v 19th annual report Fiscal year ended June 3D, 1953 wnh Introductory summary and notatl.n.' subsequent Impollant d...lopmonts UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE· WASHINGTON ·1954 F.r sal. by the Superintendent ., D.cuments, U. S. G....nm'"t Printing om", Washlngt.n 25, D. C. Price 50 cents. COMMISSIONERS Members of the Fe' COMMISSION Of1We of Reports and Information, which is the central source of public releases and information; Oommon Oarrier Bureoo, which supervises telephone and telegraph matters; Safety and Speoial Radio Se'l'Viees Bureau, which supervises non broadcast and non-common carrier radio services [except for common carrier aspects of marine services]. Broadcast Bwreau, which supervises the broadcast services; Field Enllineerinll and Monitorinll Bureau, which is responsible for field engineering, including radio station inspections, monitoring, operator examinations, technical studies, and certain enforcement activities. An organization chart of the Commission appears as a separate page of this chapter. PERSONNEL As of June, 1953 the Commission employed 1,070 persons. This is 68 fewer than the previous year and the lowest number since 1940. About one-third of all Commission employees are in the field-mostly engaged in engineering work. Personnel was distributed as follows: Office or Bureau Commissioners. __ _ .c + _ Office of Opinions and Review _ Oftlce o!Hearing Examiners. . _ Office of Reports and InformatioD . _ Office of Administration. • . _ Office of Secretary_.~____ __ __ _ _ _ _ Office of General OounseL ,~~_._ Omce of Chief Accountant. _ g~~m~fnC2!~~~i~~~i~::u-_·~~:~:~::::~~::::::::~::~::::::~:~:::::::::::~::: Safety and Special ServiceS Bureau . ._ Broadcast Bureau_. . _ Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau . _ TotaL~•~_ Wasb~ Field Total lngton 33 0 33 13 0 13 24 0 24 , 0 , 83 0 83 " 0 67 14 0 14 18 0 18 85 22 107 70 30 100 101 0 101 144 0 144 56 316 372 -~- ------ 702 3tI8 I,070 Biographical information with respect to Commission personnel, required to be submitted to Congress by Section 4 (k) (3) of the Communications Act amendments of 1952, is being submitted to Con gress as a mimeographed supplement to this printed report. APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES For the fiscal year 1953, the Commission received an appropriation of $6,408,460, which was less than that for anyone of the four preceding years. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 15 A breakdown of its income and expenditures for fiscal 1953 is shown below: TotalobligatioDS _ Savings, unobligated bal 4 ance _ Total _ $5,872,993 54,764 20,744 151,760 50,523 18,293 59,494 105, 655 66,979 2,550 6,403,755 4,705 6,408.460 The source of these funds and the authority for expenditures there under was Public Law 455, 82d Congress. PARING PROCI:DURI: AND PAPI:R A major activity of the Commission during the year was initiating ways of streamlining administrative procedure and reducing paper work to simplify and speed the administrative process for the benefit of both the Commission and the services which it regulates. These efforts range from legislation proposed by the Commission to modify detailed procedural requirements of the Communications Act to amending its own rules to curtail paperwork wherever possible. The latter includes simplification of the authorization process from the viewpoint of the applicant as well as the COIninission, elimination of reports and form data no longer necessary from permittees and licensees, reduction in the volume of filings with and formal issue of the Commission, and means of speeding up the hearing procedure to facilitate the extension of communication services. While some of these steps were prompted by the broadcast back log-that of competitive television applications in particular-the net result affects regulation by the Commission as a whole. Specific illus trations are given in sections of this report dealing with individual services, hearings, and legislation. HI:AIlINGS The time consumed, the expense involved, and the size of the written record compiled in the hearing procedure has been a major concern to 16 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION the Commission. It reached such proportions in early competitive hearings following the lifting of the television freeze that, with the cooperation of the Federal Communications Bar Association, steps were taken to remedy the situation. The Commission has long provided for pre-hearing conferences in which attorneys for rival applicants could get together and work out stipulations to reduce the subsequent formal hearing to bare essen tials. On February 6, 1953, this pre-hearing conference was made a part of the actual hearing. In other words, since that date all hear ings have started off with an initial conference. This has worked to the advantage of the applicants as well as the Commission. For example, the first such TV hearing consumed only 4 days as com pared with from 40 to 60 days for previous post-freeze cases. Other Government agencies as well as lawyers practicing before them have evinced particular interest in the pre-hearing idea. In con sequence, the Commission and its Bar Association demonstrated a mock pre-hearing conference before a large group on June 29, 1953. It was scheduled to be repeated for the benefit of the American Bar Association at the latter's convention in Boston in August. The Commission and bar are likewise st;"dying supplemental means of shortening hearings by reducing both the written and oral record. Of course, any such streamlining will have to be consistent with the requirements of law, and its successful operation will depend largely upon tbe cooperation of lawyers practicing before the Commission. General Government interest in simplifying Federal hearings is reflected in the President's Conference on Pre-Hearing Procedure. FCC Commissioner John C. Doerfer, who is a delegate to that con ference, is Chairman of its Pre-Trial Committee which is interested in adapting to other Government agencies the pre-trial conference idea. The major portion of the Commission's hearing calendar continued to be occupied by broadcast matters, with AM cases predominating. Docket statistics for the year were: Broadcast: AM_~•~~~• _ FM_.~~.< _ TV •~•• Other. _" •~••_. _ Safety amI speciaL •• _ Common carrier _ Joint Qnd generaL. •• • • _ TotaL.~•• •••~._. _ Pel1ding Deslgnsted Disposed of Disposed of Pendin.g lWlo 30, without folloWing Juno 30, 1952 for hearing bearing hearing 1953 210 54 " " 153 7 5 9 0 3 • '88 "' 2> n. 2 3 1 0 4 25 17 20 3 19 " " 29 42 40 ,. 51 42 2 30 320 373 212 123 367 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 17 TAX CERTIFICATES During the past year the Commission has been calleq,upon to consider a number of requests for tax certificates pursuant to the provisions of section 112 (m) of the Internal Revenue Code which provides that sale or exchange of property, including corporate stock, may be treated as an involuutary conversion of such property if it is certified by the Federal Communications Commission "to be necessary or appropriate to effectuate the policies of the Commission with re spect to the ownership and control of radio broadcasting stations". These requests have, in recent years, usually related to situations iJ;l which a licensee who held the maximum number of station interests permitted by the Commission's multiple ownership rules wished to acquire a new station and was required, in order to do so, to dispose of one of its existing stations. The Commission has given careful consideration to the requests for tax certificates in these cases. For the legislative history of section 112 (m) of the Internal Revenue Code appears to show that the prob lem with which Congress was primarily concerned at the time it adopted section 112 (m) was that relating to the involuntary sale or exchange of property by broadcast licensees resulting from the adoption in 1943 of Commission rules requiring certain licensees to dispose of existing facilities. And it is not clear that Congress, in adopting the section, contemplated that sales or exchanges made as part of a voluntary transaction initiated by the licensee itself and rendered necessary as a result of the voluntary transaction in order to keep licensees within the Commission's multiple ownership rules were to be comprehended within the provisions of the section. After careful study of the matter, however, the Commission has determined that the language of section 112 (m) is sufficiently broad to include this later category of caSes and the Commission has, ac cordingly, issued certificates in appropriate cases coming within this category. The entire problem of whether further clarification of congressional interest in this matter should be sought is, however, be ing presented to the Congress in connection with its present overall study of the Internal Revenue Code. LEGISLATION Public Law 554, 82d Congress, known as the Communications Act Amendments, 1952, was approved July 16, 1952. These amendments, introduced in Congress by Senator McFarland as S. 658, constituted the most extensive and significant l'&visioo of the Communications Act since its original enactment in 1934.~Important changes in the organi- 18 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION zational structure of the Commission, in licensing procedures and in the provision for court review of Commission decisious and orders were effected. The new law also added a new section to the United States Criminal Code (18 U. S. C. sec. 1343) making fraud by wire, radio or televi sion a criminal offense. The enactment of the new fraud section was originally recommended to Congress as part of the Commission's legis lative program. Also included in the Communications Act Amendments was a pro vision, previously recommended by the Commission, amending section 4 (g) to authorize the Commission to construct certain structures relatiug to its monitoring aud research activities. The Commission submitted to Congress, with the approval of the Bureau of the Budget, several important proposals to amend the Communications Act. All were introduced in the 83d Congress and they included: An amendment to section 319, which would simplify the procedure for obtaining licenses for certaiu types of radio stations by eliminai ing the existing requirement of first securing a construction permit from the Commission (H. R. 4557) ; An amendment to section 309 (c), to extend the time within which the Commission is required to act on "protests" filed against the grant without hearing of construction permits for radio stations, from 15 days to 30 days (H. R. 4558) ; An amendment to section 501, to change the criminal sanction con tained in that section so that initial violations of the act shall con stitute a misdemeanor rather than a felony (H. R. 4559) ; An amendment to provide for monetary forfeitures in the case of violations of the Commission's rules and regulations relating to radio stations other than broadcast stations (S. 1979 and H. R. 5673) ; Amendments to Title III, Part II, dealing with radio equipment and radio operator requirements on board certain ships, to bring those provisions more closely in line with the new Safety of Life at Sea Convention (London, 1948) which was ratified by the Senate