances restricted to operations contributing to the public safety. It was later extended on a relatively small scale to activities involving the conservation of natural resources, protection of public property, 61 62 REPORT OF THE FE'DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION and a few industrial enterprises of a particularly hazardous character, such as bridge construction, oil exploration, and the maintenance of power transmission lines. The knowledge acquired and the equipment developed during and since the war years made it possible to further expand the public use of radio. Commission rules which became effec tive July 1, 1949, established new services on a regular basis and re aligned and modified the regulations respecting existing services. However, with the growth of radio stations and increasing demand for new services, it became necessary to eliminate many of the conven ience or luxury operations from the new rules, particularly in populous areas where common carrier facilities are available. The operations of some existing services had to be curtailed or restricted. This does not mean that there is no room for expansion in the nonbroadcast field but rather that the potential uses for radio have become so great that eligibility must remain on a highly competitive basis. Public safety radio necessarily continues to havo the highest priority, but as the factor of safety decreases in importance the other principles governing a comparative determination in the public interest become very complex. 2. MARINE RADIO SERVICES GENERAL As the title implies, the Marine Radio Rervices involve t'he use of radio for the safety, navigation and communication needs of ships. Of the many safety radio services in existence today, the application of radio for the safety of ships is by far the oldest. Through the use of radio, many dramatic rescues have been made at sea, and an un known but large number of diseasters have undoubtedly been averted through the use of safety radio systems developed on broad inter national bases. . Radio, as an aid to navigation, has also proved its worth over the years. It assists in navigating safely, avoidance of gronnding, found ering, and collision. The normal radio installation aboard ship also provides means for exchanging operational and public correspondence with coast stations, other ships, and, in some cases, with aircraft. Under the Communications Act, the Commission is required to license all compulsory and voluntary radio stations on board ships of the United States (including certain United States Government ships) whether radiotelegraph, radiotelephone, radar, or other sys tems involving the transmission of radio energy. . With respect to the installation of shipboard radio equipment, ships are classified as compulsorily-equipped and voluntarily-equipped. This classification is necessitated by the fact that specific national and international obligations require the mandatory installation of REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISS[ON 63 radio for safety purposes on board certain vessels. Title III, part II of the Communications Act (for the oceans) and the Ship Act of 1910 (for the Great Lakes) embody the national law on this subject; while the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (London, 1929), still in force, and that of London, 1948, which is not yet in force, contain the international law with respect to the high seas. The Commission has the responsibility for the domestic administra tion and enforcement of these laws and treaties. Because ships travel internationally, because the radio waves they use travel internationally, and because they serve as common inter national media for radiocommunication, the Commission is obligated to participate actively in any international conferences or meetings re lated to the regulation, control, or improvement of the equipment, facilities, methods of operation, and the radio operators for marine radio communication. SAFETY ON THE GREAT LAKES Of outstanding significance during the year was a series of meet ings in Washin,iZton, attended by representatives of Government and industry, which discussed a proposed safety radio treaty between the United States and Canada applicable to certain vessels operating on the Great Lakes. One purpose of the proposed treaty is to enlarge the safety base from seven ships now required to be equipped with radio appar'!:tus to several hundred. The statutory requirement for the installation of radio equipment and the carrying of qualified radio operators for safety purposes on certain United Statesships has been in effect since about 1910. An act of Congress approved May 20, 1937, is the most recent domestic law covering the subject. Itprescribes the requirements for radio installa tions for safety purposes on ships of the United States on the ocean and is in general accord with treaty and practice. Previous radio statutes had included certain ships on the Great Lakes. At hearings before Congressional committees which consid ered the 1937 legislation, Great Lakes' interests claimed that though past policy treated the Lakes on a par with the high seas the factors to be considered on the Lakes were so different from those on the ocean that separate consideration was warranted. They also con tended that radiotelephony should be recognized as the medium for marine safety communications on the Great Lakes instead of radio telegraphy as previously required. Consequently, the act of 1937 which, as a practical matter requires the use of radiotelegraphy only, was not made applicable to the Great Lakes. In their reports the Congressional committees observed that no drastic change in the policy affecting radio on ships on the Great 64 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Lakes should be undertaken without consultation with Canada; that the Federal Communications Commission make a study of marine radio requirements in that area; and that it was hoped and expected that the Department of State would reach an agreement with Cauada. The legislation, as finally passed, requested and directed the Com mission to make a special study of the radio requirements necessary or desirable for ships navigating the Great Lakes and the inland waters of the United States. An exhaustive study and an investigation made by the Commission was reported toCon~esson December 16, 1940. In 1941 the Depart ment of State called a meeting of representatives of interested Govern ment agencies to consider the question of an agreement with Canada. Because of the war, the two Governments agreed to delay consultation looking toward a treaty. By a recent (1949) exchange of letters with Canada, the United States agreed to give early consideration to the holding of meetings between the two governments on the subject. In order to develop a representative United States position and pro posal, informal meetings of representatives of Government and indus try agencies. under the chairmanship of FCC Commissioner 'Webster :for the Department of State, began a series of meetings on February 7, 1950, in Washington. As of June 30, 1950, work on the language and format of the proposed treaty was being completed. The matter will probably be discussed formally with representatives o:f the Canadian Government early in the next fiscal year. SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA Administration of title III, part II of the Communications Act, requiring the compulsory fitting of radio apparatus on board ocean going vessels, involved, as of June 30, 1950, approximately 1,300 ships of United States registry. When navigated in the open sea these ships must carry qualified radio operators and maintain safety watches. In administering the Communications Act, the Commission is em powered to and does occasionally impose fines and :forfeitures, as well as apply corrective measures of a less stringent nature for violation of its provisions. During the year 40 violations of the compulsory radio provisions of the Communications Act were dealt with by the Commis sion. Of these 35 were satisfactorily cleared after a warning to the offender concerned; in two cases forfeitures were imposed and the remaining three were pending. Investigation is being made of two cases involving ship radio stations being operated in a service for which they are not licensed. There were five instances in which foreign vessels were not in com pliance with the provisions of the International Convention for the REPORT OF 'J'H];l FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIION 65 Safety of Life at Sea, 1929, and, although due notice was given, these vessels sailed withoutinforming the Commission that corrective action had been taken. In addition, notices for noncompliance were served on foreign vessels belonging to countries which are not party to this Convention and which are, in consequence, subject to domestic law, in this case the Communications Act. The Commission's records reveal that the international radio dis tress signal was used 167 times during the year. Studies of distress communications, made pursuant to section 4 (0) of the act, are used to strengthen the rules of the Commission to ensure the maximum use of radio for the safety of life and property at sea. The Commission is authorized by the Communications Act and the 1929 Safety of Life at Sea Convention to exempt ships in certain cate gories from radiotelegraph installation requirements, if it finds that the route or the conditions of the voyage or other circumstances are such as to render a radio installation nnnecessary or unreasonable. Under this authority, the Commission renewed for 1 year blanket exemptions for passenger vessels of 15 or less gross tons when navi gated not more than 20 nautical miles from the nearest land or more than 200 nautical miles between two consecutive ports, and also for passenger vessels of less than 100 gross tons when navigated within certain designated coastal areas. Individual applications for exemption received during the year numbered 79. Exemptions were granted to several cargo vessels used as tenders and moored most of the time to oil well drilling platforms located in relatively shallow water within 15 miles of the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. These vessels are, however, equipped with two-way radiotelephone installations capable of communicating with nearby coast stations, with ships similarly equipped, and with United States Coast Guard stations. RADIO AIDS TO NAVIGATION Shore-based harbor radar (radionavigation land) stations are au thorized on an experimental basis in the cities of Long Beach and San Francisco, Calif., and Baltimore, Md., for the purpose of assisting ships entering or leaving the harbor. However, since the Coast Guard has the responsibility of providing and supervising public aids to marine navigation, licensees who operate "private" aids must also obtain permission from the Coast Guard. Very high frequency mari time communications systems are being used experimentally by the radar stations, in some cases to communicate with the pilots aboard the ships to furnish navigational information. An authorization was granted to Marine Exchange, Inc., of San Francisco, Calif., for an experimental harbor radar (radio location 66 REPORT OF THE FIDDERAiL COMMUNWATION" COMM!flflION land) station for the sole purpose of observing ship movements in San Francisco harbor. Nine experimental radar authorizations (radionavigation land sta tions) are held by various members of the petroleum industry engaged in off-shore oil drilling activities in the Gulf of :Mexico. These sta tions are used in the navigation of ships of the licensee in his particu lar operations. At the close of the fiscal year there were 1,125 United States mer chant ships authorized to use radar on a regular basis, representing a 30 percent increase in the number of radar-equipped ships over the preceding year. Several experimental authorizations cover shore-basoo. radar sta tions for training of merchant marine deck officers in shipboard radar operation on both the great Lakes and the seaboard. The need for this type of station is partly the result of its being a relatively new device for merchant ship navigation and the fact that its use is not yet $ufficiently widespread to provide normal means of training navigators. On :May 11, 1950, the Commission reached a final decision, after pub "lie hearing, with respect to the question of whether licensed operators ,ore required for ship radar stations. New rules, effective January 2, 1951, in effect woive the legal license requirement for the normal oper ation of ship radar stations, such as that performed by a ship's navi gating officer, but require that adjustments or tests coincident with the installation, servicing and maintenance of the radar equipment while it is radiating energy be performed by or nnder the supervision and responsibility of properly licensed persons. The minimnm grade of lIcense specified for this purpose is a commercial second closs license, either radiotelephone or radiotelegraph, with a "radar" indorsement. An additional period of time was needed in the case of certain war time ship radar installations, the licenses for which terminated July 1, 1950, to either modify such equipment for type approval purposes or replace the equipment. To provide for this and avoid any inter ruption of service, the Commission modified its rules to permit appro priate extension of the licenses on an individual basis. RADIO TECHNICAL COMMISSION FOR MARINE SERVICES The Radio Technical Commission for :Marine Services, of which Commissioner Webster is vice chairman, was organized early in 1947 as a cooperative association of United States Government-industry tele communications agencies. Its principal objective is the resolution of technical problems in the marine radio field by mutual agreement. Its findings are in the nature of coordinated recommendations to all United States organizations concerned. The Commission has found REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSION 67 its recommendations very useful, and its work a savings to the Commis sion since it would otherwise have to be done by the Commission itself. The RTCM achieves its technical results through temporary special committees organized to develop solutions to particular problems. Commission marine specialists are invariably members of these com· mittees, sometimes chairmen. Fourteen such special committees have thus far beenset up and three of them are still at work. From the inception of the RTCM and until January 1, 1950, the United States Coast Guard furnished an executive secretary for this organization. Upon withdra,wal by the Coast Guard of this assist· ance, a Commission engineer was appointed to perform this work until such time as the RTCM is able to make some permanent provi sion. It is expected that this will take place during the next fiscal year, and that both Government and industry members will contribute toward the financial upkeep of the organization. INTERNATIONAL FREQUENCY COORDINATION The marine radio services cannot function efficiently without inter national coordination. Universality and systematization of marine comnlllIlicatioIl on a world-"wide basis have been developed over the years through periodic international conference decisions. The latest and most far-reaching of these conferences was held under the auspices of the Interllational Telecommunications Union at Atlantic City in 1947. Although some of these revised radio reg ulations came into force on January 1, 19c19, the remainder, mainly involving the assignment of frequencies between 10 and 27,500 kilo cycles, are to come into force on a date or dates to be determined by an extraordinary administrative radio conference to be convened at The Hague, Netherlands, on September 1, 1950. Growing out of the Atlantic City decisions were the international Provisional Frequency Board; three regional radio conferences (re gion l-Europe and Africa; region 2-Western Hemisphere; and l'egion 3-Asia) ; and a number of service conferences, all of which were held, wholly or in part, during fiscal 1950 to develop, aIllong other things, internationaHy coordinated lists of frequency assign ments to radio stations. In preparation for region 2 planning it was necessary to prepare lists of frequencies which the United States proposes to assign to coastal and ship stations which operate in the regional bands. These lists are being coordinated with neighboring eountries. The lists as currently proposed provide reassignments of frequencies in the present coast and ship radiotelegraph band 365 to 515 kilo cycles, in order that such stations may operate in the smaller spectrum space 415 to 515 kilocycles aHocatcd by the Atlantic City conference. 68 REPORT OF THE FElDERAJL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION However, provision has been made for coastal telegraph and ship telegraph frequencies of the order of 2,000 kilocycles to compensate for the loss of spectrum space in the lower band. With respect to radiotelephone communication between ship and coastal harbor stations, the proposed list provides for additional chan nels at major ports where the present channels are overloaded. These additional channels, insofar as possible, are in accordance with recom mendations of the Radio Technical Commission for Marine Services. Implementation of the frequency list with respect to coastal harbor and ship telephone stations would involve the shifting of the presently assigned frequencies in only a few areas. The work of the Provisional Frequency Board and the three regional radio conferences in the marine field was directed toward the more or· derly assignment of frequencies to coast and ship stations of the mari time mobile service in accordance with the allocation table groupings of coast and ship stations in separate frequency bands to meet the technical and engineering principles governing the service, along with certain aspects of operating practices. The results expected to be achieved at the forthcoming Hague con ference must necessarily be translated into detailed rules and regula tions by the various Government administrative agencies concerned. As far as the Commission is concerned, it means that its rules and reg ulations governing maritime services must be extensively revised and that the frequencies now assigned to SOme 470 coast stations and 22,600 ship stations would be subject to change in order to achieve the main purpose of the new table, that is, a more orderly and equable utilization of the radio spectrum throughout the world. INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL STANDARDS Another international activity in which Commission marine per sonnel participated is preparatory work for the sixth meeting of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) to be held in Europe in 1951. This committee is an organ of the International Tele communications Union and its principal concern is the study of world technical radio problems and standardization of solutions and the submission of recommendations to the 78 member countries. For ex ample, one of its studies concerns automatic monitoring devices for maintaining watch on the nl\w international distress frequency of 2,182 kilocycles for maritime mobile radiotelephone stations and a suitable signal which may be used universally to actuate the automatic devices. Further progress was made in the development of an automatic alarm system and an associated alarm signal for use on that frequency. Dur ing the past year the Commission conducted additional field and lab- REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATLON8 COMMI8&lON 69 oratory tests employing auto alarm devices proposed by the United States and those furnished by the British administration for compara tive demonstration. United States models have been sent to England, France, and Sweden to permit tests by these interested countries. Similarly, France expects to furnish the United States with models of its auto alarm devices. VOLUNTARILY EQUIPPED RADlM'ELEPHONE SHIPS Records of the Commission show that there are approximately 21,000 vessels licensed to use radiotelephone equipment in the 2,000-3,000 kilocycle band. The heavy congestion in this band has emphasized the need for more strict enforcement of regulations in order that the safety factor not be jeopardized. The Commission by amending its rules, effective August 1, 1949, allocated the frequency 2,003 kilocycles for ship stations on the Great Lakes as an intership working frequency in place of the frequency 2,738 kilocycles which they shared with stations in other areas. The former furnished some relief from delays previously experienced since it is not used in other areas and does not have the objectionable inter area interference so noticeable at night on 2,738 kilocycles. The Com mission set January 1, 1950, as the final date for relinquishing 2,738 kilocycles on the Great Lakes. It also authorized use of safety and calling frequency 2,182 kilocycles as a common working frequency for ship-to-ship communication during this change-over period. The Commission collaborated in a plan of the Department of the Army for the systematized use of the intership frequency 2,738 kilo cycles by radiotelephone stations at lock 19, Keokuk, Iowa, and at each of 46 dams on the Ohio River to facilitate the movement of tows through locks and to promote safety. When a ship approaches the locks, radio contact is established with the Army stations for the pur pose of obtaining instructions preparatory to passage through the locks. Ifthe ship cannot proceed through the locks immediately, it is instructed by radio to wait until further radio orders are received. COMMERCIAL COAST STATIONS The use of high frequencies for long.distance communication be tween coastal telegraph and coastal telephone stations and ocean-going vessels continues to be important. The fact that ships on the high seas can communicate by radio with United States coast stations has increased the use of high frequencies. Several applications were pending for authority to discontinue or reduce service at coastal telegraph stations. On the seaboard, this trend to curtailment is due in part to ship stations being equipped with high frequency mdiotelegraph installations in addition to medium 909925-51-6 70 REPORT OF THEFE'DE~LCOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION frequency installations required by law and treaty, thus allowing communication with more distant stations. On the Great Lakes, the curtailment is because most of the ships which formerly carried radio telegraph apparatus have changed to radiotelephone. Only 16 licensed ship radiotelegraph stations remain. Eleven of these ships also have radiotelephone installations. A new public coastal harbor (telephone) station was authorized at Lake Dallas, Tex., an inland lake, for daytime operation only. A considerable number of applications were pending for additional fre quencies for existing stations of this class, and for permission to construct new stations in the 2--3 megacycle band. These applications have not been acted upon because there is an acute shortage of mari time frequencies and further assignments involve the implementation of the final acts of the Fourth Inter-American Radio Conference and the evolution of a new frequency assignment plan for the maritime service in the continental United States and contiguous areas. Numerous applications for VHF [very high frequency] coast sta tions and associated ships were received. These stations are expected to provide communication for a large number of small vessels in har bors and nearby areas and thus relieve, to some extent, the overcrowd ing of 2-3 megacycle marine frequencies in certain areas. Since deciding to establish the VHF Specialized Operational Radio telephone Maritime Mobile Service in April 1948, the Commission has authorized on an experimental basis 63 land stations and 716 asso ciated ship units. Such short-range communication is expected to play an important part in piloting and docking ships by providing direct radiotelephone service between the pilot or master of the ship, the dockmaster, and tugs. Rules and regulations to establish the VHF maritime mobile service on a regular basis were under prepara tion at the end of the fiscal year. Interest has been shown iu, and a need expressed for, an integrated maritime commuuication system using VHF which would provide communication in a basically maritime operation between land vehicles, ships, and coast stations. The Commission is studying the problems posed iu this connection in consonance with the provision of the Communications Act relating to encouragement of new and more effective use of radio in the public interest. There were 42 licensed public coastal telegraph stations in the United States, including island possessions, at the end of the year. The number of coastal harbor stations, exclusive of Alaska, was 50. Five domestic coastal telephone statious employed high frequencies for long distance public service with ocean-going vessels. In addi tion, three mobile press stations operated for ship-shore radiotele graph press traffic exclusively. REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATiIONB COMMIBSilON 71 ALASKA FIXED PUBLIC AND PUBLIC COASTAL SERVICES Because of the many isolated communities in Alaska and the various industries there, such as fishing, mining, logging, etc., requiring speedy communication, the Commission has established a special category of fixed public and public coastal radio services to serve those needs. These services provide communication between communities, between cOIUIUunities and the Alaska Communication System, and between the coast and ships in Alaskan waters. In emergencies, any station in Alaska, regardless of the class in which licensed, and subject to certain limitations, may transmit messages relating to safety of life and property. The ACS, under the Department of National Defense, operates the main intra-Alaska communication routes and makes its service available as a connecting carrier to nongovernmentsta~ tions. The Commission maintains liaison with the ACS for the coordination of communications facilities in Alaska in order to best serve the public. INTERFERENCE PROBLEMS Numerous reports of interference involving the maritime mobile service were received during the year. Most of them came from Alaska where commercial ship, point-to-point and coast station opera tions were reported to be causing serious interference to reception of aircraft stations on 3,105 kilocycles by Civil Aeronautics Administra tion stations. The interference was so severe in two localities that the use of the interfering commercial frequency was discontinued. In vestigation, with the cooperation of the CAA, disclosed that in some cases the interference was caused by improper adjustment or use of the commercial stations' equipment and indicated a possible need for stricter technical standards. Licensing of new coast and point-to point operations in Alaska for use of the interfering frequency in the vicinity of CAA receiving locations was discontinued. EQUIPl\lENT DEVELOPMENTS, PROBLEMS. ANn APPROVALS There was considerable activity in the commercial marine radar equipment field during the year. The Commission granted type ap proval, after commercial laboratory and shipboard tests witnessed by Commission engineers, to a total of 18 basic types of ship radar equip ment. Included were six types of modified wartime radar equipment and two types of Canadian radar equipment. Some of the new radar equipment includes such features as "hifocal" presentation, which per mits simultaneous observation of both "close-in" objects and a more distant over-all picture; compact, relatively light weight, less expen sive small vessel radar sets with performance features comparable to the large types; multiple indicators for special applications, such as 72 REPORT OF THE FEDERAIL COMMUNICATION& COMMISSION ferryboat installations, and the nse of larger cathode ray tubes in the indicators. A new, compact, medium frequency radiotelegraph transmitter of 500 watts capacity for nse primarily aboard ships was approved after laboratory tests. One type of radiotelegraph receiver was approved with respect to the Commission's rules imposing a limitation on the radiation of energy from shipboard receiving equipment. A number of new medium frequency radiotelephone transmitters, which in gen eral are not subject to prior laboratory tests, were accepted for licens ing in the ship service. A nickel-cadium type of storage battery has been introduced for use on board ships which have to carry an emergency power supply. Although this kind of battery is not new, its use in American ships is a recent development. It may offer certain advantages over the lead acid type commonly used in the United States Merchant Marine. However, its introduction has brought about new administrative prob lems iu connection with determination of the state of charge and capacity of battery installations, and certain other considerations. Commission engineers participated in studies by the Radio Tech nical Commission for Marine Services. They covered such subjects as the intermodulation problem in the VHF region, the solution to which bears directly upon equipment design and frequency utilization and, accordingly, has a direct bearing upon regulatory procedures; the relative merit of FM aud AM in the VHF spectrum for marine radiotelephone equipment, looking to eventual international standard ization; effective standardization of ship radiotelephone selective ring ing systems which would offer economic advantages and better fre quency utilization; and the problem of improving marine radiotele phone communication in the 2,000-3,500 kilocycle band in portions of which extreme congestion has been experienced. 