on April 30, 1949, and which came into force on November 19, 1952 (S. 2543) ; and Legislation to repeal certain provisions of the Ship Act of 1910 which remain in effect but which are no longer necessary (S. 1947). H. R. 4557, H. R. 4558 and H. R. 4559, which respectively included the Commission's proposals to amend sections 319, 309 (c) and 501 of the Communications Act, were passed by the House of Repre sentatives on May 19,1953. Various other important legislative proposals were considered by Congress which directly or indirfctly affected the Commission. The REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 19 House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce held hearings on H. R. 3189 and H. R. 3311, which would amend aections 2 and 221 of the Communications Act concerning the respective jurisdiction of the Commission and the various State and local regnlatory bodies over communications common carriers. The Commission presented testimony with respect to four bills (H. R. 408, H. R. 477, H. R. 3522 and H. R. 5149) which propose to permit specified agents of the Fed eral Government to intercept communications in connection with cer tain cases affecting the national defense. During the fiscal year the Commission submitted comments to Con gress and the Bureau of the Budget concerning more than 35 legis lative proposals which had been referred to the Commission for comment. The Commission also participated in several hearings before con gressional committees in addition to those specifically referred to above. LITIGATION Section 401 of the Communications Act confers upon the district courts of the United States jurisdiction to enforce the Communica tions Act and the orders of the Commission. Judicial review of Com mission actions is provided for in section 402 of the act. Section 402 (a) gives jurisdiction to the courts of appeal (under Public Law 901, 81st Cong., effective Jan. 28, 1951) over suits to enforce, enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend any order of the Commission with the exception of orders granting or refusing applications for licenses. Section 402 (b) provides for direct appeal from such other orders cf the Commission to the United States Court of Appeals for the Dis trict of Columbia Circuit. The great majority of cases involving re view of Commission action is instituted in the latter court. During the fiscal year, there were 36 cases in which the Commission was a party in the Federal courts. Twenty-four of these were insti tuted during that period-4 in the Supreme Court, 15 in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 2 in the Court of Ap peals for the Ninth Circuit, and 3 in the District Court for the District of Columbia. The other 12 cases were pending at the beginning of the year. In addition to cases in which the Commission was a party there were eight cases pending in the Federal courts which involved criminal violations of the Communications Act which were instituted at the request of the Commission. Of these cases, 3 resulted in the convic tion and sentencing of the defendant a.nd 1 resulted in acquittal. The rest were pending at the close of the year. 20 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION The Supreme Court in one case reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which had set aside a Commission order, and remanded the case to the Commission for further consideration, and in another case denied certiorlm'i on petition for review of a decision of the same court of appeals which had af firmed a Commission decision. In the courts of appeals, the Commission was reversed in 1 case, 2 eases were remanded to the Commission on the Commission's motion, 1 case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, and 7 cases were dis missed by agreement of the parties. In the District Court for the District{)f Columbia, 1 injunction was issued to enforce an order of the Commission and 3 cases were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. In the District Court for the Southern District of New York an order of the Commission was sustained in part and reversed in part in 3 companion cases. As of June 30, 1953, 3 cases were pending in the Supreme Court, 9 cases in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and 2 cases in the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. (After the close of the fiscal year but prior to the completion of this report the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the order of the Commission in 1 case, dismissed 1 on jurisdictional grounds, and 1 because it had become moot, and 2 cases were dismissed hy agreement of the parties. During the same period 5 new cases were filed in that court, and 1 in the District Court for the Northern Dis trict of Illinois.) A tabulation of the status of litigation for the fiscal year follows: Court Court of AP.lcourts of Ap· peals for the peal.. Includ- Supreme Distrtct of ing District District Court Columbia of Columbia courts Circuit, under C1rcuit,under sec. 402 (b) sec. 402 (a) Total 2 , • • 15 1 , 3 3 6 * _ 8 3 • TOtAl-----------------··------·----------1 '-I- '...:'+ '_1_'_1__---"+__36 Dl'cislons affirming Commission or refusing review of favorablo decisJon .__ 1 • _ • _ Declslonsrevorslngcase_______________________ 21 ------- - - 1 Dismissed on Jurisdictional grounds. __ ••__ . __ . •• ••_ ----------- -r DiRmlssed or remanded by agreement of port1es ._.". . _ Cases pending June 30, 1953. _ 3 I Includes 1 case on appeal from a judgment of the District Court for the DistrIct of Columbia. I Reverses Court of Appeals declsion adverse to Commission and remands to CommissIon for further action. SCompanion cases,slL~talnedin part, reversed In part. The following cases decided during the fiscal year were of particular interest: In Federal 001nmm,icatio'IUI Oorwmiasion v. ROA Oomwunicatw'IUI, Inc., (346 U. S. 86) the Supreme Court considered an order of the REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 21 Commission authorizing Mackay Radio and Telegraph Co., to render direct radiotelegraph service between the United States and Portugal and the United States and The Netherlands.. Direct radiotelegraph service between these points was already being rendered by RCA Communications, Inc., and cable service by Western Union and Com. mercial Cable Co., an affiliate of Mackay. The Commission found that the addition of a competitive radio circuit to each of these points would not result in any detriment to the public, but also that no specific ascertainable benefits, such as lower rates or more efficient service, would flow from the grant of Mackay's applications. It decided as a matter of policy, relying primarily on the national policy in favor of competition manifested in the antitrust laws, that in situations such as these where competition is reasonably feasible, duplicate radio circuits should be autthorized. In addition, it deter mined that the grants to Mackay would not result in violation of Section 314 of the Communications Act, which prohibits common ownership, control or operation of radio and cable facilities in inter national communication where its purpose or etrect may be substanti ally to lessen competition, restrain commerce or uulawfully to creats monopoly. The Court of Appeals reversed the Commission's decision. On certi01'ccn, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals. It affirmed the decision of the Commission insofar as it concerned the meaning and application of Section 314. It held that the absence of competition between Mackay and Commercial did not in itself con stitute a substantial lessening of competition between cable and radio, but rather that the Commission was entitled to consider the entire competitive scene. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the Commission because of the failure of the Commission to make a determination on the basis of its own expertise regarding the desirabil ity of competition between radiotelegraph carriers, and its reliance instead upon the national policy in favor of competition. In American Broadcasting Oompany, Inc. v. Federal OOmJTTIJUnica;. tions Oommission, National Broadcasting Oompany, Ina. v. Federal Oommunications Oommission and Oolumbia Broadcasting System, Ina. v. Federal Oommunications Oommission (110 F. Supp. 374), a three-judge district court ruled upon the validity of the Commission's rules pertaining to the broadcast of lottery information. These rules are interpretative of Title 18 U. S. Code, section 1304, which prohibits the broadcast oflotteries. The rules provide, in general, that a license will not be issued to a broadcast station which makes a practice of broadcasting lotteries, and they furili.,r l1elineate the element of con sideration in a lottery. In thelte.’r'lll'IPmpanion actions brought to enjoin the enforcement of the J'llles,'~i~urtheld that the adoption of the rules was within the~Fimit:m'.statutoryauthority. It 275623-53-3 22 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION further held that the Commission had properly interpreted 18 U. S. C. 1304 in finding it applicable to schemes in which a prize is awarded to a person whosesel~tionis dependent in whole or in part npon chance and where consideration exists in that such winner is required to furnish something of value Or to have in his possession a product sold ormade by the sponsor. Bya divided vote the court ruled invalid that portion of the rules which defines lottery consideration in terms of a requirement that the radio audience listen to a program as a con dition of winning a prize or where such listening constitutes a sub stantial aid to wining a prize. These cases have been appealed by the Commission to the Supreme Court of the United States. LICENSES AND OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS At the close of the fiscal year the nnmber of active authorizations on the books of the Commission totaled nearly 1,100,000. As of June 30,1953, there were nearly 235,000 nonbroadcast author izations, representing the use of about 600,000 transmitters, of which number more than 430,000 are mobile. Broadcast authorizations totaled nearly 5,500, including more than 1,600 auxiliary transmitters. Various classes of radio operator authorizations approached 840,000, including 730,100 commercial and 109,000 amateur operator licenses and permits. APPLICATIONS AND OTHER FILINGS The Commission received some 352,000 applications of all kinds during the year. Of this total, more than 193,000 concerned cOIllffier cial radio operators, nearly 146,000 involved the nonbroadcast servihes, nearly 7,000 had to do with broadcast, more than 900 were experi mental or miscellaneous, and about 4,800 were common carrier. These figures do not include legal filings, periodic reports, and tarill schedules. In the fiscal period common carriers and holding com panies filed 17,500 tariffs and 1,900 annual and monthly reports. CORRESPONDENCE, RELEASES, AND PUBLICATIONS Approximately 1,125,000 pieces of correspondence in the form of letters, telegrams, etc., were received or dispatched throu'gh the Com mission's Mail and Files Division during the year. Of this number, some 750,000 were incoming and 3'Rl;OOO were outgoing. Regulatory and adminisMti'veprilcedure required the issuance, during the same period, ofl!lHIil!I>g~edpublic