3. AERONAUTICAL RADIO SERVICES GENERAL The year witnessed a continued increase in civil aviation activities· under the Commission's jurisdiction. Radio communications have become vital for the operation of aircraft under all weather conditions both from the standpoint of safety of life and property as well as for the efficient, expeditious, and economical operation of aircraft in gen eral. Navigational aids, traffic control operations, approach and in strument landing systems, special devices such as radio altimeters and distance measuring equipment and public correspondence systems all involve the use of radio in the aviation services. There were nearly 24,000 air and ground aviation station authoriza tions ontstanding at the close of the fiscal year. Though this is almost REPORT OF TBJEl FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSIlON 73 3,500 less than in 1949, the decrease is due at least in part to the fact that a number of private aircraft owners have not been prompt in filing application for renewal. An enforcement program presently being conducted by the Field Engineering and Monitoring Division resulted in a large increase in the number of applications for private aircraft during the month of June, and an increase is expected to con tinue during the next 6 months. This delay in filing application for renewal was not apparent previous to 1950 since the rapid expansion in new aircraft stations more thanoffset these cases. The fiscal year 1950 was the first major renewal year since the 2 year license term was inaugurated for private aircraft, hence the Commis sion deleted from its active files a large number of stations whose licenses had expired. Over 4,000 such stations were deleted during June 1950. AVIATION ORGANIZATIONS AND CONFERENCES The Commission has increased its participation in the various inter agency coordinating and policy groups, both on a domestic and inter national scale, in order to solve the many new problems which are occurring as a result of increasing telecommunications developments. The most important of these groups are the International Administra tive Aeronautical Radio Conference, the Air Coordinating Committee, the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics and the Interna tional Civil Aviation Organization. The International Administrative Aeronautical Radio Conference convened in Geneva in July 1949 for its second session in order to com· plete a world assignment plan for the allotment of frequencies for the aeronautical mobile route services in accordance with the Atlantic City table of frequency allocation. The recommendations and plan, when adopted, will be used as a basis not only for the international allocation of frequencies but also for a high frequency plan for the continental United States. A major and continuing function ofthe Commission is participation in the work of the Air Coordinating Committee. The ACC recom mends proposed United States policy on aviation to the President, and acts as a vehicle for coordinating aviation matters between the various departments of the Government and industry. The Commission is active in the ACC through its membership on the Techoical Division and the following subcommittees of that division: Aeronautical Com munications and Electronic Aids; Airspace-Rules of the Air and Air Traffic Control; Search and Rescue; and Airmen Qualifications. In addition, the Commission isrepresented on the Air Traffic Control and Navigational Panel which was established by the Air Coordinating Committee for the guidance and implementation of the "National All- 74 REPORT OF THE FEOERA[, COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION weather Air Navigation and Traffic Control Program." This panel also established an operational policy working gronp to formulate the operational programs and procedures for use during the period which the interim system of air navigation and traffic control is in effect. The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics is a cooperative association of the United States Government-industry aeronautical telecommunication agencies. It conducts studies of aeronautical tele communications problems aud related matters for the purpose of pro viding guidance to, and coordinating the efforts of, the organizations concerned. One of the major and continuing activities of the Com mission involves participation in the executive committee and special technical committees of the RTCA. During the past year, the RTCA has studied and is making recommendations on such problems as: (1) television interference to radio marker beacon receivers, (2) test standards and procedures for VHF radio equipment, (3) operational requirements and evaluation of long distance aids to navigation, (4) protection ratios for carrier current broadcast systems operating in the band 200-400 kilocycles, (5) reevaluation of the operational require ments for air-ground communications and equipment to fill these re quirements for control of air traffic, and (6) development of a high altitude grid plan for omnidirectional radio range and distance-meas uring equipment frequency pairing. The International Civil Aviation Organization was established to develop the standards and recommended practices for international civil aviation through the process of regional and divisional agreements among the nations of the world. Representation at these meetings insures that the established policies of the Commission will be reflected in the deliberations of the meetings and further insures that the Com mission will be kept informed on current trends and developments in international civil aviation telecommunications requirements which, because of the nature of aviation operations, affect and, in many in stances, become a part of United States domestic requirements. During fiscal 1950 the Commission assisted in the preparation for ;md participated in the following ICAO meetings: European-Mediter ranean fixed telecommunication meeting, African-Indian Ocean fixed and Middle East fixed telecommunication meetings, African-Indian Ocean and Middle East frequency planning meeting, and European Mediterranean frequency planning meeting, all held in Paris; the south east Asia frequency planning meeting at New Delhi, India, and the Caribbean RAN and frequency planning meeting held in Havana. The Commission furnished one chairman of a United States delega tion, two vice chairmen and one United States spokesman to these meetings. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL CQMM1JNICATlONS GOMMISSIION 75 AIRCRAFT RADIO The utility of radio in connection with aircraft operation is shown not only by the fact that it is legally required for the operation of an airline, but also by the great growth in the number of voluntary instal lations in private aircraft. There were over 20,000 authorized aircraft radio stations at the close of the fiscal year, of which number nearly 18,000 were private aircraft. Rapid expansion in the aviation industry has ealled for eorrespond ingly, far-reaching changes in the scope and nature of the serviees rendered by radio to aircraft operators. To meet the congestion of communication channels which resulted from expansion of civil avia tion activities, the aviation communication systems have been under going a process of reengineering. Very high frequencies have been placed in service, new communication and traffic control procedures are being adopted, and every effort is being made to bring aviation communications to a peak inengineering efficiency. AERONAUTiCAL LAND AND AERONAUTICAL FIXED RADIO STATIONS The aeronautical land and aeronautical fixed stations provide non government communication service necessary for the safe, expeditious, and economical operation of aircraft. Aeronautical land stations communicate between the ground and aircraft, whereas aeronautical fixed stations furnish point-to-point communication to enable the airline to carryon its business more efficiently. In the United States the fixed service stations are used primarily as "backup" circuits for land line facilities; however, in international operations, and opera tions in areas where land line facilities are not adequate, radio provides the primary service. Domestic air carriers are required to maintain two-way ground-to-air radiotelephone communication at terminal and at such other points as may be deemed necessary by the Government to insure satisfactory communication over the entire aircraft route. The growing importance of air travel in Alaska has necessitated major changes in aeronautical communications. An Alaska commu nications plan is being formulated, and will require considerable coordination between Government agencies and industry because of the diversified nature of Alaskan operations before it can be fully implemented. In previous years the aeronautical land and aeronautical fixed sta tions included Civil Air Patrol radio stations. The Commission has recently amended its rules and is authorizing these faeilities as Civil Air Patrol land and Civil Air Patrol mobile stations. Accordingly, the number of aeronautical land and fixed facilities decreased to Slightly more than 1,400 at the year's close. 76 REPORT OF THE FEDERAiL COMMUNICATION8 COMMISSION CIVIL AIR PATROL STATIONS These stations provide the necessary communication for Civil Air Patrol activities and emergencies pertaining to the protection of life and property. Air shows, missing aircraft search missions, train ing missions, and communication systems at encampments, bases, and meetings are examples of official activities. To aid in the furtherance of Civil Air Patrol activities the United States Air Force has made certain frequencies available for assignment to the CAP. There are nearly 2,000 ground stations licensed in this service as compared to some 1,600 last year. The increase in the number of authorized stations is not as slight as it would appear from the fore going figures due to the fact that one application for construction permit or license may be submitted to the Commission for a Civil Air Patrol land station together with the associated number of Civil Air Patrol mobile stations required. In order to consolidate the files and lessen the workload in keeping records, the application is con sidered as one station. Due to this consolidation the license records for 1950 indicate that the number of units authorized for CAP in 1950 exceeds 7,000. AIRDROME CONTRo.L STATIONS This type of station provides communication between an airdrome control tower and arriving and departing aircraft for the purpose of regulating the separation of aircraft to avoid collisions and main taining an efficient flow of traffic into and out of an airport. An air drome control station also communicates with aeronautical mobile utility stations aboard essential vehicles of an airport. Airdrome con trol stations, for the most part, are operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration; however, the number of such stations licensed by the Commission is continuing to increase. AERONAUTICAL MOBILE UTILITY STATIONS This class of station is installed aboard crash, maintenance, fire,. and other vehicles which operate on an airdrome in order that the airdrome control operators may direct the movements of the vehicles as necessary. This service is used by many municipalities and in dividuals concerned with the care and upkeep of airports. AERONAUTICAL NAVIGATION RADIO STATIONS These stations involve the transmission of special radio signals to enable an aircraft to determine its position with reference to the navigational facility. Included are radio beacons, radio direction finders, radio ranges, localizers, glide paths, markers, and ground control approach stations. REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSilON 77 This service, for the most part, is operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The stations licensed by the Commission are in stalled at locations not served by the Government stations. The number of stations is expected to increase as the combined civil and military system of air navigation and air traffic control becomes further implemented. FLYING SCHOOL RADIO STATIONS Flying school stations aboard aircraft and on the ground are used for communication pertaining to instructions to flight students or pilots while actually operating an aircraft. FLIGHT TEST BADIO STATIONS A flight test radio station is a station aboard an aircraft or on the ground used for the transmission of communications in connection with the test of aircraft and major components of such aircraft. AERONAUTiCAL PUBLIC SERVICE RADIO STATIONS The public service type of aircraft station has been provided for private communications between individuals aboard aircraft in flight and persons on the ground, and affords communication similar to those available by use of the public telephone. The aeronautical public service station connects to the Nation-wide land line telephone system through the facilities of the coastal harbor radiotelephone or coastal telephone stations. This service has increased each year largely due to the fact that operators of the "executive" type aircraft consider telephone communication to be essential in their business. 4. PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SERVICES The Public Safety Radio Services consistinll: of the Police, Fire, Forestry-conservation, Highway Maintenance, and Special Emergency Services have been operating for a full year under the major revision to part10 oithe Commission's rules effective .ruly 1, 1949. The extensive shift in frequency assignments necessary to bring existing operations into compliance with the revised frequency allo cations has progressed satisfactorily. Out of the thousands of sta tions affected, approximately 100 licensees failed to meet the July 1, 1950 deadline. The Commission authorized an additional period of 3 months to enable the delinquent licensees to change to the new frequencies. During the year a major improvement in the capabilities of the standard types of equipment employed in these services made it pos sible to assign adjaeent channels to licensees in the same area. This, in effect, doubled the number of channel assignments that could be 78 REPORT OF THE FEUERAiL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION made. The types or equipment in use at the time the adjacent channel equipment was developed will continue to be used ror a rew years berore it will need to be replaced; consequently a short period or time must elapse berore rull advantage may be taken or the capabilities or the improved equipment. Except ror a rew minor changes, the rules contained in part 10 have proved adequate. Some or these changes are undergoing pro posed rule making while others are being studied. , The establishment and expansion or a network or police radio stations by the Territory or Alaska has required an extended survey or the rrequency allocation and assignment plans or both the Federal departments and other nongovernmental agencies so that adequate channels may be made available. One frequency in the 2 megacycle band and 1 rrequency in the 7 megacycle band have provided ror police highway patrol. It is proposed to authorize operation or stations with a maximum input power or 10 kilowatts in the Police Radio Service on rrequencies now allocated primarily by State police licensees. With this increase in power many States hope to operate with rewer base stations and still obtain equal or better service. It is thought that considerable savings in operating expense may be gained. During the past year all public sarety services continued to expand. Indeed, radio systems in these services are being augmented at a rate that is taxing the manuractnrers' ability to supply the equipment demanded, particularly certain components such as crystals. POLICE RADIO SERVICE Police radio station authorizations are issoed to States, Territories, possessions, and other governmental subdivisions including counties, cities, and towns. Governmental institutions charged with the re sponsibility ror providing police protection are also eligible. Net works covering entire States have been established on the radio telephone channels, and these networks are linked into still larger networks embracing gronps or States by means or the radiotelegraph channels which have been made available ror long distance fixed operations. FIRE RADIO SERVICE Eligibility ror licensees in the Fire Radio Service is restricted to governmental agencies and organizations such as the volunteer fire departments which are responsible ror providing local fire protection. Expansion in this'service is occurring principally in the heavily populated urban areas where the need ror separate communication racilities is necesary because the police radio system is unable to pro vide fire protection service. In the rural areas the volunteer fire REPORT OF THE' FEDERA'L OOMMUNfCATIONB COMMIBSilON 79 departments are establishing radio systems very slowly due to the limited funds available for radio equipment. Unless funds can be provided, it appears that these areas where there is a great need for radio communication due to the lack or inadequacy of public telephone facilities must continue to operate without the assistance of radio. FORESTRY-CONSERVATION RADIO SERVICE Stations in the Forestry-conservation Radio Service are authorized to transmit communications directly relating to public safety and the protection of life and property including those essential to the pre vention, detection, and suppression of forest fires, and official forestry conservation activities. Eligibility for this class of station is restricted to States, Territories, possessions, and other governmental subdivisions including counties, cities, and towns and similar govern mental entities, and persons or organizations charged with specific forestry-conservation activities. The forestry portion of this service has been established for many years and most of the eligibles have established radio communication systems. Consequently, the number of forestry systems did not in crease much during the past year. However, most of these systems have been greatly expanded to provide a more complete coverage. During the year several States added conservation communication systems which are independent of their forestry operation. HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE nADIO SERVICE The Highway Maintenance Radio Service completed its first full year of operations. Eligibility for this service is likewise restricted to States, territories, possessions, and other governmental subdivisions, including counties, cities, towns, and similar governmental entities. The scope of service provides primarily for the transmission of mes sages directly relating to public safety and the protection of. life and property; and secondarily provides for intercommunication with other stations in the Public Safety Services. It is anticipated that this particular serviC_~_ Grand totaL_ • _ 1 Not broken down In fifteenth annual report. CHAPTER IV-RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES I. BROADCAST REGULATION 2. TELEVISION (TV) BROADCAST SERVICE 3. STANDARD (AM) BROADCAST SERVICE 4. FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM) BROADCAST SERVICE 5. NONCOMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL FM BROADCAST SERVICE 6. FACSIMILE BROADCAST SERVICE 7. INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SERVICE 8. REMOTE PICKUP BROADCAST SERVICE 9. ST (STUDIO-TRANSMITTER) BROADCAST SERVICE 10. DEVELOPMENTAL BROADCAST SERVICE 11. STATISTICS I. BROADCAST REGULATION SCOPE OF AUTHORITY The Communications Act deems broadcasting not to be a common currier operation j hence the Commission has no jurisdiction over charges made by broadcast stations for air time, nor does it maintain surveillance of their day-by-day programnling and internal manage ment, salaries paid artists and personnel, etc. Consequentq, the Commission's regulation of broadcasting is lim ited to two general phases. The first deals with the allocation of por tions of the spectrum to the different types of broadcast services in accordance with the Commission's rules and regulations to carry Qut the intent of international agreenlents, the Communications Act and other domestic law affecting broadcasting. The seconu phase concerns individual stations, and embraces COJi sideration of applications to build and operate; the assigunent of specific frequencies, power, operating time, and call lettcJ.'s; the periodic inspectioll of equipment and the engineering aspects of opera tion; passing upon transfers and assignments of facilities, also changes in existing authorizations; modifying and renewing construction pel' TIlits and licenses; licensing radio operators, and otherwise discharging regulatory responsibilities. Broadcast stations are licensed to serve "the public interest, con venience and necessity." Because radio channels are limited and are a part of the public domain, it is important tlmt they be entrusted to licensees who have a high senSe of public responsibility. 99 100 REPORT OF THE FEnERA'L COM.IIWNICAT10NI'l COMMISI'lION The Communications Act sets up certain basic requirements which must be met by broadcast applicants. In general, applicants must be legally, technically, and financially qualified, and show that their proposed operation will be in the public interest. Under the Communications Act, it is theresponsibility of each broad cast station licensee, in addition to meeting technical requirements, to arrange his program structure so that his operation is in the public interest. Pursuant to duties imposed by the act, the Commission periodically reviews the over-all performance of stations, usually when they apply for renewal of license, to see if they have lived up to their obligations, and the promises they made in applying. for facilities. This review of broadcast station performance does not, however,. give the Commission censorship authority, for the Communications. Act states: UNothing in this act shall be understood or construed te> give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communi cations or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated 01' fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio com munication." The Commission has held that freedom of speech on the radio must be broad enough to provide full and equal opportunity for the presentation of both sides of public issues. The Communications Act contains an express provision ,,,ith respect to political broadcasts: "If any licensee shall permit any person who. is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcast ing station, he shall afford equal opportunities to all other such can didates for that office in the use of such radio facilities • • • Provided, That such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast under the provisions of this section. No obliga- tion is hereby imposed upon any licensee to allow the use of its station to any such candidate." The United States Criminal Code prohibits broadcast of informa tion concerning "any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar sehe.me," also. utterance of obscene, indecent, or profane language. Under the first named provision, the Commission on August 19, 1949 adopted rules affecting lotteries and "give-away" programs, to become effective October 1 thereafter. However, because of litigation, the Commission on September 29, 1949, postponed the effective date of these rules until final court determination. The Commission prohibits the same interest or group from owning or operating more than 1 AM, FM, or TV broadcast station in the same area, or more than 6· FM stations or 5 TV stations throughout the country as a whole. Decision was pending, following oral argument, on proposed rule amendments which would limit ownership or control to not more than 7 AM stations in the eountry as a whole, and over- REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMlmICATHJNS COMMISSION 101 lapping interest to not more than 14 AM, 12 FM and 10 TV stations throughout the Nation. On January 12, 1950, the Commission proposed rules which would curb trafficking in broadcast frequencies by causing construction per mits for AM, FM, and TV stations to be automatically forfeited if the holder enters into a contract to transfer to another party before the station has been constructed and operated. Oral argument began June 19. NETWORKS The Commission does not license networks as such; only individual stations. :However, stations owned or affiliated with networks are subject to chain broadcasting regulations promulgated by the Commis sion in 1940 and now incorporated in part 3 of its rules. There are four major networks-American Broadcasting Co., Co lumbia Broadcasting System, Mutual Broadcasting System, and Na tional Broadcasting Co.