notices, orders, deci- REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 23 sions, opinions and rule-making which necessitated more than 45,700 stencils, 8,560,000 sheets of paper and about 12,865,000 impressions. The Commission does not issue any press releases, maintains no public mailing lists, and makes no distribution of its printed publica tions. The latter are processed by the Government Printing Office and are sold by the Superintendent of Documents. A list appears in the appendix. POINT 4 PROGRAM ASSISTANCE Under the Government's point 4 program for foreign economic as sistance, 13 representatives of foreign nations completed programs of study in the field of telecommunication with the Commission. Six of these officials were from India, 6 from Pakistan, and 1 from Honduras. [ Page 24 in the original document is intentionally blank 1 National Defense GENERAL The importance of communication by wire and radio in time of national emergency is emphasized in the Communications Act. Among the stated purposes of that statute is centralized regulation by the Federal Communications Commission in the interests of the national defense as well as to promote safety of life and property in general. The act also gives the President special emergency powers over electrical communication and radiation to further safeguard the Nation's defense and security during war or threat of war. "CONELRAO" PROGRAM Electronic developments since World War II have made it neces sary to prepare for the control of radiating devices in addition to regular communication facilities in any emergency. This is necessary because certain equipment, though not used for communication pur poses, can send out emissions which could be used as a "beam" to guide hostile aircraft, submarines, and radio-controlled missiles. It was at the request of the Department of Defense that the Com mission several years ago initiated a program for regulating electro magnetic radiation in the defense effort. In 1951 Congress gave the President additional emergency authority to deal with these radiations as a defense measure. The Chief Executive subsequently empowered the Federal Communications Commission to draft and enforce regu lations in that connection. The text of this legislation and the related Executive Order were published in the Commission's previous annual report. These additional delegated powers are being used by the Commis. sion to carry out the so-called CONELRAD project for emergency and temporary control. The first step was effecting a plan of procedure to be followed by broadcast stations. during armed attack. This was announ<:ed by the White House on December 2, 1952, in 'the following statement: The White House today announced a phlD Whereby standal.'d radto broadcast stations may remain on the air immediately before and during.air attack, while simultaneously inlninHzing the use of radio as a navigational aid to hostlle aircraft. 25 26 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Noenltineerin~method has yet been found to enable FM and TV stations to remain on the air. 'Ihe plan, called CONELRAD (Plan for the CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation), is expected to be placed in operation in three months. Under present temporary arrangements, a detected air attack would have the immediate effect of silencing all broadcasting and telecasting until the attack or tbreat is ended. This special system of emergency broadcasting, to be administered by the Federal Communications Commission, represents many months of close coopera tion by the broadcasting industry with the Government. Although no station is required to remain on the air in this plan, to date more than 1,000 privately owned standard broadcast stations have volunteered to participate in CONELRAD and have spent approximately $1,500.000 of their own funds to make equipment changes necessary to operate in this new system. The plan was developed on the basis of Executive Order No. 10312 (December 10. 1951) whereby the President authorized the Federal Communications Com mission either to silence radio stations or to control their operations so that electromagnetic radiations may not aid the navigation of hostile aircraft, guided missiles and other devices of similar purpo&e. CONELRAD will be invoked upon announcement of an air raid alert by the Air Defense Command, USAF. All standard broadcast stations In the CONELRAD system will switch to one of two pre·designated frequencies (640 kc. or 1240 kc.) and brondcast to the public a continuous flow of accurate, official information, news and civil defense instructions. On April 10, 1953, the Commission released the proposed CONELRAD rules and covering manual for broadcast station opera tion in an emergency. The rules became effective May 15 thereafter. More than 1,500 individual broadcast stations are now participating. CONELRAD plans for other radio services are being evolved and will be announced as quickly as each one is completed. The next such plan will be for the Amateur Radio Service. OTHER DEFENSE ACTIVITIES The impact of national defense is felt in all fields of electrical com munication. Military, civilian defense and defense industry require and use wire and radio communication to an abnonnal degree. The Commission's role, in general, is to help common carrier and other communication services cope with present and potential emergencies, to see that wire and l"adio facilities are linked to the defense effort, and that communication facilities arc safeguarded. In the matter of telephone, telegraph and cable, the Commission is hard pressed to see that additional service is provided ior domestic government business and industrial use. The safety and special radio services come into the defense.picture because of the impmtance of marine, ael"oDautical, police, fire, land transportation and industl"ial communication, and the establishment of various special services to deal with present or future emergencies. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 27 Among the special services is the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (called RACES for short), which is for civil defense pur poses exclusively. It was established on August 15, 1952, and the first authorization-to the District of Columbia-was issued on March 6, 1953. This service enlists the radio amateur, his equipment and some of his frequencies for expediting civilian defense communica tion in such matters as first aid, radiological survey, etc., should the need arise. Another is the Disaster Communications Service, which has been authorized since 1951. It is to enable Government and non-Govern ment stations to join in essential communication when armed attack, disaster or other cause disrupts normal communication facilities. The Special Emergency Radio Service provides radio communcation for temporary operations by relief organizations, doctors in rural areas, ambulances, etc. The State Guard Radio Service covers use of radio facilities by state guards in states where the National Guard has been called into Federal service. The Civil Air Patrol also has its own radio service. Then there are long-established regular radio services used by police, fire, forestry conservation, highway maintenance, and auto mobile emergency authorities. All these services are more fully described elsewhere in this report. Meanwhile, in policing the spectrum with the Government's only monitoring network, the Commission is called upon to furnish bear ings to lost aircraft, trace calls of ships in distress, and be on constant watch to detect, locate and close illegal radio transmission and trace interference to authorized radio services. In addition, the Commission is working on particular defense proj. ects for other Government agencies. These activities cannot be men tioned other than to say that they concern experimental and other authorizations in connection with national defense developments, pro tection of communication facilities, and arrangements to make cir cuits available under any contingency. Because of the scarcity of radio operators for ships and certain land stations, the operator rules have been liberalized in some instances. At the same time, the Commission has made it easier for operators serving in the Armed Forces to maintain their licenses. An Executive Order of June 17, 1953 abolished the office of Tele communications Adviser to the President, which had been in opera tion since October 9,1951, and transferred its functions to the Director of Defense Mobilization. [ Page 28 in the original document is intentionally blank ) Common Carrier Services DOMESTIC TELEPHONE General Domestic telephone service continn9d in heavy demand, and the telephone industry maintained an accelerated construction program to supply additional services for millions of new customers. During calendar year 1952 the Bell System expended $1,261 million for new plant facilities, which brought its total plant book cost to approxi mately $12 billion. Although no precise figures are available, the independent telephone companies also made substantial plant addi tions which, if added to the Bell System totals, would bring thet~tal telephone plant gross book costs in the nation to about $13.3 billion. The extent of the telephone plantexpansion is illustrated by the fact that Bell System construction expenditures during calendar year 1952 amounted to more than one-fourth of the total amount of its gross plant book cost at the end of 1940. Highlights of developments dur ing fiscal 1953 included completion of new radio relay "backbone" routes between Kansas City, Dallas and San Antonio, between Pitts burgh and St. Lonis, between Washington and Atlanta, between Port. land and Seattle, and a section to provide a new through system be tween Albany and Buffalo. New coaxial cable systems were com pleted between Oklahoma City and Amarillo, between Chattanooga. and Knoxville, between Orlando and Tampa, and between Memphis and Little Rock. New techniques were applied to a coaxial system between New York and Philadelphia to triple its capacity, and similar changes were in progress to extend this system to Chicago. Construc tion waS started on 8 additional microwave radio systems which would provide major transmission paths totaling about 16,000 broad band radio channel miles. Microwave transmission' paths already in service were providing more than 2 million long distance telephone circuit miles at the end of calendar 1952. Telephone companies also made considerable prog ress in establishing alternate routes and dispersing circuit concentra. tions to insure continuity of service in the event of emergency. There were more than 48 million telephones in service throughout the nation at the end of calendar 1952, of which 39.4 million were operated by the Bell System and over 8.5 million by independent tele 29 30 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION phone companies. The Bell System added more than 2 million tele phones during 1952 and reported 605,000 held orders for main service and 1.3 million requests for regrades in existing service as of June 30, 1953. There were about 175 million-143 million in the Bell System average daily local telephone conversations during calendar 1952 while daily long-distance calls exceeded 6 million. Many calls were reclassified from "toll" to "local" during this period as a result of the expansion of local exchange areas. After adjusting for these re classifications, the local and toll calls increased 2.8 and 5.2 percent, respectively, over 1951. Teletypewriter exchange service (TWX) calls increased about 12 percent during the same period to reach a total of over 18 million. Telephone calls to and from foreign coun tries and ships at sea continued to increase, the Bell System reporting a total of 940 thousand calls during calendar 1952, including about 23 thousand to and from ships at sea. Telephone companies continued to expand the use of dial equipment, both for local and long-distance calls. Seventy-nine percent of 'all Bell telephones and 57 percent of all independent company telephones are now dial operated. Bell operators were dialing about 40 percent of all toll calls directly through to destination by the end of 1952, and 1,700 cities and towns were connected to the toll dialing network, a gain of about 325 during the year. The number of large traffic cen ters equipped for operator toll dialing rose to 18 by the end of 1952, and construction was under way to provide like facilities at a num ber of other cities. Customer toll dialing in the Englewood, New Jer sey, area permitted 10,000 subscribers to dial about 96 percent (all station-to-station calls) of toll calls from that area to such cities as Boston, Providence, New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chi cago, Milwaukee, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Oakland. These calls are automatically timed and billed. Bell System operating revenues reached a new high of $4,039,664,218 in 1952, an increase of about 11 percent over the previous year. Bell consolidated net income applicable to American Telephone & Tele graph Co. capital stock amounted to $406,661,306, an increase of 11.4 percent over 1951. However, earnings per share declined from $11.76 in 1951 to $11.45 in 1952 due to increase in number of shares outstanding. The expansion of the Bell System is illustrated by the following table of selected data: Year 1940 _ 1945~__ • • • _ 1950 • __ •••._~._._ 1952__ +.~~••• _ Number of Plant book Revenues Employees telephones cost 17,483,981 $4,701,177,364 $1,114,322, 517 275,317 22, 445,519 5,702, 056, 557 1, D30.889, 452 387,300 36,343,440 10, 101,621,562 3,261,528, 032 1123,251 39,413,889 n, 971, 435, 727 4,039,664,218 579,500 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 31 Domestic Telephone Services Oonst'l'U(}tion of facilitie8.-As indicated previously, the Bell Sys tem spent about $1,261 million in the expansion and improvement of existing facilities during calendar year 1952. Of this amount, the largest portion went for additions to exchange plant, such as central office buildings, exchange switching equipment, exchange distribution plant, and subscriber station equipment. However, the A. T. & T. Long Lines Department, which provides the bulk of the interstate long distance telephone circuits throughout the nation, spent a record $107 million for new plant construction during that period. During fiscal 1953, the Commission granted 358 applications involv ing estimated expenditures of $89,228,416 to the industry for authority to construct, lease, acquire or operate wire and cable facilities in con nection with interstate and foreign telephone services. The following table shows the estimated costs and amounts of wire and cable construction authorized by the Commission since 1943. Fiscal year Number of projects Cost Sheath miles of cable Tube miles Conductor or coaxlal miles or units open wire 1944 _ 1945 • __ 1946 _ 1947~~_ 1948 _ 1949_~_ 1950 •~_ 195L~• _ 1962 , _ 1963. _ 121 210 23' 289 348 313 l4l 218 323 368 $9,582,239 70,OIn,14O 78, 896, 450 126,325,771 127,162,499 38,638,919 13, 230, 678 45,795,686 107,533,688 89,228,416 574.8 2,378.3 3,193.8 6,587.7 2,637.5 1,370.5 399.3 957.1 1,388.7 1,494.0 -----TOO2- 16,580 23,490 46,080 1,323 2,704 2,972 5,678 7,968 2,963 12,261 15,976 16,373 7,:l78 3,491 6,461 5,008 2,006 This tabulation includes 14 authorizations issued by the Commission during fiscal 1953 for the acquisition or lease by telephone companies of the facilities owned by other companies. In one of the largest transactions in this category, Bell companies acquired the private landline communication facilities of the Phillips Petroleum Co. at a cost approximating $1.2 million. In addition to the cable and wire construction, the Commission re ceived applications from Bell companies during fiscal 1953 for au thority to construct 9 new major and 3 new minor microwave radio relay systems. All were approved by the close of the year except for two major microwave systems. The authorized radio construc tion, when completed, will provide an additional 16,520 channel miles of broad band channels, and will cost an estimated $29.5 million. These additional microwave systems will bring the Bell System ex penditures for such radio facilities to more than $120 million, all of which have been constructed since World War II. At the end of oalendar year 1952, the Bell System operated over 2 million telephone circuit miles over microwave radio, an increase of 32 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 'COMMISSION more than 1.5 million miles during the year. The microwave systelll$ were also being nsed, together with coaxial cable systems, to provide about 35,000 channel miles of television program circuits to link 140 television stations in 92 cities located in 36 States and the District of Columbia as of June 30, 1953. Plans were underway to connect 67 additional TV stations, of which 55 are located in cities not currently served by the network. The nationwide television network was also linked with the Bell Telephone Co. of Canada to furnish service to Toronto and Montreal. Part of the new microwave construction will be used to establish so-called round-robin TV networks to link various cities in the east and middle west. These circuits will permit TV broadcasters to originate programs in rapid succession from various points. Although the Bell companies predominated in the construction of microwave systems, various independent telephone companies also showed continning interest in using radio for point-to-point telephone service, as evidenced by grants for three new independent company systems during fiscal 1953. Discontinuarwe, reduction or impairment of seT'Vice.-During fiscal 1953, the Commission granted 10 applications for authority to dis continue telephone service. Seven involved the substitution of one carrier for another in furnishing wire line toll service. One involved the closing of a toll telephone station in a community no longer re qUiring this service. The other two covered discontinuance of domes tic public land mobile radio service in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, and Camden, Ohio. Speed of service.-Despite the increase in long-distance traffic, Bell System speed of service during 1952 was about the same as that .-endered in 1951. The average time required by Bell to complete long distance calls during each of these years was about 1.8 minutes. Bell also reported that it completed 93 percent of all long-distance calls on a "no hang-up" basis. Foreign attachment cases.-Final decision was still pending in the case of Hush-A-Phone OorP. et Iil. v. American Telephone and Tele graph Oompany, et Iil. (docked 9189), which involved the lawfulne..os of the so-called foreign attachment provisions of the defendant's tariffs insofar as they were construed to prohibit the use of the Hush A-Phone device. Nor has final determination been made in the cases of JordaphoneOorporation of Ameriea, et Iil. v. American Telephone and Telegraph Oompany et Iil. (docket 9383) and In the Matter of the Use of Telephone Answering Devices Vn Oonnection with Inter 'iltateand Fweign Telephone Se1"'lJwe (docket 9701), both of which proceedings involve the lawfulness of the foreign attachment regulae tions as applied to automatic telephone answering devices in cormec tion with interstate' and foreign telephone service. ' The Bell com" REPORT OF THE FEDERAL coMMUmCATIONS COMMISSIO:N 33 panies themselves offer automatic telephone answering and recording service in all but one state. On November 5, 1952, the Commission denied a petition for rehear ing and reconsideration and for oral argument filed by the complain ants in the case of Walter S. Se7'kman, et al. v. Ame1'ioan Teleplume and Telegraph Oompany, et al. (docket 9100). As reported inprevious annual reports, the Commission on March 23, 1949 dismissed the orig inal complaint, which sought use of a call waiting indicator device which would inform a party using the telephone that another call waa seeking a connection. Interoonneotion oaseB.-On October 9, 1952, the Commission held that it was neither necessary nor desirable in the public interest to require interconnection of the intercity video transmission facilities of the Bell companies with those of the Western Union Telegraph Co. (docket 9539) . A further petition by Western Union for reconsidera tion and rehearing was denied March 23, 1953. On December 17, 1952, the Commission dismissed the complaint of J. L. Dezauoke, Jr., and R. A. Gartman, d/b as Mobile Ma1'ine Radio v. Southern SeU Telephone "" Telegraph 00. (docket 10163) which alleged that Southern Bell had refused to allow the complainants to connect their public coastal radiotelephone station to Southern Bell's telephone facilities upon request. Negotiations had resulted in an agreement to interconnect these facilities. DomeBtie publio land mobile radio Be""ioe.-Activity in this service was particularly noteworthy for the interest shown in the one-way signaling type of operation. This operation involves communication from a base station to pocket-type receivers carried on the subscriber's person. On June 30, 1953 there were 45 such authorizations in 35 cities but not all were in operation. In 7 other cities the number of applicants at the end of the fiscal year exceeded the number of fre quencies (two) available for the service, necessitating comparative hearings to determine which applications should be granted. The two-way mobile service furnished by landline telephone com panies was elre provision for Federal income taxes decreased to $6,047,939 in 1952, or 23.1 percent below the $7," 861,188 reported in 19i)1. During 1952, thev<>lume <>f international radiotelephone calls and the revenues ,therefrom continued their upward trends alid exceeded 50 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION the previous record highs established in 1951. The chargeable calls in 1952 rose to a total of 982,860, an increase of 5.4 percent over the previous year. The resulting revenues (including associated landline charges) amounted to $10,345,161 for 1952 or 2.1 percent above those in 1951. International Services Telegraph circuits.