-and various regional and other AM, FM, and TV groups. At the close of the year, 1,189 AM stations were affiliated with the major networks, which opcrated 18 AM stations. A breakdown follows: Network ABC . _ _ _ . CBS . ,~_ MBS " . . • . _ NBC__ •• • . _ Network ownl\dAM stations ,, '7 • 0 6 Affiliated AM stations 286 184 543 176 I Includes one IOo-percent owned subsidiary. 2Includes one loo-percent owned subsidiary, but does not Include a 45·percent minority interest in 1 other station. I 3 Although MRS dol'S not itself operate any broadcast station, its stock is held by 7 corporations of which 6 arB statIOn licensees in this country. RECEIVING SETS The Commission does not license ra.dio receivIng sets which are exclusively that, nor does it regulate their manufacture or sale. Based upon industry estimates, the total number of broadcast receivers was currently approaching 81 million. Production of home broadcast receivers declined 31 percent between the calendar years 1948 and 1949 but was expected to show an increase of 70 percent in calendar year 1950. Production of TV receivers almost tripled in ealendar year 1949. Production of all types of home receivers was increasing in 1950. The output during the first 6 months of that year was reported to be 6,263,857 sets. Of this total, 2,413,145, or 38.5 percent, were TV sets, and 539,852, or 8.6 percent, were FM sets (including dual FM--AM 909925---aO--S 102 REPORT OF THE FEIDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION sets) . Production of AM only receivel'S accounted for 52.9 percent of the total. However approximately 10 percent of the TV sets produced in the first half of 1950 contained AM or FM bands, or both. TYPES OF BROADCAST STATIONS At the close of fiscal 1050 there were more than 4,500 ontstanding authorizations in 10 categories of broadcast services. The majority of these-over 3,100-eomprised stations in the three principal com mercial broadcast services, namely: AM (amplitude modulation) ; FM (frequency modulation), and TV (television), also known as video. The remainder were made up of noncommercial educational, facsimile, international, developmental stations, and remote pickup and studio transmitter links. GROWTH OF BROADCASTING The growth of AM, FM, and TV broadcast services since 1043 is shown in the following table of authorized and licensed stations at the close of each fiscal year: AM FM 1'V Total Author- Licensed Author- Licensed Author- Licensed Author- Licensed ired iwdi~'dized --------- 1943____ • _____ 912 911 48 37 6 6 966 954 1944. _________ 924 912 52 45 9 6 985 963 1945______ 996 931 53 46 25 6 1,033 983 1946" _______ 1,215 961 456 48 30 6 1,701 1,015 194-7 __ -------------- 1,795 1,298 918 48 66 6 2,779 1,352 1948____________ 2,034 1,693 1,020 142 109 7 3,16.1 1,842 1949_________________ 2,179 1,9f~'l8M 377 117 13 3,161 2,353 1950______ 2,303 2,118 732 493 109 47 3,144 2,6M 2. TELEVISION (TV) BROADCAST SERVICE INCREASE IN TV APPLICATIONS AND SERVICE Throughout the year there was greater availability of television receivers, transmitters, and relay facilities. The public acceptance of and interest in visual broadcasting continued at a high level. Due, however, to the continuance of the so-called "freeze" policy, explained hereafter, there was only a small increase in the number of commerpial TV broadcast stations on the air. At the end of the year, 47 television stations were licensed and 62 construction permits were outstanding. In addition to those licensed, 59 stations were operating on a commercial basis under special tempo rary authorizations. In spite of the "freeze," the year's close saw 106 stations bringing TV programs to 64 cities and metropolitan areas as compared with 42 cities served by 71 stations the previous year. It waS estimated REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS OOMMISElION 103 that there were 87,000,000 potential television viewers in 43 States. This represented about 57 percent of the population of the entire United States. The demand for TV outlets also continued high with 351 applications for new stations pending at the end of the year, many of which were in comparative hearing status due to the fact that their requests exceeded the available facilities. Television receiver production also continued to mount with a con tinued trend toward larger picture screens. It was estimated that over 7,000,000 re.eivers were in the hands of the public in areas capable of TV reception. The 16-inch direct view tube replaced the lO-inch tube in public favor. The rectangular shaped tube made its debut. EXPERIMENTAL TV SERVICE At the end of the year there were 183 experimental TV stations licensed and a score of outstanding construction permits. Included in these figures were 158 relay stations operating in the microwave region and used by TV broadcasters as pick-up, studio-to-transmitter link, and interim intercity relay stations. Proposed rules for putting these television auxiliary services on a permanent basis were pending at the end of the year. Television research and experimentation continued with special interest in color televising and operation in the 475-890 megacycle UHF (ultra high frequency) band. About 25 authorizations were outstanding in this band. Studies made included propagation, cir cuitry in transmitters and receivers, and the rebroadcasting of VHF (very high frequency) signals in the UHF region. One such station commenced experimentation for the purpose ofte.~tingthe feasibility of satellite operation in small cities using the signals of "mother" sta tions in nearby large cities or metropolitan areas. Several licensees used pulse-type transmitters to explore the coverage possibilities of the UHF band. OTHER TV DEVELOPMENTS The principal development in the television art was the giant strides made in color TV. The Commission authorized color transmissions on an experimental basis for the three systems of the principal pro ponents of color./ These broadcasts were made over regular commer cial TV stations and were witnessed by thousands of persons on re ceivers especially built or converted for the reception of the respective color systems. On February 8, 1950, the Commission granted the Zenith Radio Corp. special temporary authority for a 90-day period to utilize the facilities of its Chicago experimental station to conduct "Phonevision" tests under certain conditions attached. It was proposed to transmit 104 REPORT OF THE FEOlER*L COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION programs to 300 telephone subscribers in that area interested in this' pay-as-you-see television broadcasting method. TV network facilities, both coaxial cable and radio relay, were ex panded, bringing the total number of metropolitan areas in the chain to 28. About 14 more cities and metropolitan areas are on the 1950 schedule for network linkage. (See also coaxial cable and micro wave relay in the chapter on common carriers.) In addition to these common carrier facilities for simultaneous viewing of network pro grams, many broadcasters were using programs picked off the air and relayed to their stations by means of private intercity relays operated by thernselves. Two nlotion picture companies continued their expe.rirnents in the relaying of events to theater audiences. In view of the many petitions filed by motion picture interests, the Commission on January 11, 1950,. issued a notice of hearing to determine whether provision should be made for a theater televisiOtl service. The date of this hearing wa;; to be set later. ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY TV The Commission's rules now in effect are based on the use of 12 VHF television channels wit.h assiglllilcnts distributed about the COUll try in a precut plan involving approximately 150-mile separation be bveen stations operating on the same channel, the stations haviug a maximum 50 kilowatts effective radiated power and an average an tenna height of 500 feet. This plan was drafted in 1945 on technical data then available and did not take into account interference from propag,ation due to tropospheric bending of radio waves. Early in 1948 it. became evident from new data and the operational performance of stations on the air that the 150-mile cochannel separation of sta tions was inadequate if a service radins of about 40 miles was to be expected, As a result, the Commission (on September 30, 1948) stopped granting applications for new TV facilities pending a study of the problems involved. This was the so-called "freeze" order. After the study was completed it was apparent that the cochanncl separation would necessarily have to be increased to approximately 220 miles to retain a reasonable service area for TV stations. This fact greatly reduced the number of potential assignments on the 12 available channels. At the same time, the nnmber of applications from people desiring to get into the TV broadcasting field waS rapidly increasing. The Commission had no alternative other than to propose additional channels in the only available spectrum space, which was in the 475-890 megacycle region. This UHF region had previously been set aside for experimentation in color and high definition mono chrome television. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS CIOMMI&SIION 105 COLOR TELEVISION As early as May of 1945, the Commission foresaw the necessity for the development of a Nation-wide competitive TV service, including color operation in the UHF band. In September of 1946 the Colum bia Broadcasting System, Inc., filed a petition for authorization of its color system in the UHF band using channels 16 megacycles wide. In the course of the hearing held on that petition, the Radio Corp. of America demonstrated its color system operating within a 14.5 mega cycle band. In its report of March 18, 1947, the Commission denied the CBS petition on the ground that it was not ready for commercial use and concluded: "It is hoped that all persons with a true interest in the future of color television will continue their experimentation in this field in the hope that a satisfactory system can be developed and demonstrated at the earliest possible date." TELEVISION REARING On July 11, 1949, the Commission announced a rule-making pro ceeding looking towards new standards to avoid interference, the opening up of 42 additional channels in the UHF, to hear evidence on "stratovision" (broadcasting from planes) and "polycasting" (com munity service by various low-powered stations), and the introduction of information and proposals for a color system. It was proposed to base the new allocation table and standards on the latest available technical information in order to provide a satisfactory television service giving the Inaxilnum coverage. To insure that any standards adopted for black-and-white television would not adversely affect future color television, it was further proposed to consider only color systems which could operate in a 6-megacycle channel (the same as j'or black and white). At the end of the year, this important hearing was not yet concluded except for the color phase which began September 26, 1949, and was completed May 26, 1950, except for final filings up to July 10. Nearly 10,000 pages of color testimony were taken from experts in the tele vision industry. The Commission witnessed the proposed coJor sys tems of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., the Radio Corp. of America, and Color Television, Inc. All tbree systems were in various stages of development and could operate in the prescribed 6 megacycles. A decision on the color phase of the proceediug was to be rendered before the other issues in the hearing would be taken up. 3. STANDARD (AM) BROADCAST SERVICE EXPANSION AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS The fiscal year witnessed continued interest in standard (AM) broadcast and demand for new outlets. At its close, the number of 106 REPORT OF THE FE,nERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION outstanding authorizations had climbed to 2,303, which was an increase of 124 over the previous year. For the first time the number of licensed AM stations passed the 2,000 mark. They totaled 2,118, or 155 more than in 1949. Most of this expansion took place outside of the metropolitan dis tricts, particularly in communities which did not have local AM sta tions previously. Since the close of the last war, approximately three quarters of all new AM authorizations have been made in the smaller communities, and more than half in communities which had no local outlets at the end of the war. There was an increase over the previous year in both number of applications for new stations and in number of applications for major changes in facilities. The Commission was still able to process appli cations at a somewhat higher rate than they were filed and thereby make a fairly substantial reduction in the backlog. The Commission staff reorganization contemplates the establish ment of a broadcast bureau wherein legal, engineering, and aCCQnnt inl( personnel will all be responsible to one bureau chief. Prepara tory chanl(es have already been effected. The old standard broadcast and FM broadcast enl(ineerinl( divisions have been incorporated into one division, now known as the Aural Broadcast Division. A number of significant rule changes have been made which are pri marily designed to simplify procedures and include changes which eliminate the requirement for formal applications for stations origi nating programs to be transmitted to foreign broadcast stations for rebroadcast in those cases where the same program is broadcast by a United Statesstation. Other changes in rules and standards included the adoption of a simplified form for certain pro forma transfers of control or assign ments of license; inclusion of a map of ground conductivity in Canada to aid in estimating interference between United States and Canadian stations; and streamlining the administrative procedures involved in the transition time between completing construction of facilities and granting of a license. A solution to a long standing difficult problem was proposed (docket 9671) in the form of a new set of rules specifyinl( the con ditions under which antennas of a certain height would be considered as not constituting a hazard to air navigation. The proposal, the result of lengthy discussion with the Civil Aeronautics Administration and military agencies, was released on May 23, 1950 for public com ment and had not yet been adopted. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS OOMMISS[ON 107 CLEAR CHANNELS Action in the clear channel hearing (docket 6741), for which the record was closed in October 1947, and with which is consolidated the daytime skywave hearing (docket 8333), was held in abeyance during the year. It involves questions which are intimately tied in with those encountered in the negotiations for a new North Ameri can Regional Broadcasting Agreement since the latter is concerned to a large extent with exclusive rights on and the sharing of the so-called clear channels. The need for clear channels arises indirectly from the fact that 47 of the 106 broadcast channels are used for service to cities and towns by numerous stations of medium or low power. Their unavoidable mutual interference, particularly at night when signals are propa gated over long distances by means of skywaves, restricts their service to a relatively few miles from the transmitter. Hence the remaining 59 channels aTe used for wide area coverage by one, two, or perhaps three high-powered stations whose signals are relatively free from interference, so that persons not residing in or near cities where a broadcast station is located may have some radio service. Dividing np the available clear channel assignments between the several coun tries thus is a. major issue in the regional conference and the decisions reached there will have an important effect on the decision in the clear channel hearing. NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL BROADCASTING CONFERENCE Because radio signals ignore political boundaries, the question of interference from stations of one conntry with the stations in another country rapidly became acnte as the number of broadcast stations increased. Piecemeal efforts at abatement by bilateral arrangements with neighboring countries gave way in 1937 to the signing of the first North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA ) which included Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and all cOUn tries to the north. Itbecame effective in 1041 and by its own terms ex pired in 5 years, in 1946. An interim agreement was effected in 1946 which extended the terms of the first NARBA for 3 years until March 28, 1949, making certain new priorities for the benefit of Cuba. It also established a timetable for the negotiations of a new agreement. This timetable was exte.nded by mutual agreement of the countries, although Cuba could not agree to her adherence to the terms of the interim agreement beyond the 3-year period. Thus, when the third NARBA conference opened in Montreal on September 13, 1949, Cuba 108 REPORT OF THE FE'DERA:L COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION already had made a number of assignments which were inconsistent with the terms of the old agreement. Mexico, at the last minute, noti fied the other countries that she would be unable to attend the confer ence and Haiti was also not represented, but the other signatories de cided to proceed nevertheless, making provision that Mexico and Haiti could adhere to it at a later date. The United States delegation was headed by FCC Commissioner Rosel H. Hyde with the Honorable Fletcher 'Warren, United States Ambassador to Paraguay, as special consultant. There were 18 other Government members and 27 indus try members accredited by the Department of State. The conference drafted the administrative sections of the new treaty which concerned the methods of establishing priorities, the method of reporting and handling interference cases, the duration of the agree ment and the method of its renewal. However, no agreement was reached on the basic problem of the degree of protection from inter ference to be afforded to stations of the various categories, particularly with respect to the sharing by Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica of the clear channels on which the United States had heretofore en joyed exclusive or nearly exclusive use. Under the advice of the De partment of State, the United States delegation agreed to suspension of the deliberations on December 8 in order that Cuba and the United States could undertake bilateral conversations in Havana beginning in February 1950. The initial phases of the Havana discussion indicated that an agree ment on station assignments in Guba might be reached which would avoid the obstacles which proved insurmountable in Montreal. A document embodying the essentials of an arrangement was submitted by the United States delegation to the Cuban delegation, which indi cated its acceptability in principal. The United States delegation was entrusted with the preparation of a document that would specify the scope and effect of the proposed arrangement and fill in the detailed specifications regarding mutual protection from interference. 'When this document was received by the Cuban delegation, the latter advised the United States delegates that it did not accord with their under standing of the first document. The Cuban delegates in turn prepared a draft of the proposed arrangement as they understood it. It em bodied certain reservations concerning its effectiveness not contem plated by the United States delegates during the preceding conversa tions, as well as a number of differences in the details. Since part of the problem involved the question of the effect of the proposed Guban assignments on l\fexican priorities, which waS unanswerable in the >lbsence of Mexican representation, and since the total discrepancy be· REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS OOMMIssrrON 109 tween the United States and Cuban proposals was quite large, it seemed advisable to the United States delegation to postpone further efforts at agreement until the full conference reconvened. Accord ingly, the delegation returned to ·Washington after more than 7 weeks in Havana. The second session of the third NARBA conference is scheduled, by mutual agreement between all countries of the region, to open on Sep tember 6, 1950, in 'Vashington. As of June 30, 1950, all countries have signified their jntention to attend. Meanwhile, between sessions of the confcrence, the chairman of the United States delegation is keep jng in close touch with the interested segments of the broadcastjng industry through a Government-industry NARBA preparatory committee. 4. FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM) BROADCAST SERVICE Although the number of FM broadcast stations on the air decreased by 46 during the year, leaving a total of 691 in operation as of June 30, 1950, the number of licensed FM stations increased from 377 to 493. Also, FM broadcasting service continued available over most of the eastern half of the United States, over most of the west coast area, and in a number of cities and adjacent rural areas in the West. It was estimated that more than 100,000,000 people live within range of one or more FM stations. The stations which are in operation pro vide high-quality reception which is static-free and fade-free in character. The rate of filing new FM applications remained low. During the year, only 16 applications for new FM stations were filed. However, many FM modification applications were filed to make changes in previous authorizations to increase power or decrease power, to change location or frequency, or to make other changes. Many of these represented a revision of earlier plans because of economic factors, while others sought jmproved facilities made available by the decrease in stations authorized. Also, the total number of FM stations authorized decreased from 856 to 732. This reduction was largely due to economic problems and uncertainties occasioned by the rapid growth of television and the limited number of satisfactory FM receivers which have been pur chased and placed in use. FM receiver production and sales continued to be slow. At the end of the fiscal year, approximately 5,500,000 FM receivers were in use. Small inexpensive receivers providing FM reception only were a mod erately popular item. Some television receivers tune the FM band, 110 REPORT OF THE FE,DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION however, the percentage is small. Since the FM and TV services operate in the same general frequency range, it is possible to provide FM broadcast reception in TV receivers at very little increase in cost. Under the Comlnission's rules,F~'1~iationsoperated in conjunction with AM stations may employ duplicate 01' separate programming of the two stations or a combination of the two. In most cases fully duplicated programming is chosen. Due to the noise-free characteristics of F1\'I reception, many F,}I stations rebroadcast the programs of others and thereby form regional nebvorks without the use of wire facilities. In one instance 11 sta tions are combined in a network extending- for more than 500 miles. The programs are relayed entirely by means of radio. 5. NONCOMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL FM BROADCAST SERVICE Interest in this field has continued to increase and 82 stations were authorized at the end of the fiscal year as compared with 58 in 1949. Much of the activity centers around the low-power (10 watt) sta tions which cover a radius of from 2 to 5 miles and which Can be built for $2,000 to $3,000 if studio ftlcilities are availtlble. (If studio facil ities are required the minimum cost is usually increased by another $1,000 or more.) These can later be built into higher powered stations. To facilitate the operation of these 10-watt stations, the Commission in June 1950, announced a new grade of radio operator's license-the radiotelephone third-class operator permit-to become effective Sep tember 1,1950. An operator must have basic radiotelephone operating practice, but is not required to be an expert in radio theory. At the request of the Department of State, the Commission set aside ,a noncommercial educational VI\I channel for the United Nations headquarters in New York City. A considerable number of educational institutions are also liccnsed in the AM broadcast service, but in the standard band no distiuction is m.ade insofar as Commission rules are concerned between licenses issued educational institutions and those issued to the more numerous commercial operators. Itis only in the FM band that a portion of the band has been set aside for use by educational institutions and special rules established to promote the particular noncommercial type of operation that is advantageous to these institutions. However, edu cators have requested an allocation of TV frequencies for their par ticular use. 6. FACSIMILE BROADCAST SERVICE Commission rules provide that FM broadcast stations may conduct facsimile broadcasting, and a fewF~Istations carried on facsimile REPORT OF THE FE'DERAL COMMUNICATIONS CIOMMIS€rroN 111 seryice during the year. In some instances FM stations operated fac simile on a temporary basis for experimental and exhibition purposes. Facsimile transmission of printed matter and pictures is received by recorders attached to FM broadcast receivers. This may be accom plished on either a simplex or mnltiplex basis. When using simplex facsimile the regular anral FM program is not transmitted, but with multiplex operation both are transmitted simultaneously. It is, of course, preferable that multiplex operation be employed so that there will be no interruption of the aural programs. In December 1949, the Commission conducted a hearing to determine whether additional multiplex standards should be adopted and multiplex operation per mitted without limitation on hours during the broadcast day. De cision was pending at the close of the year. 7. INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SERVICE The number of stations in this country engaged in international broadcasting increased from 37 to 40 during the fiscal year. Though licensed by the Commission, these stations operate under the auspices of the Department of State. Shortwave transmitters located near New York, Boston, Cleveland, and San Francisco daily beam "The Voice of America" programs in a score of languages to various parts of the world. 8. REMOTE PICKUP BROADCAST SERVICE Remote pickup broadcast stations, employing portable or mobile transmitters of low power and generally self-powered, are used to provide temporary aural program circuits from points a"yay from regnlarly maintained studios to a broadcast station. They are em ployed in the origination of on-the-spot broadcasts of sporting events, parades, fairs, and other special events. Since these transmitters are often mounted in automobiles and light trucks, they can also provide emergency communication during the disruption of normal circuits as the result of floods, storms, or other disasters. During the past year the rules governing this service were revised pursuant to frequency-service allocation proceedings consummated July 1, 194!), and expanded to meet certain requirements of the grow ing TV and FIII broadcast services. Amendment of the rules made it possible to place on a formal licensed basis a number of stations that had been operating under special temporary authority. This, together with the demands of an expanding broadcast service, has resulted in a large increase in the number of stations in the remote pickup service during the past year, .and this growth is expected to continue. ,112 REPORT OF THE FEillERAL CUMMUNlCATIONS COMMISSION 9. ST (STUDIO-TRANSMITTER) BROADCAST SERVICE ST broadcast stations are used to provide a program circuit between the main studio and the transmitter of FM broadcast stations. The use of radio for this purpose permits locating FM broadcast trans mitters at highly favorable locations that may be inaccessible to ordi nary wire lines. Operated in the 940 to 952 megacycle portion of the UHF spectrum and required to employ directional antennas, they not only serve a real need of the broadcast industry with maximum spectrum economy but also act as a proving ground for equipment that may be used by other domestic fixed services in this portion of the spectrum. During the year the Commission proposed rules that would extend the availability of this service on frequencies in a portion of the ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) baud, 890--940 megacycles, to AM broadcast stations which may be faced by problems similar to those frequeutly encountered by FM broadcast stations and would also per mit FM broadcast stations to employ studio-transmitter links at studios other than the main studio if frequencies are available. This proposal was awaiting final action. 10. DEVELOPMENTAL BROADCAST SERVICE Developmental broadcast stations are licensed experimentally to carryon development and research, primarily in radiotelephony, for the advancement of the broadcasting services. They are used exten sively by manufacturers in the development and testing of transmitters and antennas designed for use in the broadcast or auxiliary broad cast services. Among projects conducted during the year was the development of low-powered FM transmitters for use by noncommer cial educational FM broadcast stations and experimentation with remote pickup eqnipment designed for use in the newly allocated 450 megacycle band. Such stations are also used in propagation studies and the data thus accumulated adds to the fund of knowledge required by the Commission in the orderly administration of its functions. n. STATISTICS BROADCAST AUTHORIZATIONS As of June 30, 1950, there were 4,510 broadcast authorizations out standing, an increase of 425 over the previous year. A breakdown by broadcast services follows: REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS CIOMMISSIIO'N 113 Class of broadcast station Standard (Al\I) __ - *. -- ---•••••••••••_---- Frequency modulation (FM)" ._. _ 'l'elevision (T V) .~.__ Television (experimental) . - . ._-------- Noncommercial educational (FM) _ Facsimile - International . _ :t~~?J~Fai~~~fttei_-(STf~~~=======================:::::: Developmcntf.l,L_. •~_ Total. •~__~_••_. • _ June 30, 1949 June 30, 1950 Increase or de. creaso 2,179 2,303 124 81\.1 732 (-]33) 117 109 (-8) 20' 206 I 68 82 24 2 '. 1(-2) 37 4. 3 580 1,003 42' 28 29 I I4 6 (-8) 4,085 4,510 426 1 Commercial facsimIle broadcastmg is now authorized over FM broadcast facilIties. Broadcast authorizations by States and citie8 Texas leads all States in the total number of broadcast station authorizations, according to a tabulation of Federal Communications Commission records of June 7, 1950. As of that date, Texas had 222 AM, FM, and TV authorizations collectively; California came second with 219. Texas and California likewise topped the AM list, with 183 and 143 such authorizations, respectively; and Pennsylvania was third with 111. Puerto Rico's 25 AM authorizations was more than any of 15 States., Pennsylvania had the most FM authorizations-67, commercial and educational-followed by 65 for California, 62 for New York and 51 each for Illinois and Ohio. Commercial FM authorizations showed 63 for Pennsylvania, 58 for California, and 56 for New York State. In the noncommercial educational FM field, California had 7 such authorizations, and Indiana, New York, Ohio, and 'Wisconsin 6 each. The television list was led by New York, Ohio, and California, in that order, with 13, 12 and 11 TV stations respectively. Cities with 10 or more broadcast stations, including noncommercial educational, totaled 36. In number of AM, FM, and TV stations collectively, New York led with 35, with Chicago's 34 a close second. New York had the most commercial FM outlets-14; Chicago second with 13. Eight cities had more FM (commercial and educa ti<>nal) than AM grants (New York, San Francisco, Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Columbus, and Madison), and two cities had as many FM as AM grants (Boston and Dallas). Chicago led with 16 AM stations, followed by New York with 14, Los Angeles 13, and 10 each for Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Portland, and New Orleans. 114 REPORT OF THE FElDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Los Angeles headed the TV list with 7 stations; New York 6 and 4 each for Chicago and 'Vashington, D. C. A breakdown of broadcast authorizations by States and cities follows: Broadcast authorlzations by States Alabama. . < ••••_. _ Arizona.~__ • ._ Arkansas • • _•. _ california_ ___ _ . _ colorado . _ Connecticut. _ Delaware _ District of Columbia. _ Florida _._. _ Georgia _ Idaho . . _ Iilmois. . _ Indiana_ _ _ Iowa ._. _ Kansas . _ Kentucky._ _ _ LouisianlL . _ Maine _ Maryland__ __. _ Massachusetts _ Michigan _ M!ru~es:ota_ Ml->SISSIPPL _ Missouri _ Montana _ N~bm"'ka_ Nevada _ Newllampshire~_ New Jersey _ New Mexico _ New York. _ North Carolina _ North Dakota _ Ohio "___ _ _ Oklahoma _ Oregon. _ Pennsylvanla_ _ _ Rhode Island _ South Carolina _ South Dakota__ _ " ._ Tennessl'e . _ Texas. _ Utah______ _ _ ~f::r~i~~~~~~~~=~_=~===~~==-=====~==~====__ Washington _ West Virginla•• _ '\VisoonBin _ Wyoming_ _ _ Alask~.__ _ Hawau _ Puerto Rico _ Virgin Islands _ Orand tQtals _ FM AM TV Total Commer· Educa· cial tional 71 14 1 2 88 25 0 2 1 '" a< 7 0 0 41 143 58 7 '11 219 '" 3 0 0 " 27 11 0 1 39 , 3 0 1 • 7 8 0 , I' 75 21 1 3 lGO 76 22 1 3 102 22 3 0 0 25 74 " 5 5 131> 45 20 6 2 73 52 20 2 2 76 39 6 1 0 " 43 12 3 2 60 43 16 2 1 61 16 2 0 0 " 22 18 0 3 43 " '" 2 2 88 63 2' , 6 OS 49 10 2 2 63 43 5 1 0 4!l " 16 2 2 70 25 0 0 0 25 22 3 0 2 21 10 1 0 0 11 12 , 0 0 16 20 13 2 1 36 25 0 1 1 27 95 " 6 13 170 '" 42 2 2 139 l4 0 0 0 11 69 45 6 12 132 " 10 3 2 61 43 8 2 0 63 111 63 , 7 185 11 5 1 1 18 42 11 0 0 63 14 1 0 0 15 57 13 1 2 73 183 29 , 6 222 18 3 1 2 24 9 0 0 0 9 " 20 0 2 79 63 7 1 1 62 3S I., 0 1 54 65 18 6 1 80 U 0 0 0 13 10 0 0 0 10 12 0 0 0 12 25 0 0 0 25 3 0 0 0 3 2,295 740 I 82 1 109 3,226 t Includes 1 experimental authorization operating on commercial basis. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIION 115 Broadcast authorization8 by cities with 10 or more stations FM AM TV Total Cammer- Educa· cial tional New York._~______________ .---------_._- 14 14 1 6 35 Chicago _______ ----------- 16 I3 I • 34 Los Angeles. I3 7 1 , 7 28 Philadelphia__ 10 8 1 3 22 San Francisco- - __ ------,-.-- 8 8 1 3 20 Washington ______ .------------- 7 8 0 • I' Boston __ ---------------- 8 6 2 2 18 Minneapolis-St. PauL 10 • 2 2 18 New Orleans__ .------------- 10 6 I 1 18 Baltimore ____ ----------------- 6 8 0 3 17 Pittsburgh_____ 7 8 1 1 17 Atlanta. ____ ---------------------- 7 5 1 3 16 Cleveland____ 7 5 1 3 16 Detroit_____ - --- --- ---- --- --- ---- --- ------- 5 6 1 3 15 Portland (Oreg.) __________ .---. _______ --_. 10 5 0 0 15 Dallas________________ 6 5 I 2 14 Louisville. _. _________ -------------- 7 3 2 2 14 Seattle__ ----------- , • 0 1 14 Columbus __ ------------.------- • 5 1 3 13 Houston____ - ___ -------------- 8 3 1 1 13 Madison (Wis.) ________ ----------.- • • 6 0 13 Providence. -------------------- 7 4 I 1 13 San Antonio______ . -------------- 8 3 0 2 13 CincinnatI. ____________ --- --- - __ . , 4 0 3 12 ~i:~i~~~l~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~------ ---- --- ---. 7 3 0 2 12 6 • I I 12 Birmingham. __________ --- -- --. 7 2 0 2 11 Buffalo__ .._______________ ------_._---.-- 6 • 0 1 11 Oklahoma City________ --------.--------- 7 3 0 1 11 Richmond_____ -----------. -------------- 6 • 0 1 11 Denyer. ----_.<-------- 7 3 0 0 10 Des Moines_________ --------------------- 6 4 0 0 10 Milwaukee__ ------------.-- 7 2 0 1 10 St. Louis________ ------------ ------------ 7 I 1 1 10 Syracusc______ • ___ --"----------.- 5 2 1 2 10 Tulsa____ ." __ -< ____ 6 2 I I 10 1Includes 1 experimental authonzatJOD opemtiJlg on commercial basis. BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION GENERAL Thc more than 3,100 authorized commercial AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations at the close of the fiscal year were distributed throughout nearly 1,300 communities in the United States and its possessions. AI! but 20 of these communities had at least one author izedA~Istation_ The remaining 20 communities had Fl\if authoriza tions only. A tot.al or 38,1 communities had one or more authorized FM stations, and 66 cities had TV authorizations. In addition, there were 35 AM statiolls and 82 FM stations engaged in or planning noncommercial operation. All but 16 of these 117 nonprofit authorizations were in communities which had commercial broadcast operation. AM EXPANSION IN SMALL COMMUNITIES During .fiscal 1050, AM broadcast stations continued to expand in the small and medium sized nonmetropolitan communities. The table below shows the number and percent of communities of specified population size iu the United States having one or more authorized commercial AM stations on Ootober 8, 1945 when the Commission 116 REPORT OF THE FElDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION resumed its peacetime licensiug procedures, on December 31, 1948 and on June 30, 1950 : 1 The number of commumtles III each of the population groupings under 50,000 IS denved from the 1940 census data and excludes communities forming part of metropolitan districts. Each metropolitan district is count.cd as a single comillWlity and is defined as including a central city or cities with a population of 50,000 or more and all adjacent and contiguous areM having a population of 150 or illore persons per square mile. Based on the 1940 census, there are 140 metropolitan districts in the United States. 1Includes 52 communities of less than 2,500 population. a Includes 73 communities of less than 2,500 population. Number and percent of communities with 1 or more Totnt a-uthorized commercial AM broadcast stations number Population olcorn- munities On Oct. 8, 1945 On Dec. 31, 1948 On June 30,1950 (1940 Census) 1 Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent --~--------~---- 2,500 to 5,000. __________________ 1,134 27 2.4 2218 19.2 3282 24.9 5,000 to 10,000. _________________ 678 86 12.7 311 45.9 356 52.5 10,000 to 25,000. ___________ • ____ 413 204 49.5 330 79.9 350 84.7 25,000 to 5O,OOO. ________________ 122 10' 89.3 123 100.0 12' 100.0 Over 50,000___________ • ______ 140 140 100.0 140 100.0 140 100.0 --~--------- --- ------ Total.••_________________ 2,487 666 22.8 1,122 45.1 1,252 50.3 .. A total of 23 communities ill United States possessions had one or more authorized commercial AM stations as of J ulle 30, 1050. Of these, 6 were in Alaska, 5 in Hawaii, 10 in Puerto Rico, and 2 in the Virgin Islands. As of June 30, 1950, a total of 897 communities or 71.6 percent of all communities in the United States with one or more authorized commercial AM stations had only one AM station. In additiou, 825 AM stations or 37.2 percent of the total of AM stations authorized were located in the 140 metropolitan districts. The table below shows the number of United States communities of specified population size having specified numbers of AM statious on June 30, 1950: Total Number of Number of communit.ies having- num- communi- ber of ties with Per- Population com· lor more ""nt 70' muni- authorized of 1 2 3 4 6 6 ties commer- total sta- ".. sta- sta- ,tao sta- more (1940 cialAM tion tiona tions tions tions tions sta. census) stations tiom ---------- ~~l~~,¥m~~~~m~~~~~~ 1,134 ' 282 24.' 276 6 ------ ------ __ -0_- ------ ------ 678 356 52.5 332 22 2 413 350 84.7 240 98 10 1 1 ------ ------ 122 124 100.0 47 41 27 7 2 ------ ------ 14. 140 100.0 2 7 29 29 21 14 38 '1'otal number of com· munities_______________ 2,487 1,252 50.3 897 174 68 37 24 14 '38 Total number oistatlons. 12,218 827 348 204 148 120 84 417 1Includes 73 communities of less than 2,500 population. S Of the 38 communities with 7 or more stations, 9 had 7 stations; 7 bad 8 stations; 3 bad 9 stations; 9 bad 10 stations; and 10 had 11 or more stations. 3Docs not include 85 authorized AM statIons as follows: 35 operating noncommercially and 50 located in United States possessions. Twenty-three communities in United States possessions had 50 AM stations distributed as follows: 11 had 1 station; 6 had 2 'stations; 3 had 3 stations; 1 had 5 stations; 1 had 6 stations; and 1 had 7 stations. REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL OOMMUNICATIONS OOMMlSIllWN 111 FM BROADC..l\8T lllSTRIBUTION Of the 732 commercial FM broadcast stations authotized as of the close of the fiscal year, 598 or 81.7 percent were authorized to licensees of AM stations in the same community. The following table presents. the number of United States communities of population classification having specified numbers of authorized FM stations on June 30, 1950~ Total Number of Number of communities havIng- Dum· communi- ber o{. tics with Per- Population rom- lor more coot 70r muni- authorized of 1 2 3 4 • • ties commer- total sta- ,ta- sts- sta- ,to- sta- rn",. (1940 cialFM tion tions twns dons tioDS tiona ,to- census) stations tiona ------ -- -- 2,500 to 5,004>- __________________ 1,134 , 21 1.' 20 1 .----- ------ ------ -------~-~-- 0,000 to 1O,OOO ___________~__~___ '78 4Q 5.' 4Q ----7- .----- ------ .-.--- ------ ____ A. 10,000 to 25,000. ____ . ___________ 413 122 29.' 115 .-.--- ------ ------ ------ 25,000 to fiO,ERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Toledo, Ohio Oklahoma City, Okla. Tulsa, Okla. Erie, Pa. Johnstown, Pa. Lancaster. Pa. Philadelphia, Pa. Pittsburgh, Pa. Providence, R. I. Memphis, Tenn. Nashville, Tenn. Dallas. Tex. Fort Worth, Tex. Houston, Tex. San Antonio, Tex. Salt Lake City. utah Norfolk, Va. Richmond, Va. Seattle, Wash. Huntington, W. Va. Milwaukee, Wis. BROADCAST INDUSTRY FINANCIAL DATA GENERAL The following tables show the comparative calendar year 1948-49 financial data for the AM, FM, and TV broadcast industries: Percent 194" increase (It (decrease) l$millfonsl $415.2 1.7 34.3 294.3 ...., 7.' 362.6 4.5 59,6 152. ;5 422.2 13.9 525 13.8 25.3 ---._-----.- 27.3 4<>.' 1'" Item Revenues: [$ millions] AM-FM.~•• ••_. ._. ••.• ._______ $4: t AM-FM.,. •__ • • __~__ • •• .__ __ 61. 0 TV.--.-----•.--------~------.----.--.-.~-----------.-..-~------I_--:l:-4.:-"'I---.C:':-I==== TotaL •__.~•__ • ._.__ •_. __ ••_•• •_ 46. 1 I Belore Federal income tax. Oomparative 1948-.4:9 data for AM and TV operation8 of Nation-wide netW01"kB (inclUding their owned and operated stations) Item 1943 194" Revl~~_:._..._.._~~__~..__ . [$m~~b[$ml¥l~~J TV•__ •~._~.._. ._.__ • ._. •__ ._.____ •. 8 18.9 TotaL •• ••• • •__ ».__ » •• • •.1~~,.;;1O;;•.;;8+~..,;;122::;;;;.• Expenses: AM~•__ ••~_._.._._.~._»._. __~______86.3 85,8 TV--.-_.__ -.-._- __ •_~__ • - • __ • - __ •~~•_~.1__---"11:..._2_1 30:...:..6 TotBL._~••••__~._..~~__ •~._~_~__ ._._.1=~~";;7.;;6+=,.;;11;;6~.4 Income: I AM •__••~•~_._••• ._____ 17.7 18.1 TV.~__ ••• • ._.__ • • ._.~• __1---'..6-.4-1-_-'-1:..':...7 Total__ • •• •__ •~_.~__ •~__~••_~__11.3 6.4 I Before Federal income tax. I Deficit. NOTE.-The 4 Nation-wide AM networks (A BC, CBS, MBS,and NBC) owned ll.ndoperatoo& tota1et 17 stations In 1948 aud 1949. The 4 TV networks (ABC, CBS, Dumont, and NBC) owned and operated a total of 10 stations in 1948 and 13statiousin 1949. Some networks indicated thatexpense allocations between AM and TV operations were not compiete to the extent that certain Indirect operating expenses of TV are Jnclnded under AM operations. STANDARD BROADCAST (AM) FINANCIAL DATA The distribution of broadcast revenues and broadcast income (be fore Federal income taxes) as between networks and stations for the calendar years 1948 and 1949 is shown in the following table: Distribution of (AM) broadcast revenues and income (before Federal income ta(llcs) 4 natIon·wide networks and 3 regional networks and their All other stations I Industry total their 17 stations 10 stations Item 1948 1948 1948 1948 1948 194. 1948 194. Revenues from network time sales••..•••••..•• $88,273,588 $86, 401, 088 $2, 692, 619 $1,959,184 $50, 086, 146 $46, 538, 053 $141,052, SS3 $134, 898, 325 Revenues from sale of time to national and regional advertisers and sponsors.•_.......... IG,118,952 16,763,960 1,260,l:H 1,269,055 88,380, 68S 90, 281,492 104, 759, 761 108,314,507 Revenues from sale of time to local advertisers and sponsors_._. __ ...•..•..._..._•..•.___ .._. 40 891,375 4, 989,432 1,521,791 1,481,059 164,494,999 17.5,673,810 170,908,165 182, 144, 301 Revenues from total time sal68___ .•••••.•.. 108,283,915 108,154,480 5,474,534 4" 709, 298 302, 961,830 312,493,355 416, 7:!J}, 279 425,357,133 Commissions paid to representatives, etc..•.._. 23,595,353 22,826,653 943, 677 910,163 25,753,251 26, 57lJ,967 50,292,281 50,307,683 Incidental broadcast revenues: Revenues from saleof talent, etc•••••_•• _••• 9,840,499 10,496,580 292,669 134,540 12, 063,101 11,367,149 22,196, 269 21,998,269 Furnishin~material or~rvice•••.•••••_.....•• 4,446,116 3,642,034 1,701 '46 5,640,612 5,816,908 10,089,029 9,459,888 Other inci ental revenues....••••._..•~_._•._.. .5,065,239 4,459,515 165,559 219,027 3,051,320 2,598,484 8,282, 118 7,277,026 Total broadcast revenues..•...__ ._.._•••••._.. 1~,~~.~ 103, 926, 056 4,900,786 4,153,648 297, 9M, 612 305, 704., 929 406, 90S, 414 413,784,633 Total broadcast expenses...•___.~•••__•...•_•.• 85,858,668 4,694,606 4,747,280 251,957,119 266,915,770 64, OQI; 684 - 357,521,718 Total broadcast income or loss••.....••......•• 17,789,011 18,067,388 296,180 (593,632) 48,006,493 38,789,159 06,262,915 Investment in tangible broadcast property: Original oost.•__ ......__ . __ ..._..••••.•_••• 26.349,620 21l, 164, 616 4,981,876 4,930.738 :lITI.469,479 I 200, 491, 681 201,800,975 230, 587, 035 Depreciation to date._•••••••_•••.••••••••. 13, 832,180 14,806,195 1,517,232 1,696.588 51,480,114 64,009,960 66,829,526 SO, 512, 743 Depreciated cost. •••••••••••••••••••••_••._ 11,517,440 10. 358, 421 3,464,644 3, Z*, 150 119, i/89,365 136, 481, 721 134,971,44,9 150,074,292 Ilnctudes 1,797 stations in 1948 and 1,993 stations in 1949. I Data available from 1,795stat~o:qsmUliB and 1,998 statjons in19~. 120 REPOR'I'· OF 'l'HE )'EIDERAL COMMtlNroATiONS COMMISSION Distribution of total (AM} broadcast revenues, 1949 Amount Percent of total .4 NBtlon-wlde networks and thelr17ownedaudoperatedstatioDS. .____ $102,926, OM 2IJ,l 3 regional networks and their 10 owned and operatedstations_~._______ 4,153,648 I. 0 1,Q93 other stations.__ •_. _.-._._------.- --_-.-_••--••••-__ ••- __ •_•.•__ --"1__805-.:.,_704-.:.,""__1 "'=.9 Total broadcast revenues. ••• ._. .________ 413,784,633 100.0 Di8tribution of (AM) broadcast income (before Federal income tam(8) Amount Percent of total " Nation-Wide networks and their 17 owned and operated stations.••• $18,067,388 31,8 3 reglonal networks and their 10 owned and operated stations. • •• (593,632) _ 1,993 other stations.. ••_•••.~_~.• •~138~'_7..:.::.'1~5~9_1_--~68=.2 Total broadcast Income •••••_. __._.~.• • ._.____ 56,262,915 100. 0 Comparative data for 1948-49 are presented below for identical .AM stations which were in operation for both full years, i. e" stations which did not change their status during the period with respect to class, time, aud whether or not affiliated with a network. The data AM broadcast stations (excluding 11 key stations of Nation·wide networks Averages per station: Clear channel 50-kilowatt wtllmited: Number of statIons, 53 I Total broadcast revenues.~~_ Total broadcast expt'nses~_.•• _. • • ._ Broadcast income. • _ Clear ch&.nnel 5-25-kilowatt unlimited: Number of stations, 34 • _ ']'otal broadcast revenues~__~_._ Total broadcast expcnses • •__~_ Broadcast income _ Clear channel 5-25-kilowatt part-time: Number of stations, 3 •• ••• • _ Total broadcast revenucs__ . __ . _ Total broadcast expenses •~~.~.•__ •• _ Broadcast income • • • _ Regional unlimited: Number of stations, 436 •• •• _ Total broadcast revenues _ Total broadcast expenses •~~__._.~.• _ Broadcast income •.~• _ Regional part-time: Number of stations, 284_. __ •__ • _ Total broadcast revenues •__~.••_. •__ ']'otal broadcast expenses • • •• •••• _ Broadcast Income. •__ • • _ Local unlimited: Number of stations, 706 • • _ Total broadcast revenues _ Total broadcast expenses • •__ • _ Broadcast income • _ Local part-time: Number of stations, 105 • _ Total broadcast revenues _ Total hroadcast expenses ._. •• • _ Broadcast income • ••• • _ All stations: Number of stations, 1,621 ••~_.__ • _ Total broadcast revenues • • _ Total broadcast expenses~_._ Broadcast income~_._.__ • • •• _ Percent In- 1948 1949 crease or (decrease) $1,119,612 $1,083,585 13 22) 823,446 807,396 1. 95) 296,166 276,189 (6.75) 349,768 334,694 !'.31) 302,280 288,256 4.64) 47,488 46,438 (2.21) 152,662 166,309 8.94 130,172 148,962 14.43 ""90 17,347 (22.87) 263,511 260,442 (1.17) 214,708 218, 617 1.82 48.802 41,825 (14.30) 88,214 Q6,721 9.64 SS,786 92,912 831 2,429 3,809 66.81 91,447 90,973 (. .52) SO,614 83,494 3.57 10. 833 7,479 (30.96) 58,074 64,452 10.98 54,9106~50413.83 3,164 1,948 (38.43) 174,147 173,550 (.34) 144.951 148,213 2.2li 29,196 25,337 (13.22) ) Includes 2 stations clear cbannel50 kilowatts part-time. REPORT (1F THE' FEl>ERAL OOMMUNTCATION8 OOMMlSSllON 121 are shown in terms of average per station of broadcast revenues, ex penses, and income (before Federal incomes taxes) for each class of station andexclude the Nation-wide networks and their 11 key stations. PM BROADCAST FINANCIAL DATA TOTAL FM BROADCAST REVENUES 1048 ,... Number of Total FM Number of Total FM stations revenues stations revenues PM stations operated by: AM Licensee: MUlfom Mllllom JointAM-FMoperation._~•••_. ._. ._ 616 None 462 None Separate FM operation • •._ 77 $0.6 167 $1.2 Non-AM licensee. •._._~• I---,,'.,+---'-.-'.I---'_'_'+ '_.• Total FM stations. ._____________ 682 1.7 733 2.8 TOTAL FM BROADCAST EXPENSES PM stations operated by: Non-AM ll00nseea •• • I ",·,_+__"..,,·_·.1 '''''''_1__....:::...:.._' Industry totaL._. .•• •• .___ (I) TOTAL FM BROADOAST INOOME (BEFORE FEDERAL INOOME TAX) FM stations operated by: Non-AM llcensees -- ---_-- _-------- _------- __1 ''''_1__::=$:.:(3:.:.:::')1__--=""4_ 1 __,.:$:.:(3::.6);: Ind11Sttf total • • (1) (1) ( ) Denotes loss. 1AM licensees operating FM stations reported FM station revenues, U any. separately from AM statton revenues. In view ot the dlffieulty of making allocations as between AM expense and FM expense, such licensees were not requested to report separately their FM station expenses. Thus, data with respect to PM expense and income (or loss) are availablP only fOf PM sbtionsoperated by non-AM licensees. TV BROADCAST FINANCIAL DATA The following table shows financial data for the television industry for the calendar year 1949. Item Revenues from network tIme sales _ Revenue from sale 01 time to national and regional advertisers and sponsors. __ • _ Revenues lrom sale of time to local advertisers and sponsors • . Total revenues trom trme sales _ Commlsslons paid to representatives, eto _ Incidental broadcast revenues: Revenues from sale of talent, ete • Furnishing material or service _ Other incidental revenues • Total broadcast revenues _ Total broodcast·expenses _ Total broadcast loss . Investment in tangible broadcast properly: Original cost __ . _ Depreciation to date • _ Depreciated 008t • • _ 4networks and their 13 owned and oP8rated stations $8,862,300 2,965, .594 2, 2905, 468 14, 123, 461 2,273,333 4,400,492 2,005,437 647,983 18, 89f., 040 80,035,896 (11,741,855) 19,084,764 4,360,273 14,734,491 SIS other sta tions l $1,003,113 4,309,419 7,164,140 13, 406,672 1,806,394. 1,521,~7 l,a~458 916,943 15,436,916 28,956,011 (13, 520, 095) 36, 700,819 6,083,841 30,206,978 IndUl'ltry total .. $10, 796, 513 7,275,013 9,409,608 Zl. 530, 133 4,078.m 6, 011, 720 3,401,896 1. 