-At the close of fiscal 1953, 87 foreign countries and overseas points were served by United States radiotelegraph car riers, either by direct radiotelegraph circuits or via the Tangier, North Africa, relay stations. Of this number, 23 were served primarily via the Tangier relay stations, or 12 more than the year previous. Service via Tangier increased because of difficult radio propagation condi tions over the North Atlantic. As a result, more reliable service has been provided, particularly to countries in Northern Europe, the Near· East and Asia. Relayed service is also provided to many countries in the Far East via the stations of United States companies operating in the Philippine Islands. In addition, connections with the facilities of foreign carriers make telegraph communication possible with most other points in the world. Certain of the United States radiotelegraph carriers have con tinued to provide program transmission and reception service. Many of the world news "round-ups" broadcast in the United States are handled by these carriers. The United Nations and the Department of State have utilized program transmission facilities to transmit in formation to distant points where it is retransmitted in local areas by foreign broadcast stations. Some United States radiotelegraph carriers also prnvide radiophoto transmission and reception service which is used primarily by news distributing agencies. International leased telegraph channel service continues in increas ing demand. Such channels provided by United States carriers are used principally by United States and foreign governments and by airlines operating in the international air-travel service. The demand for international teletypewriter exchange service is also increltsing. This service, which is similar to TWX service within the United States, permits subscribers in the New York ltnd Washing ton areas to conduct two-way teletypewriter communications with subscribers in 11 European countries. Such service is also available between San Francisco and Honolulu. Telephone circuits.-Radiotelephone message toll service was in effect with 106 foreign countries and overseas points at the close of the year. Of this number, 58 were served directly, while the rest were REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 51 served through connecting carriers at the distant points. At the close of the previous fiscal year 93 foreign countries and overseas points were served, 55 being served directly. Bell System companies con tinued to provide program service and private line service to many foreign countries and overseas points. Merger.-The Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Com merce is continuing its studies of communications pursuant to the authority contained in Senate Resolution 41, 83d Congress, 1st session (1953). Included is the question of legislation authorizing the merger of international telegraph companies. Applicatiom.-During the fiscal year, licensees in the international fixed public service filed a total of 591 applications for authorizations for additional frequencies, transmitters, and points of communica tions, as well as for renewal of licenses and temporary authorizations. Licensees in the radiotelegraph service accounted for 430 of these applications while the others were filed by radiotelephone licensees. The Commission acted on practically all of these applications, as well as approximately 100 applications carried over from the previous year. Applications for authority to use additional frequencies continued to constitute a large proportion of the total volume. This is a result of the Geneva, 1951, agreement whereby the fixed service operations are being gradually transferred to frequencies in accordance with the Atlantic City Table of Frequency Allocations. About 90 new "in-band" frequency assignments have been made to stations in the international fixed public service and approximately the same number of "out-of-band" frequencies have been deleted. At the close of the year, 35 "out-of-band" frequencies or less than 5 per cent of the total assignments remain authorized to the companies in the international fixed public service. This means that approximately two-thirds of all of the "out-of-band" frequencies previously assigned have been deleted from thelicense~.Because of the crowded condi tions in the spectrum, the problem of deleting the remaining third will be more difficult. However, it is expected that with some addi tional assignments and continued improvement of techniques in trans mission and reception, the task will be completed within the time limits contemplated in the Geneva agreement. In addition, the Commission has received and acted upon a num ber of miscellaneous applications filed by international carriers. These include requests for authorization to hold interlocking direc torates in two or more companies, authorizations to decrease or dis continueservice, and renewal of authorizations to supplement facilities of the international companies bythe use of wire lines. 52 REPORT OF THE FEDERAl. COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION International Conferences The Commission was represented at a conference held in London during July 1952 to consider further revisions of the Bermuda tele communications agreement of 1945 (as revised in London 1949). The resulting revisions became effective October 1, 1952. They provide that (1) the accounts for telegraph traffic exchanged between the United States and the United Kingdom or Commonwealth countries shall be drawn up in dollars at the settlement rates in effect July 1, 1952; and (2) where payment is due in a currency other than dollars the conversion of the dollar balances into the currency of payment shall be made at the then current rate of exchange. TheCommission was also represented attheseventh plenary meeting of the International Telegraph Consultative Committee (CCIT) held inArnhem, Holland,inMay-June1953. Themeeting adopted recom: mendations of the CCIT study groups relating to standardization of operating practices and equipment used in international telegraphy, including facsimile and phototelegraphy. Docket Cases Western Union-Globe and Tropical contraats.-Reference was made in the previous annual report to the complaint proceeding (docket 9292) involving the lawfulness of certain agreements between The Western Union Telegraph Company, on the one hand, and Globe Wireless, Ltd., and Tropical Radio Telegraph Company, on the other hand, for the exchange of specified international telegraph traffic. On May 18, 1953 the Commission issued its final decision wherein it concluded that the agreements violate Section 222 of the act and the formula prescribed under the authority of that section, and ordered Western Union, Globe and Tropical to cease and desist from trans ierring traffic pursuant to such contracts. In addition, it ordered that the parties enter into negotiations with a view to reaching agreement on the question of damages and report the results to the Commission by July 15, 1953. On June 11, 1953, the Commission granted petitions of Western Union, Globe and Tropical for a stay of the effective date of the order pending a decision on petitions for rehearing. Bank and F'UINl case.-The 1952 annual report mentioned the pro ceeding (docket 9362) occasioned by the complaint of the Interna tional Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Interna tional Monetary Fund against certain United States international telegraph carriers. This case presented for determination by the Commission the question of whether these agencies should be accorded REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 53 the same rates for their outbound official telegraph communications as those accorded to certain governments for similar communications. The Commission's final decision, released March 23, 1953, covered all issues except the questiou of damages, and held that the Bank and Fund were entitled to government rates provided that, in each case, equivalent rates were accorded these organizations on their official inbound messages and that settlements of traffic accounts were made on the basis of such rates. As of June 30, 1953, 13 countries which are members of the Bank and Fund had agreed to participate in the handling of its messages at government rates. The question of dam ages was under negotiations at the close of the year. Puerto Rico application.-Reference was made in the previous annual report to the pendency of an initial decision on the applications of Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company and All America Cables and Radio, Inc., for modification of their respective licenses to permit them to operate a radiotelegraph circuit between the United States and Puerto Rico on a regular instead of an emergency basis (docket 10056). On September 4, 1952, the hearing examiner proposed to deny these applications. Exceptions were filed and oral argument, originally scheduled for February 24, 1953, was postponed upon peti tion of Mackay and All America. Western Union divestment.-Section 222 of the Communications Act, which authorized the merger of the Western Union Telegraph Co., and Postal Telegraph, Inc., specifically required that any merger plan should provide for the divestment by Western Union of its inter national telegraph operations within a reasonable time, and after the Commission found the compensation for the property to be di vested commensurate with its value. In approving the merger in 1943, the Commission required ·Western Union to exercise due diligence to effect such divestment (docket 6517). Since Western Union had not effected this divestment, the Commission on March 5, 1952 insti tuted an investigation and hearing (docket 10151) into the matter. Hearings were held on 14 days between October 7, 1952 and May 22, 1953 and then recessed until August 4, 1953. j}fetropolitan area tieline service.-This is a consolidated proceed ing involving complaints by the Western Union Telegraph Co., against an existing tariff provision of RCA Communications, Inc. (docket 10335), and a similar proposed tariff provision of the American Cable and Radio Corporation (AC&R) operating companies, All America Cables &Radio, Inc., the Commercial Cable Co., and Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., Inc. (docket 10378), relative to the furnishing of teleprinter equipment. The provision in question provides that the companies will, upon reasonable request therefor, provide, install, 215623-53-5 54 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION and maintain upon the customer's premises in "metropolitan areas" of cities where the carrier has operating telegraph offices, teleprinters connected by wire with such telegraph offices. Formerly, the defend ants limited such teleprinters to the customer's premises located within the "corporate limits" of such cities. The issues presented involve the clarity and lawfulness of the tariff provision, and the effect of the practices upon the international formula. At the request of the AC&R companies, the hearings in this matter originally scheduled to commence on March 3, 1953 were postponed. DupZicate circuits to Turkey.-This is a consolidated proceeding (dockets 10360 and 10489) involving applications of Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company and RCA Communications, Inc., for mod ification of their point-to-point radiotelegraph licenses to author ize communication with Ankara, Turkey, and the application of . Mackay to authorize communication with Istaubul, Turkey. These applications present two important policy questions. The first relates to the question of whether competing circuits to Turkey are in the public interest and the second relates to the question of whether the public interest would be served by authorizing a direct circuit to more than one point in Turkey. Hearings were originally scheduled to, begin on March 3, 1953, but were postponed at the request of Mackay. Buccaneer appliaation.