464, 9'Jl) 34,329,9li6 liD, 591,006 (25, 261, 960) 66,875,683 10,934,114 44, lKl,46t 11 station was an experimental statIon operating commerc1ally. 122 REPORT OF THE FEIDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMIBBION Total TV broadcast revenues almost quadrupled between 1948 and 1949. Revenues for the networks and their owned and operated sta tions and revenues for all other operating stations also increased by the same amount. The following table presents the 1948--49 compara tive financial data for the TV broadcast industry : Networks Bnd their owned Bnd oper- All other statfons J Industry total ated statiOll8 I Item - 1948 ''''9 Percent 1948 ''''9 Percent 1948 1949 Percent change ,bange change ------------ Mil- MIJ. MIJ. Mil- MU- MIJ. ~otalbroadcast revenues_____~__ ._ ••••_ liom [{om li01l8 ""'" ilona ""'" 14.8 $18. 9 293.8 $.'t 9 $15.4 294.9 lB. 7 $34.3 294.3 'J'otal broadcast expenses. ____~_________ 11.2 30.6 173.2 12.4 29.0 133.9 23.6 59.6 152. .5 ota1 broadcast loss. _____ o. __ • _________ 6.4 11.7 ____ wow. 8.6 13.6 ---_.--- 14. 9 25.3 -------- Investment in tangible broadCtl8t prop- erg: 12.1 llU li7.9 15.8 36.8 132.9 27.9 .55.9 100.' ost to respondenL ___________ •____ Depreciation to date._____ •_________ 2.3 4.3 87.0 2.1 6.6 214.3 4.4 10.9 147.7 Depreciated cost. __ • ____ •_. ____ •_. __ 9.8 lU li1.0 13.7 30.2 120.4 23.' 45.0 91.6 lin 11148 the 4 networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont) owned and operated a total of 10 stattons; 1949 they owned and operatod a total ot 13 stations. J Refers to 40 stations in 1948 and 85 stations in 1949. Whereas in 1948 all networks and stations showed a loss from op erations, in 1949 a total of three stations showed a profit from their operations. Since the above trends reflect the operations of many stations which were in existence for only several months in 1948 or 1949, the data are not indicative of the experience of stations which were in operation for the full years 1948 and 1949. The following table presents com parative financial data in 1948-49 for 13 stations which were in op eration for both full years: Aggregate Average p", station Item Percent ,hange 1948 1949 1948 ''''9 Total broadcast revenues______ •_____ ••__ ••_. $2, 7M, 374 $5,703,262 $214,952 $438, '112 104.1 Total broadcast expenses _____~________~.__ ._ 7,678,311 8,936, 251 590,639 687,404 1U Total broadcast 1088_. ____________ • __________ 4,883,93'1 3,232, D99 375,687 248,692 _._-_._--- NOTE.-Data excludes the operations otnetwork owned and operated stations. The proportion of television broadcast revenues to total aural (AM or FM) and video (TV) broadcast revenues in cities served by TV rose from 4.4 percent in 1948 to 10.7 percent in 1949. The following table presents the proportion of TV broadcast revenues to total aural and TV revenues in specified metropolitan districts in 1949. In addi tiol1, comparison is made of percentages of TV revenues to total aural andTV revenues for 1948 and 1949 in thesame districts. REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIlO'N 123 Metropolitan district Baltimore" •• ••~_ Philadelphia~_ Washington, D. C _ Los Angeles. ._ New York_ . ,_< __ •• _ Columbus, OhJo _ Chicago . " Detroit- . •.._. _ Cleveland _ CinclnnatL ••• San Francisco > ._.__ Number of stations 1949-Broadcast revenues 2 Peroont Percent TVa! TVa! Total total total AM and 1948 1'" FM' TV aural TV only and TV --- --- --------- (SOoo) ($000) 12 3 $4,405 $916 7.' 20.8 16 3 8,022 1,596 9.5 19.9 17 • 5,364 1,067 7.7 19.7 25 7 12,955 2,243 ••• 17.3 37 7 30,291 5,111 8.2 16.\} 5 3 1,656 210 0.0 12.7 24 • 17,343 2, 122 4.2 12.2 12 3 8,526 ..0 3.' 11.0 , 3 5,020 491 1.7 '.8 7 3 7,382 543 1.• 7.' 22 3 5,540 235 0.1 ',2 Total11 TV metropolitandistriets _ 47 other TV metropolitan districts l __ 187 '09 43 106.504 55 95,489 15,4.64 6,179 14.5 ." Total 58 TV metropolitan districts '_ 49. 98 201,993 21,643 10.7 1 Jointly operated AM-FM stations counted as 1 station. 'Includes network owned and operated stations. 3 Includes 10 TV metropolitan districts in 1948. 'Includes 2 nonmetropolitan communities: Albuquerque, N. Mex., a.nd Bloomington, Ind. I Includes 18 TV metropolitrm districts in 1948. GIncludes 28 TV metropolitan districts in 1948. BROADCAST APPLICATIONS The Communications Act provides that the Commission "may grant licenses, renewals of licenses, and modifications of licenses only upon written application received by it," Consequently, a large part of the Commission's broadcast work involves the processing of applications by prospective and existing broadcasters, Broadcast application statistics for the fiscal year follow: AM broadcast applications Pending June 30, 1'" Received. Disposed Pending June 30, 1950 382 242 347 277 2\13 2M 304 2M 201 743 706 238 92 381 .00 7' 103 381 '17 .7 115 83' 877 7' 1,186 2,84.9 3,051 ... New statioos__ . • > _ Chauge in facilities , _ Renewals • _ License •>_~_ Transfers.._. _ Miscellaneous "-------------- 1 .::.:+_---::-=::::.-11__-:-:::._1 -..,::: Total. < _ FM broadcast applications Pending June 30, 1'" Received. Disposed Pending June 30. 1.50 65 16 64 50 ll. 135 21 154 150 89 139 188 15 85 IlO 25 540 551 2M 1,053 1,178 124 .1IEPOllT OF THE FEiDElIA.L COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TV broadcast appUcations NewstatloruL • •__.~~__ • •__ •••__ 338 28 15 351 Change in facDlties__••_._ •• •• 14 liI6 ZJ 17 f~~~~I~~=:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~::::::::::::~~~~1~ Transfers.• • • • ••__ 10 15 22 3 Miscellaneous· " •• •• I__-:.:.13:-1 -:1"''':-1 __-:1.:.86=-1 -:::6 TotaL__ ••• 386 307 296 397 All other broadcast appUcations 1 147 628 715 13 14\ 146 6' 482 30' 33 'I' 470 '" 86 04 4 166 16' 318~0221,887 New stations. ••• • ._._____ _ 60 Change In lacilities. .____________________ 8 f~~_-.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~ Transfers••• • • • ._ 31 Miscellaneou~L·_···_····_·_·• · • ·_·_I----I-__--=--+__=_1----1-7 Total.•••••• • .__ ____ __ __ _ __ 453 Total broadcast applicatiOWl New stations • ••__ • • ._________ 932 914 t,14.1 705 Change in facUities•• ._ 370 552 608 314 Renewals •__ •• _. •__ • ••__ • .__ 305 1,402 1, 179 628 Llcense ._. ••_.__________ 223 1,074 1,092 2n5 Transfers •__ • • ._•• __ 168 566 623 III Miscellaneous • ·_··_·_· • •••• •__ ··_ 1 ---l-66- 1 1,-''-,-23_ 1 ------,1-,'_6_9_ 1 '_12 Total._. __ • ._.__ • ._._•• • ._••_•• ._ 2, 156 6, 231 6, 412 1,976 1Includes noncommercial educational, facsimile, international, relay and studio link, experimental and developmental. BROADCAST DELETIONS There were 251 deletions of AM, FM, and TV broadcast authoriza tions during the year, which was 23 less than the year previous, Of this number, 173 were FM stations, Deletions AM FM TV Monthly total 1960: June •• • .______________ 10 14 0 24 May •• 4 16 0 20 U~~h~::=::=:::::=:=::::==:=::::::::::=======::=:=l~~~~~: February ••• 6 9 0 16 January__~_~~•••~.••__ •• __ .__________ 1 22 1 24 JlH9: December__._ ••_. ._.__~._._•• _•• _•••_~____9 13 0 22 November__~.__ • • •__ ••~..~________________7 Hi 1 23 October •• 4 14 1 19 Beptember_. __~~.__ •• ._ •• ._____ IS 15 2 22 . August •• __ .__________________________________ 3 16 0 19 JuI Y •• • I -:1°'-1 1_'_1 ----=-2_1---....:.:.22 TotaL .________________________________ 70 173 8 2.51 ASSIGNMENTS AND TRANSFERS Pending July I, 1049 Received Disposed Pendlng June 30, 1"" AM ._____ 103 381 417 67 FM.~• •~______________15 85 90 10 TV •~______________________10 15 22 3 Other_. ._. 1 -:'"=-1 __--='::.'_1-__,:-04:.:. 1 .::31 TotaL~~~~~~___168 666 623 III CHAPTER V-RADIO OPERATORS 1. GENERAL 2. COMMERCIAL RADIO OPERATORS 3. SPECIAL AIRCRAFT RADIOTELEPHONE AUTHORIZATIONS 4. AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE 5. CITIZENS RADIO SERVICE 6. STATISTICS 1. GENERAL The more than 700,000 operators and stations authorized in these categories constitute the largest group which the Commission admin isters and covers all persons who personally operate radio transmit· ters. Included are those who make such operation their vocation as well as those who make it their avocation. It includes the civilian flyer who uses an aircraft radiotelephone and the ordinary citizen who mayfind radio convenient in his daily activities. The group increased by nearly 60,000 during the fiscal year. The administrative problems involved in the regulation of these services are great both because of the numbers involved and because these services concern private individuals and. thererore, must race personal problems which are unique and special in each case. The law requires the Commission to approve the operators or radio transmitting apparatus as well as radio stations as such. (Operators of receiving equipment only do not require Commission authorization.) In accordance witb the Communications Act, the Commission pre scribes the kinds and classes or radio operators and the qualifications they must possess as a basis for licensing. Examination for the vari ous operator licenses are giveu regularly at the Commission's field offices and at regular intervals at examination poinfs located through out the United States (see list appended to this chapter). 2. COMMERCIAL RADIO OPERATORS Commission supervision of commercial radio operators covers all radio services, both broadcast and nonbroadcast, including common carriers. The term "commercial radio operator" applies to all per sons authorized to operate transmitters as part or their livelihood or vocation. There are several grades or commercial operator licenses, each conferring a different degree of operating authority according 125 126 REPORT OF THE FE operator licenses may be taken was revised as follows: Birmingham, Ala. Charleston, W. Va. Cincinnati, Obio. Cleveland, Ohio. Columbus, Ohio. Corpus Christi, Tex. Davenport, Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa, Fort Wayne, Ind. Fresno, Calif. Grand Rapids, Mich. Indianapolis, Ind. Jackson, Miss. Knoxville, 'reno. Little Rock, Ark. Memphis, Tenn. AIburquerque, N. Mex. Amarillo, Tex. Bakersfield, Calif. Bangor. Maine. Boise, Idaho. Butte, Mont. EI Paso, Tex. Hartford, Conn. Hilo. Hawaii, T. H. Jacksonville, Fla.. Jamestown, N. Dak. Manchester, N. H. Billings, Mont. Cumberland, Md. Klamath Falls, Oreg. Las Vegas, Nev. Quarterly point8 Milwaukee, Wis. Nashv1lle, Tenn. Oklahoma City, Okla. Omaha, Nebr. Phoenix, Ariz. Pittsburgh,Pa. St. Louis, Mo. Salt Lake City, Utah. San Antonio, Tex. Schenectady, N. Y. Sioux Falls, S. Dak. Syracuse, N. Y. TUlsa, Okla. Williamsport, Pa. Winston Salem, N. C. Semiannual points Lihue, Kauai, T. H. Louisville, Ky. Marquette, Mich. Portland, Maine. Roanoke, Va. Spokane, Wash. Tallahassee, Fla. Tucson, Ariz. Wichita, Kans. Wilmington, N. C. Wailuku, Maul, T. H. Annual points Rapid City, S. Dak. Reno, Nev. SprIngfield, Mo. CHAPTER VI-FIELD ENGINEERING AND MONITORING 1. GENERAL 2. FlEW OFFICES 3. MONITORING 4. INSPECTIONS 5. OPERATOR EXAMINATIONS 6. INVESTIGATIONS 7. TECHNICAL OPERATIONS 8. DISASTER EMERGENCY COORDINATION 1. GENERAL The Field Engineering and Monitoring Division is the principal inspection, examining, enforcement, and engineering fact-finding unit of the Commission. Its field staff iuspects all types of radio stations and serves discrepancy notices, gives radio operator examinations and issues operatorlicenses, monitors the radio spectrum to see thatstations are operating on assigned frequencies with prescribed power, locates and closes down unauthorized transmitter operation, investigates com plaints of interference to radio services, gathers technical data for use by the Commission, furnishes directiou to lost aircraft and pro vides bearings on ships in distress. 2. FlEW OFFICES There are 9 regional engineering offices which supervise 23 district offices, 6 suboffices and 3 ship offices, supplemented by 19 monitoring stations. These field offices and monitoring stations are listed in the appendix. The engineering work is directed and coordinated at the Washington office. 3. MONITORING The Commission operates 11 primary and 8 secondary monitoring stations. Of these, 17 are located in the United States, 1 in Hawaii, 1 in Alaska. This monitoring and direction-finding network is the only one of its kind in this country and renders service to the Government in geueral as well as to the Commission in particular. It functions on a 24-hour basis, being linked with Washington by teletypewriter and radio cir cnits. Monitoring operations, in addition to performing an important engineering measurement function, include "cruising" the spectrum 137 138 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMlBBION for violations of law and regulations and detecting illegal or unauthor ized transmissions, and monitoring particular cases which involve work ranging from simple listening to recording and analyzing sig nals. Effective radio location necessitates that radio bearings be taken simultaneously by several direction-finder stations. A strong or erratic signal may be observed by these "ears" of the Commission or reported to the field offices. The former can listen in on the transmission and plot its origin. Monitorinj:( stations. in gen eral, do not track down an unlicensed operation. That task is per formed by field engineers using mobile and portable equipment. Each radio district headquarters maintains special cars which can be nsed for this purpose. Some of them are equipped with all-wave receivers and antenna capable of being operated from the car's battery while the vehicle is in motion. Sometimes it is necessary to observe an illicit station over a period of time. In such cases the receiver can be removed from the car and connected with the power supply in an office, house, tourist cabin, or other base of operation. Here determinations are made of the call letters employed by the operator as well as the station or stations called, the type of emission, the frequency used, the time and duration of the operation, the nature of the communication, and whether it is in voice, telegraph, or code. With several portable receivers covering an area, it is then possible to "fix" the general location of the illegal station. Without being too technical, it can be said that this procedure involves the same triangu lation method used in determining the position of ships at sea. After that, a small detection apparatus carried in the hand, trouser pocket, or fastened to the vest can be used by an inspector in proceeding from house to house, floor to floor, and door to door, to observeat what point the strongest signals occur. When that point is reached, the offending apparatus itself must be close at hand. The actual arrest is made by cooperating local Federal officials. Serious cases are referred to local United States district attorneys for prosecution. The Communications Act prescribes a maximum penalty of $10,000 fine or 2 years imprisonment, or both, for violators. The Communications Act requires all non-Government radio trans mission to be licensed, and courts have held that such operation any where in the United States or its possessions is subject to Commission approval, both of thetransmitter and its operator. Monitoring activities can be grouped under two main headings, service and enforcement. The 1,883 major monitoring cases handled during the fiscal year was 145 more than in the previous year. This reflects the continued increase of interference complaints proportion ate to the number of active operating stations. A definite increase in monitoring cases has heen experienced annually since 1945 and it is REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSilON 139 expected that this will continue as more and more services and stations are authorized. MONITORING SERVICE Service to both the military and industry was performed mainly in solving their interference problems by means of monitoring and di rection finding. The greater part of the major interference com plaints involve interference caused by unidentified signals which must be traced and identified. The mobile services are particularly vulner able to interference, and since they deal with safety of life and prop erty, the solution of such interference problems must be prompt and relief immediate. Ifa transmitter is not tuned correctly, its transmis sions may interfere not only with its own communications but to the communications of other services as well. Typical of the aid given to the aeronautical services ,was a case involving interference over the entire east coast and traced by long range direction finder bearings and supplemental mobile unit action to an unauthorized station operating in Tennessee. Another example involved interference to the American Airlines on the west coast caused by what was described as "Chinese language." Long-range bearings indicated the interference was coming from a. point in the ocean off the coast and it Was finally traced to one of the several vessels turned over to the Korean Government by the United States Navy. In addition to resolving interference problems for Government and industry, the monitoring stations engaged in several surveys which resulted in the reclaiming of frequencies not being fully used, thereby enabEng them to be reissued. One of the surveys was made for the Department of State which was trying to find "holes" in the crowded bands utiEzed by all countries for high-frequency broadcasting. A similar survey was made for the government of Eire. Monitoring stations continued to be of service to both civilian and military aircraft. During the year, the division received 116 requests for assistance involving loss or disabled aircraft. 'Vbile this repre sents a decrease since the last fiscal year (140), it still represents a. sizeable amount of work and aid in furnishing positions derived from the evaluation of long range direction finding bearings. This service is available alike to the individual pilot or to the large transocean passenger plane. An instance of aid given to a lost Cana dian plane by one monitoring station brought a warm note of appre ciation from the pilot. Another case involved furnishing "fixes" to a disabled plane over the Pacific which had been forced to turn back to the mainland after developing engine trouble. Among those on board was a 'West coast Congressman and the Secretary of the Navy. In still another instance, the FCC direction-finding stations 140 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMlllSION were called upon to establish a "fix" on a search plane which had spotted a flashing light from survivors on a raft who had been forced down in the Atlantic off Florida during a flight of a C-47 from Puerto Rico to New York. In this instance 37 of the 65 persons on board were saved. MONITORING ENFORcEMENT Commission monitoring stations also engaged in a systematic moni toring program for violations of the Communications Act, interna tional treaties, and Commission rules and regulations. These activi ties in 1950 resulted in the issuance of 9,817 violation notices. This represents a decline in the number of notices issued as compared with 11,679 for the fiscal year 1949, and is due to a decrease in available personnel, the press of active interference complaints which did not leave enough time to cover the spectrum as much as desired, also, to the closure of two monitoring stations during the year, one at Juneau, Alaska, and the other at Point Maldonado, P. R. In addition to the issuance of notices, a continuing campaign of preventative monitoring resulted in clearing the spectrum of thousands of undesirable spurious signals before they became the subject of interference com plaints. Also, many illegal radio operations were discovered (see "Investigations"). 4. INSPECTIONS BROADCAST STATION INSPECTIONS The Commission's engineers inspect the equipment of all stations in the broadcast services--AM, FM, and TV-not less often than once during each station's regular license period. These inspections are made to see that each station lives up to the rules and regulations and complies with its license requirements in rendering an adequate technical broadcast service to the listening and viewing public. All technical operation is reviewed, such as maintenance of directional radiation patterns, authorized power, frequency, stability, modulation including quality of voice or music, and proper lighting of the antenna towers for the enhancement of safety to airborne passengers. The following tabulation shows the number of broadcast stations of three major classes inspected in 1949 and 1950: Number oj broadcast inspections Broadcast stlltlons tnspected 1949 1950 AM• .. _.__ ..__~. ..~_... . . __..__ . 1,663 1,476 FM . ._. . __._~• . __ .____ 267 306 TV.. ._. .. . ._________ 36 104 Total~_.•• • • ._. ._. • • •__ • .___ 1, Q66 1,886 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMlSSlION 141 Discrepancies totaling 1,108 were discovered during broadcast in spections in fiscal 1950, while 1,303 were discovered during 1949. Percentagewise, 66 percent of the inspections resulted in discrepancy notices in 1949, while only 59 percent required this action in 1950, indicating a somewhat higher degree of compliance with the Com mission)s requirements. SHIP STATION INSPECTIONS The United States has continued in the forefront since the year 1910 in the enactment of safety legislation and in its enforcement of international laws for the safety of lives and property at sea. By regularly checking the operating condition of radio communication equipment of passenger-carrying and certain other vessels, both United States and foreign, the engineers of the Commission and its predecessor agencies have vigilantly assisted ship owners and opera tors to maintain the radio apparatus in a condition of instant readiness for emergency needs. Number of 8hip inspecti0n8 UK9 1950 United States ships ••• • ._.__ 7,991 6,. 982 Foreign shiPS ._. • • • 0_------.-._ -_._. --••- _ ----1_--c'3,,,",::1_ 1 __:,:3':.;-03:.:' Total. ow._. • • •••_. • ._ _ _ __ _ 11, 033 16, CU4 The decrease noted is due to the shortage of personnel at maritime offices, such as New York City, which made it impossible to inspect as many vessels in 1950 as were inspecteddurin~the p;revious year. Discrepancies discovered during inspections of ship radio equip ment are totaled below: Number 01 di8orepanoies &i8covere4 ~960 1,943 8,ooa 8,244 1,752 9,996 United States ships •••. •• .'0_. _ Foreign shl[)S.~• • • • _ 1---'---1---'--' TotQL~.. •• ._._.__ •__ • • •__ A comparison of figures for 1949 and 1950 discloses no noticeable change in the ratio of discrepancies to inspections during 1950 and indicates the continued need of precise and frequent inspection of ship radio equipment to maintain its readiness for emergency use. The following table shows the number of discrepancies which were corrected immediately by the licensee or his representative and which were, consequently, cleared during inspection: 142 REPORT OF THE FE>DERAL COMMUNIC'ATIONS COMMISSION Discrepanoies cleared during inspection 1949 1950 ~7" '1' 3,200 ',000 "" 3,"" ~~i::~~~.~~~~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1---1--__ Total.._. . • • _ INSPECTION OF OTHER RADIO STATIONS Inspections of stations in services other than broadcast and ship totaled 12,755 in 1950 as compared with 10,534 in 1949, Technical deficiencies numbering 3,699 were discovered in 1950 as compared with 2,909 discrepancies revealed in 1949, With the increased use of radio come added field responsibilities and obligations, Each Commission district office keeps a record of the new stations in its district as they are authorized and these stations are scheduled for inspection at the time of the next trip to that vicinity, However, due to the expansion in the number of such new stations due for inspection yearly and the decrease in the Commission's in spectional force, it has been necessary, in lieu of annual inspections as heretofore, to make an inspection of each station once during its regular license period, which results in a 3-year interval in most cases. Further, in order to avoid unnecessary citations, the Commission has adopted a policy whereby minor discrepancies which are discovered during inspections but which are cleared while the inspection is in progress are not formally cited and the incident is recorded as having been "cleared during inspection". A further step recently taken by the Commission, and also dictated by a shortage of inspectional personnel, is that by which itinerant aircraft are inspected Nation-wide in a "drive" synchronized with the release of a public notice to the owners of private aircraft, advising them of this effort and the need for their obtainment of required op erator and station licenses in cases where these documents have not previously ooen secured. 5. OPERATOR EXAMINATIONS During fiscal 1950 the engineering field offices issued 101,226 com mercial radio operator licenses of all classes, which was 4,227 in excess of the number handled in 1949. Applications for radio operator authorizations of the various classes continue to be received in the Commission's field offices in large num oors. Many of these authorizations can only be issued as a result of the applicant having passed a thorough and exacting technical exam ination, while simpler and less comprehensive operating authoriza tions are. issued without the necessity of the applicant passing a writ- REPORT OF TH'E FEDERAL COMMUNTCATIONS COMMISSIlON 143 ten test. With the increasing number of broadcast stations, includ ing those in the TV service, examinations for the radiotelephone classes continue at a high level. The demand for authorizations which per mit the holder to engage in the operation of smaller radiotelephone stations, such as those used at base stations in the police, taxicab and highway services, continues to mount. The Commission gives examinations regularly at its field engineer ing offices, and at Washington. Additionally, examinations are held regularly at various points throughout the United States, its terri tories and possessions, where the need for such examinations has been indicated by public request. These "field" examinations are held quarterly, semi-annually or annually as regional needs require. During 1950, Jackson, Miss., and Phoenix, Ariz., were established as new quarterly examination points. Jamestown, N. Dak.; Man chester, N. H.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Marquette, Mich.; and Wailuku, Hawaii, were established as new semiannual points. Rapid City, S. Dak.; Springfield, Mo.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Klamath Falls, Oreg., were established as new points for annual examinations. A complete list of radio operator examination points will be found in the chapter on "Radio Operators". 6. INVESTIGATIONS Mounting investigative activity was noticeable in 1950 due to the increase in the number of new services inaugurated and to the expan sion in services already in operation. The phenomenal public interest in TV reception resulted in a flood of interference complaints which are being investigatedby Commission engineers as rapidly as time will permit. During 1950, a total of 8,613 investigative complaints were handled as compared with 7,618 in 1949. As a result of investigative work relative to licensed stations, opera tor licenses of a number of amateur and commercial operators were suspended. In addition to investigative work in connection with licensed sta tions, the Commission's field engineering personnel and facilities guard against illegal radio operation. One hundred and forty-nine unau thorized stations were discovered and closed down during the year. One unlicensed operation was traced to an inmate of the Mississippi State prison. Other cases involved persons who tried to operate on particular frequencies, even those used by the military. An increase was noted in the activity of persons attempting to "beat the bookies" through illegal radio use at racetracks. Unlicensed installations oper ated by individuals attempting to broadcast to communities without benefit of license also continued to be uncovered. Such installations 144 REPORT OF THE FEIDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION caused interference tolegitimate broadcasting and other radio services. Also discovered was a broadcaster who "jumped the gnn" by employing facilities other than those applied for and beginning operations prior to receiving authorization. The speedy discovery ofsuch operations is a lessou to those who fail to realize how diligently the radio spectrum is patrolled around the clock. During the year, three heavy fines were levied for violation of the Commission's "low-power rules," indicatingto those who would employ these provisions for illegal purposes that the regulations do have teeth. The Commission did not seek prosecution and conviction of all oper ators of illegal stations detected and closed by investigative action. Prosecution is generally recommended in the case of "repeaters" and those who use radio in a flagrant unlawful manner. Six unlicensed station operators were prosecuted during the year, with resultant fines totaling $3,615, in addition to prison sentences amounting to19 months. Of the cases previously referred to the Department of Justice, three were still in the process of resolution by that agency. 7. TECHNICAL OPERATIONS With the continuing expansion of radio, there is a corresponding need for new and improved equipment for use in exercising technical surveillance over the operations of radio stations licensed by the Com mission and to obtaih propagation data and other information which may be required for consideration in allocating frequencies. To meet these needs, sundry items of equipment were purchased and modifica tions were made in existing equipment to provide improved operation. During the year, 84 new engineering projects were assigned to the field offices and monitoring stations as a result of requests from the various offices in the Commission and from other Government agencies. In addition, 44 projects were carried over from the previous year. The total of 128 active engineering projects which involved engineer ing studies, measurements, and investigations was about 8 percent greater than for the previous year and required a total of 8,751 man days for completion as compared with 8,685 man-days for 1949. Following are some examples of engineering project assignments: The directional patterns of 327 different AM broadcast stations were checked to determine whether their antenna systems were being op erated in accordance with their licenses. Measurements were made at 15 AM stations to determine compliance with Commission rules con cerning performance of station equipment and included measurements of the frequency response and of the degree of distortion introduced by the station's audio system and transmittingequipment. REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS OOMMIS8IlON 145 The long-range broadcast signal intensity recording program was expanded to include recording above 500 megacycles, with recording' installations at 11 monitoring stations and two district offices for AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations, and atmospheric noise involving a' total of 37 field intensity recorders. Information obtained is used in connection with allocations studies and in determining range of cover age to be expected from the various classes of stations. Special mobile field intensity recordings were made at three offices using recently available test cars. In cooperation with other Government agencies and with interested nongovernment organizations, field intensity measurements and sur veys were made on the ground and in aircraft to obtain data concern· ing the characteristics of low frequency carrier current communication devices which will be used in considering promulgating rules for the control of such devices. Installation of equipment was begnn in 12 new investigative auto mobiles which will replace cars in use since 1942 or earlier. The neW cars are designed to permit operation of the receiving equipment and the direction finder by one man from the driver's seat and will improve efficiency and convenience of operation. Other field activities covered construction of special equipment for monitoring, engineering measurements, and other requirements which cannot be fulfilled by commercially available equipment. A number of tests were made to determine the suitability of vari'ous items of equipment for use at field offices and monitoring stations. 8. DISASTER EMERGENCY COORDINATION The managers assigned to the nine geographical regions maintain continuous contact with officials of wire communications companies, licensees of the various classes of radio stations and amateur organiza tions to keep the Commission informed of plans to meet any communi cations emergency. To anticipate emergency communication needs, liaison is likewise maintained with officials of organizations such as theUnited States Coast Guard, United States Army engineers, military amateur nets, and others concerned with the protection of life and property. In the event of a disruption of communication facilities, reliable amateur contacts form a nucleus that can operate and be responsible for dealing with the Commission in requesting the declara tion of a state of communications emergency in any affected area. There is also close collaboration with the American Red Cross. In order to facilitate this coordination, a TWXcommunications printer has been installed by the Red Cross at the FCC net control in Washing ton for direct emergency contact. 146 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMIS610N Experience in emergencies has shown that immediate coordination of all communication facilities by a central coordinating agency is of the utmost importance to prevent confusion and aid relief opera tions. Regional managers rendered assistance in the case of emer ~encieswhich developed during the year, including the South Dakota and Minnesota blizzard, March'/'-11, 1950; the flood resulting from the overflow of the Scagit River in the State of 'Washin/{ton, and the Florida hurricane which occurred on August26-2'/', 1949. CHAPTER VII-TECHNICAL AND LABORATORY ACTIVITIES I. GENERAL 2. TECHNICAL RESEARCH DIVISION 3. LABORATORY DIVISION I. GENERAL One of the Commission's basic functions under the Commuuications Act is to regnlate the use of the radio spectrum in order that this valu able natural resource may be employed as effectively as possible in the !,ublic interest. As a foundation upon which to make proper fre quency allocation and assignment, it is necessary to hava detailed factual knowledge of radio propagation and the capabilities and limi tations of transmitting and receiving equipment. "Radio propagation" is the term used in reference to radio signals and how they react to terrain, water, atmospheric and climatic condi tions. Radio waves have a tendency to run wild, bouncing from earth to sky and back again, depending upon the frequency and its char acteristics. In assigning appropriate frequencies to the different types of radio services, the Commission must first know about radio wave behavior at every hour of the day, every season of the year, and during sunspot periods and other atmospheric disturbances. The rapid growth of the land mobile service, expansion of micro wave links, adoption of a coordinated system of electronic aids to air navigation, advent of radio location, extension of marine radar, de velopments in television, and theincrease of radio services generally, have contributed to bring about a critical problem in frequency alloca tion in the upper radio spectrum, i. e., that portion above 30,000 kilo cycles. This requires extensive and exacting technical knowledge in order to allocate space and to adopt rules and standards covering its use. Responsibility for carrying ont the Commission's technical studies and research is assigned primarily to two units within the Ollice of Engineering. They are the Technical Research Division and the Laboratory Division. Studies of wave propagation are undertaken by the Technical Re search Division, field measurements are made by the Field Engineering 147 148 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMlSS1ON and Laboratory Divisions, and the resultinp: data analyzed by the Technical Research Division. This information is correlated with I'elated work by other Government agencies, the industry, and various colleges and universities. The findings are presented to the Commis sion in the form of technical reports which are basic considerations in decisions to insure the most economic and efficient use of the radio spectrum. 2. TECHNICAL RESEARCH DIVISION On October24, 1949, the name of the Technical Information Division was changed to Technical Research Division. Commission reorgan ization in AprH 1950 placed this division under the Office of the Chief Engineer. The Technical Research Division acts as an operational group and technical consultant to the Commission. For this purpose it organizes projects for the collection of data by the Field Engineering and Moni toring and the Laboratory Divisions and for obtaining data from otheJ;. organizations. It also participates in the technical studies incident to international conferences and treaties, and represents the Commis sion in the coordination of radio research, standardization, and in strumentation with Government and industrial organizations. During its fourteenth year, the technical research unit continued its long-term projects at a decelerated pace while it stepped up activity on VHF and UHF projects. The outstanding work of the year was that growing out of the television hearing and the ad hoc committee studies related thereto. The division continued to carryon special studies and to collect and analyze basic data concerning radio wave propagation as well as other communication problems, and to make the resulting scientific information available to the Commission for guidance in the promulgation of new rules and the determination of technical limitations and practical engineering standards. A factual knowledge of equipment capabilities and limitations and of radio wave propagation characteristics is fundamental to frequency allocation. The whole structure of radio regulation depends on the soundness upon which this framework is built. A judicious allocation of radio frequencies to the various radio services presupposes a knowledge of many highly technical and com plicated things, including ionosphere and troposphere propagation, terrain, effects, useful intensities ofsignal as related to various sources of interference, geographical and frequency separations necessary to alleviate interference in accordance with various requirements, equip ment capabilities and limitations, new developments and their possi bilities, etc. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL CVMMUNICATLONB COMMIBBIION 149 The Commission requires a detailed knowledge of the propagation characteristics of radio signals throughout the spectrum in order that the most economic and practical allocation of facilities may be achieved. The propagation characteristics of the band of frequencies allocated to a particular service must be consistent with the operating requirements. The allocation of stations within a service, i. e., the determination of cochannel and adjacent channel distance separations, service ranges, and power limitations must be founded on a knowledge of propagation. Such knowledge is best obtained from deductions arrived at through the study and analysis of long-term field intensity measurements involving the use of carefully calibrated recording equipment and requiring the attention of experienced engineers. It is the primary function of the Technical Research Divisiou to obtain such data and furnish highly reliable solutions to the technical prob lems involved. VHF AND UHfi' PROPAGATION STUDIES Television and FM.-Continuation of the television "freeze" order through the year, made necessary by the injection of many TV con siderations, entailed additioned study of VHF and UHF propagation, particularly as related to TV and FM broadcasting. The division was occupied in several lines of activity involving the current hear ings. First, at least one member of the division was in attendance at all hearing sessions and engaged in the presentation of testimony and in assistance where technical advice was needed. Secondly, the nearly 10,000 pages of testimony and nearly 300 exhibits were analyzed, classified, indexed, and assimilated for technical information on color TV and a large number of reports concerning engineering matters were prepared for the Commission and its staff. Thirdly, several division members were associated with the work of the ad hoc com mittee formed in October 1948 for the purpose of investigating the properties of VHF propagation, with the chief of the division as chairman. This committee consists of engineers and scientists from the industry, from the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards, and from among consulting engineers who are specialists in this field of activity in private practice. Ad !we eommittee.-On June 8, 1949, the Commission issued volume I of the report of the ad hoc committee and certain associated reference documents prepared by this committee. With this material as a foundation upon which properly directed programs of measurement and study could be formulated, the Tecimical ResearchDi~ision investigated the existing facilities offered by the FM and TV broad casting industries with respect to schedules of program transmissions, 909925--51----11 150 REPORT OF THE FE,oERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSiON frequency, power, location, and effective antenna height of the s.tations in operation, and selecteo locations available to the Commission for taking measurements under conditions where the maximum amount of useful information could be obtained with the limited amount of modern equipment in possession of the Commission. The division analyzed and interpreted the measurements and reported them to the ad hoc committee along with measurements from other sanTe('s. During the year there were seven formal meetings of the a,l hoc committee. Working subcommittees were appointed and members of the Technical Research Division actively participated throughout the year in the work of the-se subcommittees. The findings of working' groups were reported to the main committee at its formal meetings from time to time. By the end of the year, the committee had pro duced another document designated as volume II of the ad hoc com mittee report along with 11 highly technical reference papers. New methods of evaluating VHF broadcasting service and interference area problems were developed with special attention directed to the complications which have arisen ,,,ith respect to the deterioration of the quality ofTV picture transmissions caused by several other .stations operating on the same frequencies and on different freqneneies. New methods of preventing these disturbances were also studied and evaluated. Measurements.-There are a number of tropospheric and terrain propagation effects which must be resolved from actual measurements obtained by the continuons recording of field intensities at various locations. It has been observed that these effects are different and changeable in different sections of the United States. The magnitudes of these differences must be determined before reliable rules can be made for the allocation of TV channels and frequencies for the various radio services proposed in the VHF and UHF ranges. Several other factors relating to this problem also must he resolved in this manner. The Field Engineering and Monitoring Division, at the request of and in close cooperation with, the Technical ResearchDivision~placed in operation VHF field intensity recording equipment at the Com mission's monitoring stations and offices at~1:illis,Mass.; Laurel, lVld.; Powder Springs, Ga.; Houston, Tex.; Allegan, Mich.; Grand Island, Nebr.; Santa Ana, Calif., and Portland, Oreg. The measurements obtained are being analyzed by the division. The need for additional measurements of this type on both VHF and UHF has been emphasized many times in the TV and FM hear ings and at the meetings of the ad hoc committee. The division is constantly engaged in efforts to develop ways and means of obtaining these measurements. Several projects have been operated by the laboratories of the leaders of the industry from which valuable in- REPORT Dee THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATW"S COMMIS'EITON 151 formation has been obtained. Col1eges l universities, and smaller units of the industry have indicated a willinp:ness to cooperate in this matter, but they are not able to furnish special equipment of the type required. In order to obtain badly needed measurements, the Commission, dur ing the year, furnished, on a temporary loan basis, two sets of equip ment; one to the United Broadcasting Co. amI the other to the University of Connecticut. Bridgeport VHF-TV project.-In January 1950 the National Broadcasting Co. began experimental operation of the first station in the United States to transmit regular TV programs on UHF. For a number of reasons, a site was selected near Bridgeport, Conn., for this station and a channel was assigned on frequencies between fJ2i) and 535 megacycles. NBC and RCA have installed more than 50 TV receivers with special adapters in homes in and around Bridgeport in order to ohtain information regarding the reliability of such equipment in this type of operation and to determine the usefulness of these ultra-high fre quencies as applied to the TV service. Extensive measurements utilizing- mobile equi.pment with captive balloons to support the re ceiving antennas have already been made in the Bridgeport area., NRC is now in the process of analyzing these measurements. Members of the division have kept in close contact with these de velopments and have aided in the planning of projects in order to obtain the type of information which will be most useful to the Com mission. As a result, continuous field intensity recorders tuned to this station are in operation at the Commission's monitoring stations at Scituate, R. I., and Millis, :Mass., over distances of 88 and 116 miles, respectively, and at the University of Connecticut over a path of 62 miles. The equipment for the latter location was assembled and installed by the Commission's Laboratory Division, and is operated by staff members of the university's Electrical Engineering Department. Land mobile propagation study.-This project involves frequencies in the band 152-162 megacycles and was inaugurated during fiscal 1950 to provide propagation information for use in connection with the ad ministration of lana mobile services. A set of ground wave and tropospheric wave propagation curves of median and 10 percent field intensities versus distance have been cal· culated and used to determine the expected variations for different anteHna heights with 2;,)O-"wutt power. Additional cun·es are being calculated showing variation of location probability for sel'vice versus distance concerning the clear channel case of one interfering station, and the case of six other interfering stations. These cases are com puted for antenna heights of 50, 100, 200, and 500 feet at distances of 152 REPORT OF THE FE'DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMIBS1ON 25,50,75,100, 150, and 200 miles. vVith reasonable time allotment it is contemplated that the project will be completed in the near future. Other VHF and UHF projects.-Although most of the time avail able for study of VHF and UHF propagation was devoted to activities outlined above, considerable work was completed and further work is planned on the following projects: 1. Research and investigation of new methods of modulation with Iespect to the relationship between these new methods and propaga tion conditions affecting freqnency allocation problems. In partic ular, a comprehensive study was made of the use of frequency modula tion as applied to TV video carrier transmissions. 2. Study of the sensitivity, selectivity, and noise characteristics of new TV receivers in relation to channel allocation theory, and investi gation of new developments in measurement techniques. 3. Study of skywave propagation on frequencies between 25 and 50 megacycles. 4. Study of the time and space correlation of fading of signals transmitted over several different paths. 5. Study of the time continuity of service considering variable interfering signals superimposed upon a variable service signal. 6. Study of results of tests made on equipment developed by the Bureau of Standards for the purpose of automatically integrating and recording field intensity measurements. In a test run at the Laurel monitoring station it was found that considerable time could be saved with this equipment. However, no funds have been available for the purchase of new equipment. 7. When it is possible to obtain new measurements, the study of the terrain effects upon wave propagation will be continued. MEDIUM FREQUENCY PROJECTS Sunspot cyole ,·ecordiniJ8.-Solar activity has a profound effect upon radio wave propagation. During daytime hours, AM broadcast sta tions are heard over relatively short distances only. At night, sky wave signals may be heard from distant States as well as from Mexico and Canada. The cycle of solar activity as indicated by sunspot num bers covers a period of about 11 years; however, the spots ofsucceeding cycles are of opposite magnetic polarity, so that a 22-year period is involved for definitive testing of these effects. The Commission's sun spot cycle project was inaugurated in 1938 and is still active. Con tinuous recordings of broadcast signals are being made at Baltimore, Grand Island, Portland, Powder Springs, and from time to time at other points. These data are needed to supplement that taken in previous years. Additional recordings must be done to cover the full cycle at all loca- REPORT OF THE' FEVERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMl88lION 153 tions and for all frequencies. Coordination of this information with similar data recorded in Canada was continued during the year and will be continued for some time to come. An extensive analysis of the accumulated data was begun to deter mine the nature and magnitude of the medium frequency skywave propagation effects corresponding to variations in solar activity during the last sunspot cycle. Atrrwspheric noise.-Continuous field intensity recordings of atmos pheric noise between 200 and 1,600 kilocycles were continued. This information is analyzed and correlated with thunderstorm data and the results are used in the preparation of a series of noise maps to show characteristic variations with the time of day and a percentage of time for each frequency band and for various latitudes. These maps are used in estimating the signal level required to provide an acceptable radio service in the presence of atmospheric noise and, hence, the pos sible service ranges when interference from other stations is absent. Because of the pressure of other duties, analyses and map preparation could not be undertaken during fiscal 1950. TECHNICAL STUDIES AND STANDARDS General.-The rapid increase in the number and kinds of new radio services has produced a new array of technical problems. Each new service requires the preparation of specific rules including technical definitions, equipment requirements, and operational limitations. This often requires intensive studies involving formation of commit tees representing other Government agencies as well as industry. Whenever technical difficulties are encountered, the various divisions of the Commission turn to the Technical Research Division for assist ance. Problems of this nature have increased to a marked extent. Additional technical standards have become necessary not only in the new radio services but also in the better established services where new techniques and new developments have made changes in the rules and regulations imperative. Due to the large number of receivers being sold, especially in the broadcast field, the number of complaints con cerning interference have risen'rapidly. This factor alone has forced the Commission to make special studies and set up joint Government industry committees with a long range view toward the alleviation of the many troublesome interference problems. Restricted radiation devices and low-power rules.-During the pre vious year the Commission's low-power rules became the subject of serious consideration, partly because of complaints of interference in the broadcast band from certain low-power systems and devices, and partly from the demand of the industry for clarification of the present rules. The Technical Research Division sponsored ,a committee to 909925--50----12 154 REPORT OF THE FElDERAL COMMlmICATIONB COMMlSBION study: the problem and make recommendations to the Commission. This work was organized as a joint effort in which Government agen cies and the electronics industry participated. Several Government industry meetings were held. Extensive experimental programs were carried out in which the Air Force and the Civil Aeronautics Ad ministration, as well as the Bell Laboratories, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and others participated. For the first time the radiation from carrier current lines was measured in the air. This was made possible through cooperative efforts. The Air Force furnished a suit able airplane; the Bell Laboratories furnished measuring equipment; the FCC, TVA and others furnished personnel, transmitters, sites, etc. The data obtained are now being analyzed and gives promiseof throw ing much light on a previonsly little explored subject. Incidental. Tadiation device8.