-This proceeding involves an application filed on June 9, 1952, by Buccaneer Line, Inc., for a new fixed public point-to-point radiotelephone station to be located at Jacksonville, Fla., to provide radiotelephone service between Jacksonville and cer tain points in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. This application was scheduled for hearing on April 14, 1953. At a prehearing con ference held March 30, 1953, it appears that the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. was negotiating for the establishment of communica tion between the points desired by the applicant through interconnec tion of existing facilities. Buccaneer indicated that if such a service could be successfully established, it would not press its application. Accordingly, on March 31, 1953, the hearing was postponed indefi nitely. A. T. & T. reported on June 15, 1953, that successful test calls had been made from Tarrytown, N. Y., and Colonia, Yucatan, but that additional tests, including test calls between Jacksonville and points in Mexico, were considered essential before determining the feasibility of the service. Press WireZess appliaation.-On June 8, 1953, Press Wireless, Inc., requested special temporary authorization to communicate with Ham ilton, Bermuda, for the purpose of handling press traffic in connection with the then tentatively scheduled Three Power Conference. RCA Communications, Inc., filed objections to the grant and the application REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMl\~._______ 69,175 Disaster , _ _ 90 RACES_~__ _ Iridustrial Services: Power , . _. .____ 4,786 Petroleum_ _,_____________ 3,671 Forest products ,_____ 800 Special industriaL______________ f,039 Low power industriaL_________ 383 Relay press . __ ___ _ 54 Motion picture . 14 Agrlculture_ __ __ ___ _ ___ ____ 19 Radio location-Iand._______________ _ ._ 105 Aeronautical Services: Aircraft. . . . Ground , . ._ Civil air patroL . TotaL . _ Marine Servi(',f-s: Ship___________________ _ _ Ship radar. _ Coast_____ _ _ Marine utility . Alaskan cOastaL . _ Alaskan 1I.:(6d public _ Maritime radio location service _ Maritime fixed service _ Other marine services _ Total__~~~_ Publlc Bafety Services: Polioo~_ FirtL . _ Forestry conservation _ Highway nJaintenance__ . _ Special emergency. . _ Stateguard~~~, __ TotaL~~_44.~_ Land Transportation Services: ~~~~~?~;E~2-~-~:~-:E::~~--:-~---~-:::-E~~~J Highway truck _ Citizens_ __ _ . _ TotaL _ TotaL •• . _ 18,252 1,260 2,501 22,013 16,893 1,084 n3 255 318 26 !fil 165 19,015 6,823 881 I. 548 571 910 1411 10,873 =' 870 10' 70 4,414 220 591 246 '6,516 13,871 16.527 (1, 725) 2,80S 1,548 7,548 5,047 26,883 4,870 16,819 (74) 1,136 52 .58 345 10 10 680 425 829 511 25 (1) 57 (104) 42 (123) 20,056 1,041 50 "" (1,173) 1,193 312 1,223 (325) 780 209 1,21;6 346 136 (') 10,238 (63.'1) 856 (14) 78 (27) 86 16 3,871 (543) 229 • 673 82 12,347 2,101 ~140 1,624 4,167 (619) 3,669 (12) 700 (100) 4,768 729 452 69 22 (32) 24 10 3. 20 148 43 13,979 lOS 66,018 (3,157) 24. 15. 141 141 66,408 (2,857) 145,704 4,151 I Includes 1,651 applications received by field offices through Mar. 31, 1953. Number of Transmitters in Safety and Special Radia Services Approximately 585,000 transmitters were authorized to operate in the Safety and Special Radio Services on March 1, 1953. Of these, REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNlCATIONS COMMISSION 91 152,000 land and fixed stations represent an increase of 15,000, and 433,000 mobile units represent an increase of about 80,000 or a total increase of 95,000 transmitters during a 1 year and 2 months period. A tabulation by service and class of station follows: Land or Mobile Total fixed station station transmitters t,r.ansmitters tJ'Msmitter!! ----- 2;i45- 32,447 32,447 50' 2,M9 ',000 5,000 9,000 -,---- 0,145 37,9Sl 41,096 Class or station Aeronautical Services: Aircrl'lft _ Ground _ Civil air patrol 1'otal--. Martnc Sllrvices: Shlp _ Ship radar__ ConsL _ Marine utility __ . Alaska.n coast.aL ._ Alaskan fixed publIc _ .:\Jaritime radio]ocatloD . Maritime fixed __ 196 2 367 51' 20 75 35,410 2,200 --19 35,410 2,200 196 21 367 51' 20 1. 3%,803 97,438 16,585 Hi,l66 7,095 4,310 261 141,855 37,629 91,600 15,78" 14,041 6,472 3,483 169 ::-1---"", 131,549 1,174 5,838 '01 ~12S 623 827 92 -I--:c--: 10,306 TotaL _ Publi~Safety Services: POllOlL. _ Flre .. _ Forestry-oonservatlon _. __ Highway malntenance _ Special emergency . State guard__ TotaL Land Transportation Services: Railroad .". _ Urban transit. _ Intercity bus_______ _~> > __ Taxicab l .____ _ ----- --- -_.--- ~yi~~~~i~~e~~~~~~~~_-_-.~~~:~~~::~~:~~~~~:~~~~~~~_,_ Citizens__________ _ ,_ 7&5 77 47 3,848 loa 377 lV,092 1,798 572 184, llS 2,W 4,764 7,032 10,8Z1 1,875 610 187, 963 2,33t 5,141 7,032 'l'ot.al _ ',271 IIHl,5H l H5, 791 Industrial Services: Po-wer~,_ Petroleum _ Forest prOOl1cts. ._ Special industriaL . _ Low power industriaL _ Rela)' press , _ 1\.[otlnll plcture _ Agriculture _ RadioiocatiotL _ 5,068 56,845 61,913 3,808 17,996 21,804 573 6, 649 7,222 2, 524 27, 800 30, 324 4,821 4,821 26 653 619 10 IRS 195 ~--75-1~ 116,697 m 116,697 205 _~__1==~1~2~,0~7~'ol~~~l~l,~'~02~'~I"=='~27~,~""'= TotaL~. _ Amateur andDi~sterServices: Amateur.. _ Disas!:f'r communications . _ RACES 3 • • _ ----,-I~-- 1 Taxicab mobile transmitters were shown in error as 122,037 in the Eighteenth Annual Report, Fiscai Year 1952. The figure should have been approximately 74,000, Comspondlng figures of the 1952 report should b(' reduced lIS follows: ' . Lalld Tr811sportatlon mobile tr811smHters, from He,156 to 92,000. Grand total, mobllf' transmitters, from 399,962 to 352,000, Totsl transmitters, Taxicab service, from 125,354 to 77,000. Total La.nd Transportation tranSIDitt-crs, from 144,458 to 96,000. Grand total, all transmitters, from .537,549 to 490.000. I Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, established Aug. 15, 1952; no transmitter estimate available. [ Page 92 in the original document is intentionally blank 1 Broadcast Services TELEVISION lTV) BROADCAST SERVICE TV Expansion The fiscal year witnessed a tremendous expansion in television broadcasting. The Commission on April 11, 1952, adopted its Sixth Report and Order which concluded comprehensive rule-making pro ceedings and lifted the "freeze" on the authorization of additional TV stations. Processing of TV applications was resumed on July 1, 1952 under a priority system designed to bring TV programs promptly to major cities and surrounding areas without TV service and, at the same time, to provide local TV stations in cities without them. Com pared with the 108 TV stations authorized as of July 1, 1952, one year later saw this number increase nearly five-fold-to a total of 500. Auxiliary and experimental TV broadcast stations are dealt with elsewhere in this chapter. In addition to the 12 existing VHF (Very High Frequency) chan nels, the Commission's Sixth Report and Order added 70 UHF (Ultra High Frequency) channels for TV broadcasting. (VHF channels ere numbered 2 to 13; UHF, 14 to 83.) Of the 2,053 TV assignments made by that order to 1,291 communities, more than two-thirds were UHF. Nearly two-thirds, or 256, of the grants during the year were f for UHF stations, and 142 for VHF stations. The first commercialI li'lIF station began operation in Portland, Oregon, in September 1952, bringing that area its first TV service. ' This TV milestone signifies the importance of UHF stations in bringing new or additional TV service to millions of people who could not be served by stations on the small number of VHF channels avail able. New TV receivers usually provide for UHF reception as well as VHF, and other VHF-only sets can be used for UHF reception by modifying them or by using a UHF converter. Many makes of UHF converters and special UHF antennas are now on the market. I By the eud of the fiscal year, some 90 of the newly authorized TV , stations had commenced operation and many areas were receiving video service for the first time. About half of the new etations were UHF, and most of the new etations-both VHF and UHF-began operation with low-powered equipment on an interim basis while awaiting delivery of additional equipment. 94 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION The Commission's Sixth Report and Order required 30 of the existing 108 TV stations to change VHF channels as a part of the new TV assignment plan, and a majority of the 30 stations had made these shifts by the end of the fiscal year. Many of these 108 stations enlarged their service areas by increases in power or by using higher antennaS', or both. Noncommercial Educational TV The Commission's final television report provided for noncom mercial educational TV stations, and made channel assignments to 242 communities, including 46 "primarily educational centers," for the exclusive use of such stations. A separate processing procedure was established for the consideration of applications by educational in terests on those channels. In a Memorandum Opinion issued July 13, 1951, the Commission upheld its right to reserve channels for noncommercial educational use and to make assignments to specific communities accordingly. On May 11, 1953 it reaffirmed that such reservations continue "indefi nitely," again pointing out that, because educational institutions re quire more time than commercial interests to prepare for TV operation, a reservation of channels is necessary; and, while such reservation should not be for an excessively long period and should be surveyed from time to time, "it places no limit whatever on the duration of the assignment of channels reserved for noncommercial educational operation." Up to June 30, 1953, the Commission had granted construction permits for 17 noncommercial educational TV stations. One of this number-KUHT, in Houston, Tex.-was the first to begin operation. The others were planning to go on the air as quickly as possible. At that time applications for 29 additional noncemmercial educa tional TV stations were pending. By the end of fiscal 1953, the number of TV channels reserved for noncommercial educational use had increased to 245. (The "Noncommercial Educational FM Broadcast Service" section of this report deals with noncommercial educational stations oper uting with frequency modulation.) Processing Procedure With the lifting of the TV "freeze", the Commission adopted a "temporary processing procedure" to handle the flood of applications. This procedure, in general, established two processing lines. Group A comprised applications for stations in cities without operating REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 95 TV stations and more than 40 miles from the nearest operating TV station. Group B comprised applications for stations in cities with TV stations in operation or less than 40 miles from an operating station. Group B was further subdivided into several subgroups, with a priority afforded to communities where all the VHF channels were in operation and UHF channels only remained available. Within each group and subgroup, cities were arranged by order of population. The procedure provided that group A and group B applications would be processed simultaneously in separate process ing lines. The Commission prepared and published a list of cities P.rranged in the order of these priorities on the basis of the stations on the air at the time the TV "freeze" was lifted. When TV application processing was resumed, more than 700 applications were on file and many others followed. In order to cope with this problem and to permit the authorization of new TV sta tions as rapidly as possible, the staff processing the applications was enlarged. Lawyers, engineers, accountants, and clerical personnel. were drafted from other Commission units and given intensive coach) ing in TV processing work. The first group of applications was granted on July 11, 1952, when permits were issued for 18 TV stations in various cities. That the methods employed permitted fast action on the TV backlog is indi cated by the fact that by March 1953 the Commission had become current in the processing of uncontested TV applications that were in proper form; thereafter the processing of new applications con- tinued on a current.basis. . \ As expected, the major delay in processing involved the group of ! hundreds of competitive caSes requiring hearings before the best Ii qualified applicants could be determined. Nearly all of the Commis sion's limited number of hearing examiners were assigned to TV, at i the expense of AM broadcasting and other matters on the hearing ! docket. While hearing procedures naturally are time-consuming as I compared with uncontested application processing, measures were I taken to shorten hearing records and to reduce the time required for ) completion of hearing cases. (See Broadcast Hearings in this chapter.) In many instances, competitors for TV assignments have merged their interests and thus made possible early action by the Commission on the single application remaining. In several instances, two rival applicants have resolved their problems by requesting shared-time operation permitted by the Commission's rules. In another instance, the Commission permitted the joint ownership of a TV station by pa.rties having interests in two AM stations in the same community, 96 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION where it appeared that adequate steps were taken so that operation of the AM stations would remain on an independent and competitive basis. During the year the Commission instituted several basic changes in the processing procedures concerning TV applications and com parative hearings. On August 6, 1952, it stated that "for the time being the order in which the hearings are being scheduled is in accord ance with the order of priorities set forth in the temporary processing procedure now being followed by the Commission in connection with the initial consideration of television applications." In designating TV applications for hearing and in setting hearing dates since that time, the Commission has employed the priorities set out in the tem porary processing procedure. In October 1952, this procedure was amended to provide for the processing of competing applications, in order of priority, consistent with the flow of the hearing schedule. In view of the fact that the Commission was current at the end of the fiscal year in the processing of "in the clear·' TV applications, and in view of the fact that the temporary processing procedure had be come more or less obsolete for processing mutually exclusive applica tions because of the number of new stations goiug on the air, the Com mission was preparing a revised processing procedure which would take these changed conditions into account. Color TV At the close of the fiscal year proposals had been made or were impending for adoption of a new and "compatible" color TV stand ards advanced by the National Television System Committee (NTSC), representative of the TV industry. , The present rules for color TV transmission were adopted by the Commission in 1950. However, equipment for this "field sequential system" is not now being produced and there are no such color broad casts. This system is "incompatible" in the sense that existing black-and white sets can not receive its color transmissions in monochrome with out adaptation. In adopting this system as the best proposed at that time, the Commission stated that if a satisfactory compatible color system had been available it would have been advisable to adopt it. It recognized the need for further experimentation and research and, in 1951, specified the steps that would be required of the proponents of an improved color system. In 1950 the Radio-Television Manufacturers Association directed the NTSC to develop new and compatible color TV specifications. The NTSC is a voluntary association of engineers and scientists inter- REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 97 ested in the advancement of TV, and its members include representa tives of many companies engaged in the mannfacture of TV equip ment. The Commission has been kept advised of the progress of NTSC in this field by means of various reports submitted to the Commission and by attendance at demonstrations of its proposed "simultaneous" system. The Commission has also granted numerous authorizations for on-the-air testing. (See Introductory chapter for notation of snbsequent events.) For color transmission, a. special color receiver is necessary, or a number of changes would have to be made in the black-and-white receiver. Most important would be replacement of the present tube with a color tube. Table of TV Assignments Among other things, the Sixth Report and Order adopted rules and standards and a nationwide table of TV assignments. In order to permit uninterrupted processing of applications for new stations in accordance with this table, and in order to provide the Commission with experience in implementing it, a rule was adopted as part of the report which precluded any petitions for rule making to amend the table for a period of one year with certain express exceptions. These exceptions were for ('OilllIlllllities not listed in the table nor within 15 Illiles of a listed community, and where the petitioner sought a first commercial 01' nOl1commelx·ial educational channel in a listed city. In all cases the petitions were limited to assignments which could be made without any other changes in the table or "drop-iu" (new) assignments. During the I-year waiting period, about 50 changes were made in t.he table including the addition of 13 "drop-in" assignments, 3 of which were noncommercial educational assignments. Most of the other changes were corredions of deficiencies in the assignment spacings in order to conform with the separation rules governing stations and assignments. At the end of the year there were pending approximately 12 petitions for rule making to amend the table. "Satellite" and "Booster" TV Stations Experiments with"satellite'~and"booster'~TV stations as a means of relaying TV service to places beyond the normal range of existing TV stations are discussed in the Experimental Television Stations section of this chapter. 98 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNlCATIONS COMMISSION TV HCommunify Antenna Systems" The rapid development of so-called community antenna systems to bring TV programs to weak signal areas poses interference prob lems and the question whether such services constitutes common car rier or some other operation which comes within the Commission's jurisdiction. These antenna do not transmit on the air, but pick up programs and send them by coaxial cable to the homes of subscribers. (See other reference in chapters on Common Carriers and Field Engi neering and Monitoring.) Share-time TV Stations Commission rules permit shared-time operation on the same channel by two TV stations in the same area. In a number of cases two com peting applicants have reached an agreement under which they have obtained authorizations for two stations to divide time on the same channel. The resultant operations present problems for the Commis sion since channel-sharing stations must maintain separate and in dependent operations. Subscription TV An important problem is presented by current proposals with re spect to subscription or "pay-as-you-see" television. Several types of subscription systems have been the subject of experimentation under Commission authorization. They differ in both the techniques em ployed for sending "scrambled" pictures to decoding receivers in the homes of subscribers and the methods of collecting fees for the program. In addition to the basic policy question whether the authorization of a subscription TV service would seI'Ve the public interest, sub stantial legal questions must be determined, particularly, whether such a specialized service is "broadcasting" within the meaning of that term as defined in the Communications Act, or common carrier or some other special radio service not coming within either the broad casting or common carrier categories. Also, the,re is the Engineering problem of wbere such a service could be squeezed into the crowded radio spectrum. STANDARD lAM I BROADCAST SERVICE Notwithstanding the increased interest in television, the use of the standard broadcast band continued to grow. As in recent years, most REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 99 of the new AM authorizations were to small communities which had no previous local radio service. The AM broadcast service netted 164 additional authorizations dur ing the year, making a total of 2,584 at the year's close. Au important rule-making proceeding affecting AM proposes a new ground conductivity map of the United States based upon an analysis of thousands of measurements of the signal strength of AM stations during the past 15 years (see chapter on Rese-arch and Lahoratory). Under provisious of the 1952 amendments to the Communications Act, the Commission now formally notifies an applicant of any defi ciencies in his application hefore taking action. By this means, many AM applications have been amended to make authorization possible where, under past procedure, the original applications would have been designated for hearing. North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement This treaty, which is intended to regulate the assignment and opera tion of AM broadcast stations in the North American Region in such a manner us to minimize interference, was signed on Novelnber 14, 1950, by represeutatives from all countries of the region except Mexico and Haiti. The new agreement was negotiated to replace the Interim Agreement, which extended and modified the provisions of the First 1'\orth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. The Interim Agreement expired on March 29, 1949, after Cuba refused to agree to its further extension. Subsequently, Cuba made a number of new station assignnlellts and changes in existing assignments whieh would not have been permitted under the terms of the expired treaty, and which resulted in serious interference to stations in the United States. The other 1'\orth American countries, by more or less informal agree ment, continued to conduct their radio relations in general accordance with the terms of the first NARDA. The new agreement provides for the adj ustment of differences between Cuba and the United States, and upon its entry into force the interference now being caused by Cuban stations should be substan tially reduced. Mainly because of the inability of other countries to satisfy its requirements for additional clear channels, Mexico refused to sign. To become effective, the NARBA reqnires ratification by three of its major adherents. Cuba ratified it in December 1951. In this eountry the signed docnment was submitted by the President to the United States in February 1951, where it was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Through two sessions of the Congress the pressure 100 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION of other business precluded action by this committee looking toward ratification of the agreement. However, during the past session a subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee was created to consider the question of NARBA ratification, and at the year's end had scheduled hearings on the subject. Since the expiration of the Interim Agreement, the Commission has been following a policy, formalized in October 1951, of avoiding actions which might endanger the implementation of the new NARBA, and has thus not made station assignments under conditions incon sistent with the treaty provisions. 