-This subject is being treated as a corollary project with that of restricted radiation devices. Many de vices, such as receivers, motors, generators, fluorescent laInps, ignition systems, etc., produceinterfe~ingradiations which are purely inci dental to the purpose for which they are operated. The amount of interference resulting from such devices has increased so rapidly that it now behooves both industry and the Commission to make extensive investigations of the cause and effectuate remedial measures. ReceiveT radiation.-Probably the most prolific offenders in the incidental radiation field are FM and TV receivers. Radiation from FM and TV receivers cause interference not only to FM and TV reception but to certain safety devices such as navigational aids in the aviation service. During the year the FCC held an engineering conference on this matter. A special central committee was set up to work on the problem with standing committees in the radio industry. These groups have since developed suitable methods of measurement and proposed interim standards of performance which give promise of relief from much of this interference. While progress has been made there still remains much work to be done. The Commission will continue to sponsor and encourage better circuit design and more effective suppression methods among the manufacturers of all kinds ofradio receivers. Ooordination of technical rule8.-With the large number of new radio services recognized by the Commission, the problem of coordinat ing the various technical phases of the rules for one service with those of other services has become a necessity. The responsibility for such coordination with a view to uniformity throughout all services has been charged to the Technical Research Division. This work will be expanded. Bingle 8ide band suppre88ed carrier 8tudie8.-With the ever-increas ing demand for freqnency space, engineers have turned to the single REPORT OF THE' FE,DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMlSSIlON 155 side band suppressed carrier method of operation because it offers a saving in thebandwidth requirements. Many technical questions have arisen concerning the actual bandwith needed for various types of modulation, the methods of calculating and specifying power, etc. The study of these problems was accelerated early in the year but, due to the pressure of other work, was left for future attention. Radiolocation.-T'he importance of crude oil in the present economy is evident. At present one of the most productive areas lies under water along the continental sheH in the GuH of Mexico. In prospect· ing for oil from ships it becomes highly important to be able to locate a previously established point with exceptionally good accuracy. Radiolocation is a radio method which makes such accuracy possible. Siuce several differeut radiolocation systems have been developed, and because the Commission has been asked to grant authorizations involv· ing the use of radio frequencies for such systems, it became necessary to make an engineering study of all the systems in use. Additional work will be carried on in order that the necessary technical knowl· edge will be available when hearings relativ.. to the subject are scheduled. GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY COMMITTEEb The Commission is represented by its Technical Research Division on a number of important standing committees of Government and industry. Among these are executive groups of the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory, the URSI (International Radio Scientific Union) and CCIR (International Radio Consultative Committee), committees of the Institute of Radio Engineers and the Radio Manu facturers Association, and panels of the Committee on Electronics of the Research and Development Board. The chief of the division served as chairman of the Central committee which coordinated tech· nical work related to restricted radiation devices. As indicated else where, he continned to serve as chairman of the ad hoc committee on television. TECHNICAL CONSULTING SERVICE In addition to furnishing technical advice to the Commission, the division is called upon to answer technical questions of other Govern. ment agencies, industry, and private engineers. During the past year demands of this nature increased far beyond those of any previous period, and backlogs in routinework developed. 3. LABORATORY DIVISION GENERAL FUNCTIONS The Laboratory Division of the Commission is located near Laurel, Md. This division makes technical measurements and engineering investigations to assist the Commission in allocating frequency bands, 156 REPORT OF THE FEiDERAL COMMUNIOATIONS COMM1llSl0N establishing and revIsing engineering standards and regulations for new as well as existing services, and establishing regulations covering noncommnnications type of equipment employing radio-frequency energy which may interfere with the radio communications services. Examples of the Laboratory Division activities are: 1. Investigation of various methods of transmission and reception to determine which method permits the most efficient utilization of the spectrum and to determine the interference factors which limit the various methods. 2. Tests of transmitters to determine whether interference signals are emitted on fl'equencies other than the assigned channel. 3. Tests of receivers to determine how close together the Commis sion might place'stations without the listeners receiving several stations at the same time. 4. Tests of receivers to determine what interference they may pro duce in other nearby receivers either in the same service or in other se:rvices. 5. Tests for reliability of operation of equipment such as apparatus involving safety at sea. This type of equipment is required by the Commission's rules and regulations or by treaty. 6. Tests of the accuracy and reliability of monitoring equipment required to be used by stations. 7. Investigation of interference produced by noncommunication uses of radio-frequency energy. The work of the laboratory generally isdi~ectedtowards the test ing of a type of equipment rather than the testing of individual units. Attempt is made to anticipate interference problems and to have remedial measures taken prior to the manufacture and distribution of a large number of units instead of waiting until the interfel'ence occurs in the field and requires numerous individual investigations. After a large number of units have been distributed the solution of the interference problem generally will be only of a "patchwork" nature, and in many cases may be practically impossible of solution without a serious waste of useful frequencies. In some instances type tests are required by the rules and regulations, and formal ap proval is given. In other cases the laboratory makes type tests not specifically required, in order that the Commission may be aware of the existing service and interference problems encountered in prac tical operation, so that either the allocation structure may be designed to fit the units available or the Commission may take other action leading to improved equipments which will permit more efficient use of the available radio frequencies. Type testing also is required of certain noncommunications equipment, such as diathermy machines which employ radio frequencies and may cause serious interference REPOR1' OF TB'E' FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIlON 157 unless the frequencies are properly maintained and the harmonic and spurious emissions sufficiently restricted. Following is a summary of particular laboratory activities engaged in during the year. BROADCASTING Because of the current TV hearing a great amount of effort has been devoted to TVstudies. These studies mainly concern TV interference problems since they lie in a no-man's land of which far too little is known. Interfereuce is a most severe problem in the TV broadcast service. Why this is so can be seen from the following discussion. An ordinary standard (AM) broadcast channel is only 10 kilo cycles wide. At 1,000 kilocycles this channel width is 1 percent of the operating frequency. A TV channel is 6 megacycles wide. At 60 megacycles this represents a width of 10 percent of the operating frequency. This indicates that the interference problem in TV may be expected to be some 10 times greater. Although this percentage factor becomes smaller as we /l.0 to theuppe~VHF channels and to the UHF channels, other problems counteract any tendency for the interference problem to decrease. In fact, all indications are that the interference problems will increase. Laboratory field tests were made on unsynchronized operation and with various values of offset carrier to obtain interference reduction for the several color TV systems proposed. Tests also were made covering the interference to the several proposed systems by other signals and by various propagation phenomena. With regard to the UHF part of the spectrum, tests were conducted on proposed receivers and converters to determine the problems involved. One of the studies indicated that the intermodulation problem may become a factor limiting the allocation in this portion of the spectrum. Studies have been made of other technical problems involved in the several proposed color TV systems, including the problem of integrating one or more of the proposed systems into the present TV structure. Five exhibits, together with testimony, were presented in the hearing and further studies will be offered in the later phases of the hearing. In addition, the laboratory made arrangements for the three com parative TV demonstrations, at which the operation of the three pro posed systems could be viewed side-by-side under comparable condi tions. One of the demonstrations was held at the laboratory. At the first of these demonstrations the Laboratory Division demon strated an automatic device, developed by two Commission engineers, which when connected to a receiver permitted the reception, in black and white, of either signals transmitted on the present standards (Qr 158 REPORT OF THE FEtDERAL COMMUNICA'l'IONB COMMIBS'lON on compatible standards), or signals transmitted at a different field and line frequency. A patent application has been filed. . Preliminary investigations are under way at the laboratory with regard to the proposal to uSe sampling techniques to obtain more efficient USe of the spectrum. These tests involve not only the increase which may be expected in the useful information transmitted, but also the problems of interference which may be inherent in the employ ment of this new process. A study was made of the problem of reducing the severity of inter ference to the aviation service caused by oscillator radiation from FM broadcast receivers, which interference is causing severe difficulty with navigational aids for aircraft in a number of areas. Studies also were made concerning the effects of locations of TV broadcasting or FM broadcasting towers or antennas in the vicinity of directional antenna systems employed in the AM broadcast band. One modulation monitor and one frequency monitor for AM broad cast station operation were tested and approved during the year. SERVICES OTHER THAN BJ10ADCASTING Further studies and measurements are under way in the laboratory on the problem of intermodulation, which severely limits the efficient use in the same geographical area of a large number of stations on the higher VHF and UHF frequencies. Indications are that the adjacent channel selectivity of receivers employed in the various land mobile services has been materially increased in the last year. No such gen eral improvement appears with regard to intermodulation interference effects. As a result, the intermodulation effects may become the limit ing factor in allocation rather than the adjacent channel selectivity of the receivers. Further tests were made on a number of units proposed to be used for distress use on radiotelephone-equipped ships. A number of units intended to operate on the standards proposed by the United States were designed and constructed at the laboratory and furnished the Marine Division for forwarding to foreign governments for testing. Several models of a proposed keyer for sending the distress signal on radiotelegraph-equipped ships were submitted to the laboratory during the year but they were found not to comply with the Commis sion's requirements. A number of laboratory tests were made on equipment submitted by applicants for licenses in the citizens radio band. These tests indi cated that much of the converted war surplus equipment could not be expected to operate in accordance with the Commission's rules and regulations. Numerous other devices in the citizens band, such as garage door REPORT OF THE FEDERAL OOMMUNICATIONS CIOMMISS[QN 159 openers, walkie-talkies, etc., were tested during the year but no ap provals were given except to a small unit for the control of model aircraft. PROPAGATION The laboratory operated a 400-megacycle transmitter at Dan's Rock, Md., for approximately 6 months during the year. Recordings were made at Laurel, together with other measurements at fixed and mobile locations. These measurements were to obtain information atfre~ quencies near those proposed for the UHF TV band and for the operation of land mobile services. The laboratory also installed field intensity recording equipment at a distance of approximately 62 miles from the UHF TV station operating experimentally at Bridgeport, Conn. CALIBRATION OF APPARATUS In its enforcement and investigation activities, the Field Engineer ing and Monitoring Division uses a large amount of technical equip ment. During the year 6 field intensity sets and 12 signal generators were calibratSIION 167 35.2-:W.O, 4:l.2-M.O, 3,500- 4.15ti5 1- 5-M 3,700,6,425-6,575, ll,700-- (2--6) 12,200 Me. 420-460 Mc________________ "400 1-11-50 45702 2- 8-50 (2--7) 420-150 1\1c_______________ • 15704 2- 8-50 (2-8) 1,7.50--1,800 ko______ •____ •• 45772 2-15--.50 (2-9) 162-174,406-420 Mc_______ 50889 6--22-50 (2-12) 140.58 Mc_________________ 50890 6--22--.50 (2-12) -_.,-----.-~------------ -- 487r~15-15--50 (2-11) 94Q....l}521\1c. __________ ---- 42077 11-25-49 IG2--174 j\[c________________ 61019 6-·27-50 1O-535-Kc, 535--1605 ko. 38578 7-29--49 HiQ.5 kc. ]750-1,800 kc______________ ~75253-23-50 Frequency band 35.2-36.0,43.2--44.0 Me _ 3,500-3,700, 6,425--6,575,. 11,700--12,200 11:c. (Amend· ment No.) P.M. 39781 39781 Dare 9- 7-49 9- 7--49 Description-Section number Proposed amendment sec. 2.104 (a) to subdivide the allocation ofthese bands to agree withactuallicensll~ practice; and to restrict land stations using these bands (by proposed NG 12 footnote) to CQmmunica tion with mobile (except TV pick.up) stations, and; amendment section 2.1 revising definitions of indus trial scientific and medical equipment and meteQro logical radar station, and; amendment sec. 2.103 revising clausepcrmitti~use of frequencies on temporary basis in exception to the table of frequency allocations and revising clause permitting use of frNluendes by experimental stations. Order adoptJng;~mendml'ntsto pt. 2 as proposed in public notice 39781 (9--7-1949). PN proposing amendment sec. 2.104 (a) footnote US 11 to permit extemion of use of b.'JIld by aeronautical rodiomwigation service to .Feb. Iii, 1953. Ordcr extending date (to Feb. 15, 1953) arter which the aeronauticnl radionavigation service will not be per mitted mm of ehe band (fool,note US 11). Order extending amateur peak power limitation (50 watts) in this band to Feb. 15, 1953, aIDunding foot note US 18, sec. 2.104 (a). Order amending sec. 'l.104 (a) footnote (2) extending thc temporary allocation of this band to the Hadto location service to 8-17-1950. Order amcndillg sec. 2.104 (a) adding new footnote US 25 to these Govemmellt bands, contafninl:" list of frequencies available for non-Govemment use for transmission of hydrological and meteorological date. Order amending sec. 2.101 (a) deleting footnote US 7 effecti\'e 11-1-1950. This deletes interim emergency aeronautical mobile calHng frequency140.~Me which is in a Government band since rellular emer gf'llcy calling freQuBllcy 121.5 Me will be fully imple mented by 9-1-1950. Order amending appendix to pt. 2 making certain ad ditions and deletions to the IAst of Treaties, Arrange. mellts and agreements to bring list up to date. Proposed amendment to (Pt. 4 amI) sec. 2.104 (a) to delete footnote NU 13 as proposed Part 4 would list specific r1ssignablc fr('quencles. Proposed amcndment to see. 2.104 (n) footnote US 19 to permit non-Federal conservat.ion agencies to use 2 of the frequencies ill this b,lIHl prcviouslyavail~ble only to nOlI-Federal forest fire figllting agencies. Adopted order separn.ting tIle (low power rules) docket into 4 parts; A-Incidental radlll.tion devices; B Carrier current communication systems lind re stricted radiation devices (to-.5:35 kc., C-Restricted radiation devices above 1605 kc, i)-Restricted mdi ation devices, 535-160;) kc. The ablve will affect the provisions of Section 2.to3 of Part 2. Public notice set1inf': date for informal conference Oil the proposed "disaster service" and setting forth basis for future rules. The ahove will affect Section 2.104 (a) of pt. 2 of the Rules. 3. INTERDEPARTMENT RADIO ADVISORY COMMITTEE The Commission does not license United States Government radio stations or assign tlleir frequencies. Such freqnency assignments are made by the President upon recommendation of the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC), composed of 11 Federal agen cies. The Commission provides the secretariat of the IRAC. During the fiscal year the IRAC approved 6,966 new and deleted 1,574 regular assiguments, bringing the total of outstanding regular assignments to 64,265. In addition, it approved 863 changes in assignments, 2,363 temporary assignments, and 470 deletions of tem poraryassignments. In all, it processed a total of 12,439 applications. 168 REPORT OF THE FEnERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMIll&ION 4. FREQUENCY REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION The past year required extensive changes in the Commission's frequency records. A large majority of the estimated 50,000 fre quency card records (exclusive of government records) comprising the Commission's Master Frequency Record were changed to conform to the Atlantic City Radio Regulations, modified licenses were issued and the ITU notified accordingly. Each new authorization issued by the Commission is incorporated into the Master Frequency Record by the preparation of a card record for each frequency, and each succeeding authorization is compared with the terms of the preceding one and the changes incorporated into the original card record. From these cards, intermixed with those produced from lists furnished by the several Government agen cies, the frequency notifications to the ITU are prepared to safeguard the priority of frequency use by United States stations. In addition, cards and notifications are prepared to keep the station lists published by the ITU up-to-date as far as the United States is concerned. The task of converting all of the present cards in the master fre quency record to the format and column numbering system specified in the Atlantic City radio regulations, and bringing this record into llgreement with the internationlll frequency list, remllins to be accomplished. The following tllbulation is a summary of the Pllst year's activities, other than routine notifications. The dates shown are those of the radio service bulletins in which they were recorded: Aug. 1, 1949 Notification of bandwidths of emission was initiated. Oct. 1, 1949 Change of card records and notifications of FM broadcasting stations from "Special for Fl\'!" emission to "F3" was begun. Nov. 1, 1949 Ref;umption of notification of Commission licensed aeronau- tical stations for publication in the list of aeronautical and aircraft stations. (Notification of Government aeronau tical stations and all aircraft stations has not yet been resumed.) Dec. 15, 1949 (a) Frequency notification for Commission authorizedin~ ternationl broadcasting stations on special service authori zation was made. (b) Bandwidth of emission was notified for all interna tional fixed telegraph stations. Jan. 1, 1950 Change of card records and notifications of FM broadcasting stations to 180F3 emission was begun. Jan. 15, 1950 Change of the "name of station" of all broadcasting station card records and notifications from transmitting sites to studio locations. Feb. 1, 1950 (a) Frequency notifications for all Commission authorized aeronautical fixed stations in the international service were sent to Geneva. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNTCATLONS OOMMISSIION 169 Feb. I, 1950 (Can.) (b) Notifications for Commission authorized aeronautical radiolocation stations were prepared for the list of radio location stations. 1950 The task of collecting statistics of the numbers of Commis sion- authorized and Government stations of the several classes, and the numbers of IDessages transmitted during the calendar year 1949 was initiated. 5. INTERNATIONAL TREATY ACTIVITIES Oooperation with Oanada.-With the rapid occupancy of VHF non-Government fixed and mobile bands, a serious problem of inter ference arose in the case of United States and Canadian assignments made near the border of the two countries. In cooperation with the Department of State, discussions were held in Ottawa. As a result, the Commission and the Canadian Department of Transport, on May 3, 1950, announced the adoption of a coordination procedure for the exchange of engineering information and comments concerning pro posed frequency assignments to civil fixed- and mobile-radio services in certain VHF and UHF frequency bands. The purpose of this procedure is to enable Canada and the United States to ascertain, in advance of making assignments to stations not previously authorized to use such frequencies, whether a proposed assignment would be one which would be likely to cause or suffer harmful interference from a previous assignment by the other coun try. It is believed that this procedure will materially minimize in terference between stations of the two countries. International interferenoe oa8e8.-During the fiscal year, 315 new cases of international interference came to the Commission's atten tion. These, plus some 70 cases which existed at the beginning of the fiscal year, were handled by the Commission's frequency allocation and treaty division, in some cases with the assistance of the Depart ment of State and other divisions of the Commission. Because of the long-term nature of the negotiations involved, some 100 cases remained unsolved at the end of the year. A new procedure was put into effect which greatly shortens the time formerly required by the Commis sion's staff to handle complaints of international interference involv ing United States Government stations. Reports of treaty infractions.-The currently effective Atlantic City Radio Regnlations provide that the different nations shall report infringements of the convention or radio regulations to the respon sible administrations. An internationally standard report form is prescribed. A total of approximately 3,000 treaty infraction reports prepared by the Commission's Field Engineering and Monitoring Di vision were forwarded to the appropriate telecommunication agencies in 147 foreign countries. Prior to forwarding, these reports were 909925--50----13 170 REPORT OF THE FEtDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION processed to insure that citations were based upon the appropriate treaty provision. A procedure was put into force during the year whereby the former total of about 400 reports per month received, processed and forwarded, was reduced to about 150 per month. Special studies were conducted by the Frequency Allocation and Treaty Division concerninl( the future international consideration of the problem of VHF assignments and their growth in view of the propagation conditions which frequently cause international inter ference over great distances. Studies were begnn relating to the United States proposals to be prepared for the revision of the general technical provisions of the radio regulations (Atlantic City, 1947). Studies, preparation of proposals, and coordination between various divisions of the Com mission were participated in with regard to the continuing actvities of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), includ ing participation in many technical meetings of the Government industry preparatory committees of the Department of State. FOREIGN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS During the fiscal year, a considerable number of foreign communi cations officials visited the Commission to study and observe United States communications regulatory methods, monitoring procedures, and American techniques in the communications art. Appropriate programs of study, technical training, observational tours, inspection of facilities, conferences and interviews with officials in both Govern ment and private industry were arranged. In this cOllnection, the Commission collaborated with Government and other agencies, such as the Economic Cooperation Administration, the Supreme Com mander of the Allied Powers of the Pacific (SCAP), the United Nations, and with various private communications companies. The Commission is a member of the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific and Cultural Cooperation, operating under the Department of State. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES The Commission assisted in the United States preparation for and participated in 19 international meetings and conferences. These conferences were either world-wide or regional and for the most part were eonvened either under the aegis of the International Telecom munication Union or the International Civil Aviation Organization, both of which are specialized agencies of the United Nations. It should be borne in mind that these international sessions con cern all types of electrical communication media operating between this country and foreign points. They affect international telephone and telegraph common carriers, as well as other overseas and between- REPORT OF THE' FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSIlON 171 country radio services. Treaties and other agreements reached (see list in appendix) involve rates, regulations, and technical standards applicable to international or regional traffic. Particular references to the common carrier, safety and special services, and broadcast service phases will be found in those respective chapters. The International Telecommunication Union first came into being as a European body called the International Telegraph Union follow ing the signing of a treaty in Paris in 1865. In 1906 the International Wireless Telegraph Convention of Berlin entrusted the union with duties relating to radiotelegraphy, and at an international conference in Madrid in 1932 the International Telecommunication Union (lTV) was created. As a result of an agreement signed at Atlantic City in 1947, the lTV became one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. Its headquarters are at Geneva, and its membership now in cludes 81 nations. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), seated at Montreal, was established under the Convention on International Civil Aviation concluded at Chicago in 1944, and the organization came into being in 1947 following ratification of the convention by the twenty sixth State. For the preceding period of nearly 2 years, an interim organization, the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organiza tion (PICAO), similar in structure to ICAO, carried out many of the functions of and prepared the way for the permanent organization. ICAO was established to develop the principles and techniques of in ternational air navigation and to foster the planning and development of international civil aviation so as to insure its safe and orderly growth by promoting uniformity in regulations, standards, and proce dures throughout the world. Its present membership comprises 58 nations. The need and general desirability of convening regional conferences, concluding regional agreements, and forming regional organizations is recognized by the Atlantic City Convention of 1947 for the purpose of settling telecommunication questions which are purely regional in character and therefore more susceptible of being treated on a regional rather than a world-wide basis, provided agreements so reached are not in conflict with the world convention. The American countries have observed this principle over a period of years, as is reflected by inter-American agreements reached at Havana in1937, Santiago in 1940, Rio de Janeiro in 1945, and Washington in 1949. Meetings, which may be termed subregional, have been held to solve problems peculiar to Central, South, or North America. Typical of these are the so-called NARBA, or North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement conferences, convened in Havana in 1937, Washington in 1941, and Montreal in 1949. In addition to these hemispheric and 172 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNWATIONS COMMISSION geographic subdivisions, the radio regulations of Atlantic City divided the world into three regions for frequency allocation purposes. Allo cation conferences have been held and agreements reached for each of these regions. The first conference of ITU region 2 was convened in Washington in April 1949. Likewise, initial meetings were held by the nations of regions 1 and 3, which in May following separately con vened at Geneva for the purpose of drawing up frequency assigument plans. Infiscal 1950, the Commission furnished 3 chairmen, 4 vice chairmen, 1 delegate, 1 chief observer, 1 chief technical adviser, and 35 advisers, as well as some staff assistance for the United States delegations to 12 ITU and regional telecommunications conferences: 1. Preparatory group for second session of International Administrative Aero nautical Radio Conference, lTD, Washington, March 15 to July 9,1949. 2. Fourth Inter-American Radio Conference, Washington, April 25 to July 0.1949. 8. I'l'U region 2 conference, 'Washington, April 25 to July 9. 1949. 4. International Telephone Rod Telegraph Conference, Paris, May 18 to August ti, 1949. 5. ITU region 1 conference, Geneva, May 18 to September 17, 1949. 6. lTV region 3 conference, Geneva, May 18 to November 4, 1949. 7. Technical Plan Committee of International High-Frequency Broadcasting Conference, Paris, June 22 to December 5, 1949. 8. Oonference for Revision of 1945 Bermuda Telecommunications Agreement, London, August 1949. 9. Second session, International Administrative Aeronautical RadioConfer~ ('once, Geneva, August 1 to October 14, 1949. 10. Third North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement Conference, Mon treal, September to December 8, 1949. 11. Provisional Ii'requency Board, Geneva, January 1, 1948 to February 28, 1950. 12. Second InternatiOnal High Frequency Broadcasting Conference, Florence and RapaHo, Italy, April 1, 1950 (in session on June 30,1950). The Commission also furnished one chairman, four vice chairmen, one delegate, and two advisers for delegations to seven ICAO confer ences: 1. European-Mediterranean Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Special Meeting, Paris, November 8 to December 8, 1949. 2. E'uropean-Mediterranean Aeronautical VHF Informal Meeting, Paris, No vember 8 to December 8, 1949. 3. SpecialMeetin~on Aeronautical Fixed Services in African-Indian Ocean and Middle East Regions, Paris, March 21 to April 11, 1950. 4. African-Indian Ocean/Middle East Frequency Assignment Planning Meet tng, Paris, March 21 to April 11, 1050. 5. South East Asia Frequency Assignment Planning Meeting, New Delhi, April 18 to May 10. 1950. 6. Second Caribbean Regional Air Navigation Meeting, Havana, April 11 to April 27. 1950. 7. Caribbean/South American/South Atlantic Frequency Assignment Planning Meeting, Havana, April 11 to April 27, 1950. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS OOMMISSD:ON 173 In addition to the above multilateral conferences, there were many bilateral meetings with Mexico, Cuba, and Canada, concerning such problems as broadcasting, aeronautical communications, and inter ference, as well as the coordination of frequency lists. The Commission also assisted in the preparation of the United States position for the following meetings: 1. IOAO Fourth Assembly, Montreal, May 30, 1950. 2. European-Mediterranean Frequency Assignment Planning Meeting, Paris, Jnne 6, 1950 (ICAO). At the end of the fiscal year there were projected 24 confenmces and meetings for which the Commission's staff was engaged in prepara tory work: 1. Extraordinary Radio Conference (ITU). The Hague, September 1, 1950. 2. Second Session of Third North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement Conference, 'Vashington, September 6, 1950. 3. IOAO Second Middle East Regional Air Navigation Meeting, Istanbul, -October 17, 1950. 4. UnitedStates~Canadaconference to draft treaty coveriuJ?: ship radio requirements for the Great Lakes, Ottawa, fall, 1950. 5. ICAO Third European-Mediterranean Regional Air Navigation Meeting, Paris, February 27, 1951. 6. ICAO Communications Division, Fourth Session, Montreal, April 3, 1951. 7. International Telephone ConsUltative Committee (rru), Italy, spring, 1951. 8. International Radio Consultative Committee (rru), Prague, spring, 1951. 9. International Telegraph Consultative Committee (ITU), Holland, spring, 1951. 10. Several Special Air Navigation Meetings of IOAO, site undertermined. 1951. 11. lOAD Search and Rescue Division, Third Session, Montreal, October 2, 1951. 12. IOAO Combined South American-South Atlantic Regional Air Navigation Meeting, Buenos Aires, November 15, 1951. 13. IOAO Combined North Pacific-South Pacific Regional Air Navigation Meeting, site undetermined, early 1952. 14. ICAO Third North Atlantic Regional Air Navigation Meeting, site un· determined, early 1952. 15. ICAO Second Southeast Asia Regional Air Navigation Meeting, site un· determined, late 1952. 16. Plenipotentiary Conference of lTV, Administrative Telegraph, Telephone and Radio Conferences (ITU), Buenos Aires, 1952. 17. Fifth Inter-American Radio Conference, Montevideo, 1952. 18. Special meeting of ICAO, site undetermined, late 1952. 19. ICAO African-Indian Ocean Second Regional Air Navigation Meeting, site undetermined, early 1953. 20. Special meeting of lOAD, site undetermined, early 1953. 21. lOAD Fourth European Mediterranean Regional Air Navigation Meeting, site undetermined, late 1953. 22. ICAO Third Caribbean Regional Air NavigatJ.on Meeting, site unde termined, late 1953. 23. ICAQ Communications Division, Fifth Session, site undetermined, late 1953. 24. Two~pecialmeeting~of ICAO,~iteundetermined, late 1953. [ Page 174 in the original document is intentionally blank] APPENDIX 1. FIELD OFFICES 2. PUBLICATIONS 3. TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS 1. FIELD OFFICES The Commission maintains 65 field installations geographically dis tributed throughout the United States and its possessions. Sixty of these are engaged in engineering work, comprising 9 regional offices, 23 district offices, 6 suboffices, 3 ship offices, and 19 monitoring sta tions. There are also 4 Common Carrier Bureau field offices, and 1 Bureau of Law Field office. The complete list follows: FIELD ENGINEERING AND MONITORING DIVISION Regional offlcelf North Atlantic _ South AtJantic _ Gulf States _ South Pacific _ North Pacific _ Central States _ Great Lakes _ Hawaiiao _ Alaskan _ District Qtffce8 1 _ 2 _ 3 _ 4 _ 5 _ 6 _ 7 __ 8 __ 9 _ 10 _ Heallquarters 506 Federal Building, New York 14, N. Y. 411 Federal Annex, Atlanta 3, Georgia. 382 U. S. Appraisers Building, Houston 11, Tex. 323-A Customhouse, San Francisco 26, Cal. 801 Federal Office Building, Seattle 4, Wash. 876 U. S. Courthouse Building, Chicago 4, Ill. 1029 New Federal Building, Detroit 26, Mich. P, O. Box 1142, Lanikai, Oahu, T. H. 52 Post Office and Courthouse, Anchorage, Alaska. Address 1600 Customhouse, Boston 9, Mass. 748 Federal Building, New York 14, N. y, 1005 U. S. Customhouse, Philadelphia 6, Pa. 508 Old Town Bank Building, Baltimore 2, Md. 402 New Post Office Building, Norfolk 10, Va. (ship office) 106 Post Office Building, :Newport News, Va. 411 Federal Annex, Atlanta 3, Ga. (snboffice 214 Post Office Building, Savannah, Ga. 312 Federal Building, Miami 1, Fla. (suboffice) 409-410 Post Office Building, Tampa 2, Fla. 400 AUdubon Building, New Orleans 16, La. (suboffice) 324 Courthouse and Customhouse, Mobile 10, Ala. 324 U. S. Appraisers Building, Houston 11, Tex. (suboffice) 329 Post Office Building, Beaumont, Tex. (ship office) 406 Post Office Building, Galveston, Tex. 500 U. S. Terminal Annex Building, Dallas 2, Tex. 175 176 RE.PORT OF THE FElIlERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 11- 539 U. S. Post Office and Courthouse Building, Los Angeles 12, Calif. (suboffice) 230 U. S. CustoD;lhouse and Court house, San Diego 1, Calif. (ship office) 326 U. S. Post Office and Courthouse, San Pedro. Calif. 12 323-A Customhouse, San Francisco 26, Calif. 13 307 Fitzpatrick Building, Portland 5, Oreg. 14- 801 Federal Office Building, Seattle 4, Wash. 15 521 Customhouse, Denver 2, Colo. 16 208 Uptown Post Office and Federal Courts BUilding, St. Paul 2, Minn. 17 3200 Fidelity Building, Kansas City BE, Mo. 18________________ 246 U. S. Courthouse, Chicago 4, Ill. 19 1029 New Federal Building, Detroit 26, Mich. 20 328 Federal Building, Buffalo 3, N. Y. 21 609 Stangenwnld Building, HonolUlu!, T. H. 22 322-323 Federal Building, San Juan 13) P. R. 23 7-8 Shattuck Building, Juneau, Alaska (suboffice), 53 U. S. Post Office and Courthouse Building, Anchorage, Alaska. Primary mOMtorinq station8 Allegan, Mich. Grand Island, Nebr. Kingsville, Tex. Millis, Mass. Santa Ana, Calif. Laurel, Md. Livermore. Calif. Portland, Oreg. Powder Springs, Ga. Lanikai, Oahu, T. H. Anchorage, Alaska. Secondary monitoring stations Searsport, Maine North Scituate, R. I. Spokane, Wash. Twin Falls, Idaho Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Lexington, Ky. Muskogee, Okla. Bay St. Louis, Miss. COMMON C.ARRIl!:B BUREAU FIELD OFFICES Atlanta, Ga., 733 Burt Building. New York, N. Y., 624 Federal Office Building. St. LOUis, Mo., 334, 815 Olive Street. San Francisco, Calif., 555 Battery Street. BUREAU OF LAW FIELD OFFICE Los Angeles, Calif., 1031 South Broadwny. 2. PUBLICATIONS In general, the Federal Communications Commission's printed pub lications are sold by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C., and are not distributed by the Commission. Following is a list of such publications which are available from that source, at the prices noted, unless otherwise iudIcated: Title Price Communications Act of 1934, with amendments and index, revised to Sept. I, 1948 $0.20 Federal Communications Commission reports (bound volumes of decisions and orders exclusive of annual reports) : Volume 3. July 1936. to Feb. 1937 2.00 Volume 4. Mar. 1937. to Nov. 10.1937 1.00 Volume 5, Nov. 16, 1937, to June 30, 1938_________________________ 1.50 Volume 6, July I, 1938, to Feb. 28, 1939____________________________ 1.00 Volume 7, Mar. I, 1939, to Feb. 29, 1940____________________________ 1.50 Volume 8, Mar. I, 1940, to Aug. 1, 1941-_____________________________ 1.50 Volume 10, Apr. 1, 1943, to June 30, 1945__________________________ 2.00 Volume 11, July I, 1945. to June 30, 1947 3.75 Volume 12, July 1, 1947, to June 30, 1948__________________________ (') Annual reports of the Commission: First Annual Report-Fiscal year 1935____________________________ .15 Twelfth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1946__________________________ .20 Thirteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1947______________________ .25 li'ourteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1948______________________ .80 Fifteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1949________________________ .35 Sixteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1900________________________ (') Statistics of the Communications Industry: For the year 1939________________________________________________ .25 For the year 1940________________________________________________ .20 For the year 1942________________________________________________ .35 For the year 1943________________________________________________ .30 For the year 1944________________________________________________ .40 For the year 1945________________________________________________ .50 For the year 1946________________________________________________ .55 For the year 1947: Sections A and B____________________________________________ .75 Section B (broadcast only) .25 For the year 1948: Sections A and B____________________________________________ 1.00 Section B (broadcast only) .35 For the year 1949 : Sections A and B_____________________________________________ (') Section B (broadcast only) (') 1 In the process of printing-available at Government Printing Office at a later date. 177 178 REPORT OF THE FE>DERAL CDMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Title Report on Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licensees, 1946 _ An ABC of the FCC. 1949 _ The Safety and Special Radio Services-a Public Primer, 1950 _ Telephone and Telegraph-a Public Primer, 1949 _ An Economic Study of Standard Broadcasting, 1947 _ Study Guide and Reference Material for Commercial Radio Operator Examinations, revised to .July 1, 1948 _ Digest of Radio Regulations and Instructions for RestrictedRadiotele~ phone Operators _ Standards of Good EngineerIng Practice: Concerning Standard Broadcast Stations, revised to Oct. 30, 1947 _ Section 26, Sunrise and Sunset Table _ Concerning Fll Broadcast Stations, revised to Jan. 18, 1950 _ Concerning Television Broadcast Stations, Revised to Dec. 19, 1945__ Rules and Regulations: Part 0, Organization, Delegation of Authority, etc _ Part 1, Practice and Procedure, revised to Dec. 29, 1949 _ Part 2, Frequency Allocations and Radio Treaty Matters; Genera] Rules and Regulations, revised to Apr. 27, 1949 _ Part 3, Radio Broadcast Services, revised to Jan. 6, 1949 _ Part 4, Experimental and Auxiliary Broadcast Stations, effective Sept. 10. 1946 _ Part 5. :Experimental Radio Services. revised to Jan. 16. 1948 _ Part 6, Public Radiocommunication Services, revised to Apr. 27, 1949__ Part 7, Coastal and Marine Relay Services, revised to Sept. 30, 1945__ Part 8, Ship Service, revised to May 31, 1943 _ Part 9, Aeronautical Services, revised to JUly I, 1947 _ Part 10, Publlc Safety Radio Services, revised to Apr. 27, 1949 _ Part 11, Industrial Radio SerVices, revised to Apr. 27, 1949 _ Part 12, Amateur Radio Service, revised to Nov. 18, 1948 _ Part 13, Commercial Radio Operators, revised to Mar. 30, 1949 _ Part 14, Radio Stations in Alaska (other than Amateur and Broad- cast) revised to Apr. 2, 1942 _ Part 15, Restricted Radiation Devices (recodified July 21, 1948) _ Part 16, Land Transportation Radio Services, revised to Apr. 27,1949__ Part 18. Industrial, Scientific and Medical Service, revised to Jan. 25. 1950 _ Part 19, Citizens Radio Service, effective June I, 1949 _ Part 31, Uniform System of Accounts for Class A and Class B Tele- phone Companies, revised to May 12, 1948 _ Part 33, Uniform System of Accounts for Class C Telephone Com- panies, revised to May 12, 1948 _ . Part 34, Uniform System of Accounts for Radiotelegraph Carriers, revised to Oct. 14, 1949 _ Part 35, Uniform System of Accounts for Wire-telegraph and Ocean- cable Carriers, revised to Oct. 14, 1949 _ Part 41, Telegraph and Telephone Franks, revised to Dec. 4, 1947 _ Part 43, Reports of Communication Common Carriers and Their Affiliates, revised to JUly 21, 1948 _ Price $0.25 .05 .15 .10 .40 .25 .05 1.00 .10 .10 .15 (') .20 .20 .20 (') .10 .10 (') .15 .10 .10 .10 .15 .05 .05 (') .10 .05 .05 .35 .25 .20 .25 .05 .10 :I Obtainable temporarily from the Federal Communtcations Commission, Washington 25, D. C., without charge. !REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATLONS COMMISSIION 179 Title Price Part 45, Preservation of Records of Telephone Carriers, effective Oct. 1, 1950____________________________________________________ (') Part 46. Preservation of Records of Wire-telegraph, Ocean-cable and Radiotelegraph Carriers, effective Oct. I, 1950__________________ e> Part 51, Classification of Telephone Employees, effective July 25, 1944__ $0.05 Part 52, Classification of Wire-telegraph Employees, effective July 11, 1944_______________________________________________________ .05 Part 61, Tariffs, Rules Governing the Constuction, Filing and Posting of Schedules of Charges for Interstate and Foreign Communications Service, revised to Aug. 1, 1946__________________________________ .10 Part 62, Applications under sec. 212 of the Act to Hold Interlocking Directorates. revised to May 23, 1944____________________________ .05 Part 63, Extension of Lines and Discontinuance of Service by Car· riers, revised to Dec. 30, 1946___________________________________ (') Part 64, Miscellaneous Ruies Relating to Common Carriers, revised to July 16, 1948________________________________________________ .10 Purchasers of the Commission's Rules and Regulations are furnished a form by the Superintendent of Documents which. when filled out and forwarded to the Oommisslon, entitles the purchaser to receive any future amendments to the part or parts purchased until a complete revision thereof is reprinted. In the event any exception is made in this procedure, rule purchasers wlll be advised by letter where the amendments may be obtained. AU Standards of Good Engineer ing Practice and most of the rule parts are printed on 8 by lOlh-inch pages and punched to fit standard tbree--ring binders. The Commission is no longer able to supply lists of radio stations but, on request, will furnish a fact sheet about commercial sources of such lists, also one on commercial radio publications and services. it Obtainable temporarIly from the Federal Communications Commlflslon. Washington 25, D. C., without charge. 3. TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS International treaties, agreements, and arrangements relating to radio and telecommunications which were in force and to which the United States was a party as of March 31, 1950 are listed below. Un less otherwise iudicated, copies of these documents may be purchased from the Superintendeut of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. (TS relates to Treaty Series, EAS to Executive Agreement Series, and TIAS to Treaties and Other International Act Series.) Date Series Subject uno.~. _ 192.5___________ T8 724-A. _ 1928--29 • TS 767-A. _ 1929 .___ TS 77T-A. _ l02'L TS 910 _ 1930.•• TS 921~_ 1934___________ EAS 62.~__ 1034 EAS 66 _ 1934 EAS 72 _ 1937 EAS 109 _ 1931~._ TS 962 _ 1937__ ._•• _••_. TS 938 _ 100L_••...... TS ,.8.. . 1938 • EAS 142 _ 193~L,..~,-------_TS 949 _ 1938 EAS 136 _ 1939 EAS 143 _ 194(L EAS 231 __ •__ ._._. 1940__ . • EAS 196_. •• 194L EAS m _ 1944 ._. EAS 400 _ 1945. __ •• ._._. _ 194tL __ • TIAS 1553 _ 1946 • TIA81527 _ 1947 ._ TIA81726 ._._ 1947__ • TIAS 1670 _ 1947 • TIAS 190L _ 1947_ ••_._. TIAB 1652__ •__ • __ 1947•• TUB 1676 _ 1948 ••••__ TrAS 1802 _ 1949 •__ •._ ...._._•.__ ..__ ._.__ ]95(1._. __ .••• . __ .._.._..__ •• _ 1950_ •••_.•_.._ TIAS 2052 __ ._. _ 180 Ship Act of 1910 as amended in 1912. (RadioeommunJcation on the Great Lakes.) Arrangement with Great Britain, Canada,· and Newfoundland to prevent broadcast interference by ships. Arran~ementwith Canada concerning private experimental radio communication. Arranfrement with Canada. Cuba, and Newfoundland relating to hii:h·frequency assilrnments. Safety of Life at Sea Convention (London). Amendment to Regnlation XIX of Annex I of Safety of Lile at Sea Convention. Arranl!:cment with Canada concerning amateur and private experi· mental communication. Arrangement with Peru concerning amateur communication. Same, with Chile. Agreement with Canada concerning issuance of radio licenses Oargely su.~pendedby TS 771-A. TS 962. EAS 227 and TrAS 1553). North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (Havana).(Sup~ plemented hy EAS 227 and TIAS 1553). Inter·American Radio Communications Convention (First Inter American Conference, Havana). (Amended by TrAS 1802.) General Radio Regulations (Cairo Revision 11138); anneXed to Tele· communications Convention (Madrid, 1932). (See TIAS 1901.) Agreement· with Canada concerning radio comtnunicstions between Alaska and British Columbia. Regional Radio Convention (Guatemala-in behaU of the Canal Zone). Arrangement with Canada concerning broadcasting. Arrangement with Canada concerning civil aeronautical services. Inter·American Radio Communications Agreement (Second Inter- American Conference, Santiago. Chile). Agreement with Mexico concemihg broadcasting. SU'p~lementaryNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (Washington). (See TS 962 and TUS 1553.) Wartime aneement with Canada re broadcasting stations in North western Canada. Inter-American Telecommunications Convention (Third Inter· Amerlcan Conference, Rio de Janeiro). (Not yet mUffed by United States.) (Not available from Government Printing Office.) North American Regional Broadcasting Interim Agreement (Modus Vivendi), Washington. (Amended by TIAS 1802.) Agreement with U. S. S. R. concerning commercial radio teletype communication channels. Agreement with Canada concerning FM broadcasting in 88--108 Mc. Interim armngement with Canada concerning mobile transmitters. Telecommunication Convention Final Protocol, and Radio Regu· lations, Atlantic City. 1947. (Since the United States Is not a party to the Additional Radio Regulations, they are not included in TIAS 1901 and are available only through the International Tele communication Union, Geneva, Switzerland.) Agreement with Great Britain concerrung standardization of distance measuring equipment. Agreement with the United Nations concerning its headquarters' Ufle of radio. . AITllIlgement with Canada on engineering standards applicable to allocation of standard broadcast stations. Agreement between United States and certain British Common· wealth governments (London). (To be published by Government Printing Office.) ArraIlJ!:ement with Ecuador concerning third·party amateur commu· nlcatlon. (To be published by Government Printing Office.) Convention of World Meteorological Organization (Washington. 1947); effective Mar. 23, 1950. REPORT OF THE FE,DERAL COMMUNICATIONS CIOMMIssrrON 181 In addition, the United States is bound by certain other treaties and agreements which are generally considered as superseded because certain of the contracting countries other than the United States did not become a party to subsequent treaties and agreements. The United States is, in such instances, bound to the original document with respect to its relations with those particular countries. These include the following: Date H1l2. _. _ 1927 ._ 1932••• _ 1937__ • • _ Series TS 58L ._ TS 767-- _ TS 8&7 _ EAS 200 . Subject International Radiotelegraph Convention (London). International Radiotelegraph Convention and General Regulations (Washington). International 'l'eJecommllJ)icatioos Convention; Genexal Radio Regulations (Madrid). Inter-American Arrangement concerning Radio Communications and Annex (Havana, 1937), was replaced by Inter-American Agree ment ooucerning Radio Communications (Santiago, 1940, EAS 231), The following treaties, agreements, and arrangements have been signed by the United States and are included for informational pur poses because of their importance or the imminence of their effective dates: Date 1948•••• • _ 1949•• ••__ 194\L _ Sub1ect International Convention on Safety oC Life at Sea (London), effective Jan. 1, 19S1. Inter-American Radio Agreement between the United States,Canada and other Amer ican republics-. J (Fourtb Inter-American Conference), (Washington),etfectlve Apr. I, 1950. (Not yet available from Government Printing Office; available through ITU, Geneva.) Telegraph Regulations (Paris Revision, 1949) annexed to International TelecommUlli cation Convention (Atlantic City, 1947) and Final Protocol to the Telegraph Regula tions (Paris), effective July h 1950. Subject to Unikd States ratification. (Not Yet available from Government .t"rinting Office; available through lTU, Geneva). I In addition, certa.in resolutions and recommendations were adopted by a number of member countrle of the ITU inregion 2 at Washington, JulY9, 1949. (Not yetavaUable (rom Government Printing Office but available through ITU, Geneva.) There are, in addition to the foregoing, certain treaties, agreements, or arrangements primarily concerned with matters other than the use of radio but ,which affect the work of the Federal Communications Commission insofar as they involve communications. Among the most important of these are the following: Date Series Subject 1944 • TIAS 159L • :::L:::::::: }- ---.-...-.- ." ....- illi;;~:~:~~~~;;;;.--- --- ---"-------- 1946 '- _ 194iL _ International Civil Aviation Convention (Chicago). Special Radio Technical Meeting (COT), Montreat.' lCAO Regional Air Navigation Meetings, Communications Com mittee, Final Reports. t lCAO Communication Division, Second Session, Montreal.! ICAO Communication Division, Third Session, Montreal. t 1 Not available from Government Printing Office; available from Secretary General of rCAO, Dominion Square Bldg., Montreal, Canada. o