5J,fJ kilocycles.-As a result of an agreement reached at the Extraor dinary Administrative Radio Conference, Geneva 1951, the frequency 540 kilocycles, first added to the broadcast band by the Atlantic City Convention of 1047, became available for broadcast use in region 2 as of December 1, 1952. Rule changes necessary to open 540 kilocycles to applicants in the United States were duly accomplished and the Commission has before it a number of applications for use of this frequency. The classification of the channel is established in the 1050 NAl~BA,which gives Canalh priority for clear channel use. How ever, the United States can utilize thc frequency with stations having powers up to 50 kilowatts, provided that adequate protection is afforded the Canadian priority. Clearchannel8.~Thercare now 12 times as many United States stations assigned to Canadian clear channels as in January 1945. Of thc present total of United States facilities on these channels nearly four-fifths are daytime stations. A number of the newer stations operate with powers of 25 kilowatts or more. "Vhile these United States assignments were made in accordance with the engineering standards of the NAREA, Canada has of late become deeply concerned with interference caused by certain of these stations to its own clear ('hannel stations. This interference has occurred principally in the early morning or late afternoon, and results from the persistence or eady onset of skywave signal transmission, a factor not specifically provided for in the NARBA allocation standards. At the request of the Canadian Government, meenngs were held in February 1953 between its representatives and representatives of the Commission and of the Department of State. These meetings laid the foundation for a bilateral agreement which, supplementing the XAREA standards for clear channel protection, "'ould specify per luissible limits for power radiated during- the early morning and late afternoon hours toward the common border by any rnited States or Cnuadian station operating on a clear channel on which the other C'ountry enjoyed priority. The proposed agreement is not generally REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION lUI retroactive, and its provisions would apply tu new assignments on these channels. Provision is made for intergovernmental clearance of assignments not satisfying the requirements of the agreement. On April 8, 1953, the Commission outlined the features of the pro posed agreement and requested comments thereon. These comments are being studied by the Commission before taking further action. Daytime Skywave Interference Closely related to the clear channel problem is the matter of day time skywave interference, since many daytime-auly-stationsoperat~ ing on clear channels interfere with the dOluinallt stations during the early morning tUHl early evening hours. In early 19H the Commission instituted a hearing to determine whether rules governing daytime skywave transmissions of AMsta~ tions should be promulgated (docket 8333). Because of their relation ship, the COllI mission later that year consolidated the skywave and deal' channel proceedings (docket 6741). Meanwhile, it was found necessary to defer action upon applicatiolls for ne'" or increasedday~ time facilities on clear channels. Delay in Fnited States ratification of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), which would establish, among otherthin~s,specified protection from interference for clenr channel operation, impelled the Commission on August 10, 1953 to sever the two proceedings, preparatory to rendering a. sepanLte decision in the matter of daytime skywave interference. Proposed Revision of "10% Rule" On~lay1:1, H);,i3, the Commission proposed rehu:ing certain rules J!oyerning the assignment of particular classes of hroadcast stations in the ,\M band. Under present requirements dealing with efficient use of the fre qnency, a station in the designated classes may be assigned if the populntion residing in the area between the normally protected con t""r and the contour in which objectionable interference will be re "eivCll does not exceed approximately 10 percent of the population "f its actllal primary service area (so-ealled 10% rule). The proposed change would permit ass.ignment if, a.s an alternative to the abave J() percent criterion, either of the following two conditions \\'cre met: (a) provide the comm"nity with its first local AM station; ",d (h) provide the first primary service to 25 percent more of its primary service area. 102 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMl'dUNICATIONS COMMISSION FREQUENCY MODULATION IFMI BROADCAST SERVICE During the year, in addition to new commercial FM broadcast station authorizations, 2 noncommercial educational FM broadcast stations changed frequencies from the educational FM band to the commercial portion of the band. Many of the new commercial grants went to licensees ofA~1stations. Fourteen new stations were authorized in the six southern States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The freedom from static interference makes I"M particularly advautageous in the southern part of the country. The nighttime interference which limits the coverage of many AM stations has also caused some Ai\'I licensees to tnrn to FM to obtain nighttime coverage. There Were 601 commcrcial FM broadcast stations authorized at the end of the year, or 47 less than the year previous. Most of the deletions were because the stations were losing money; some FM oper ators desired to enter the TV field. A number of FM stations specialize in good music programing. These stations find that they have a small but devoted audience for such programing. Many of these listeners build high-fidelity re ceiving installations in order to realize the full range of FM trans missions. Many of the stations featuring good music publish monthly program booklets. These are purchased on a yearly subscription basis by the listeners. Such subscriptions give the stations an indication as to the number of their listeners. UFunctionaJ Music", "Storecasting" and BTransit Radio" As a meanS of obtaining additional revenue, various commercial FM stations are engaging in supplemental services known as "functional music", "storecasting", and "transit radio". In the functional 111usic operation, an FM licensee undertakes to supply background music programs to commercial establishments having special receiving appa ratus which, when activated by a supersonic signal, eliminates the spoken material. In storecasting and transit radio, the programing is designed to reach store customers and transit passengers in public vehicles, respectively, with the supersonic signal employed to increase the sound level of the spoken material. These specialized operations are under Commission study in connec tion with the overall FM situation. Determination is required as to several legal and policy questions-whether such operations are "broadcasting" within the meaning of the Communications Act, whether they meet the Commission's rules, and whether they are in the public interest. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMl\ITSSION 103 Noncommercial Educational FM Broadcast Service The noncommercial educational FM broadcast service continues to expand but at a rather slow pace. There were 14 new grants for stations in this service during the past year. One of the new authorizations was for a station in Honolulu, Hawaii. Just as the first commercial FM authorization was granted in the Hawaiian Islands this past year, this was the first noncommercial educational FM station authorization in the islands and was the only outstanding authorization for a station in this service in any of the territories or island possessions of the United States. Of the total of 116 stations now authorized in this service, 49 use transmitters with power ratings of 10 ,,,atts or less; the remainder employ transmitters ranging in power from 250 watts to 50 kilowatts. One of the 10-watt stations which began operation during the year is using a directional antenna system to bettcr cover the desired service area. EXPERIMENTAL BROADCAST SERVICES The experimental broadcast services provide means whereby sta tions may be licensed to conduct research and experimentation that promises substantial contribution to the advancement of the broad casting art. There are three classes of stations in this service: (1) Experimental television stations, which delve principally into re search involving television transmission; (2) Facsimile broadcast sta tions, concerned with the development of equipment or techniques for the transmission of fixed images with a view to their reception in a permanent form; and, (3) Developmental broadcast stations, devoted to experimentation in the aural broadcasting field. Experimental Television Stations During the past year the tempo of experimentation in the television broadcast field has steadily increased. Manufacturers of TV broad ('ust transmitters and antennas have utilized experimental facilities to develop and test new and improved equipment. Experimentation with color TV has continued apace and authorizations have been issued to a number of TV broadcast stations to conduct tests of the NTSC (National Television System Committee) specifications. Pro ponents of subscription television continued to experiment with var ious systems of "scrambling" the transmissions. The lifting of the TV' "freeze" and the inauguration of TV service in many new areas emphasized the problem of those places which lie 104 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION beyond the normal reception range of existing TV stations and which lack the population density necessary to make the market attractive to prospective TV broadcasters. The Commission has authorized sev eral experimental operations which are expected to provide valuable engineering data with respect to the technical problems posed by the operation of low-powered "slave" stations. Two basic systems are be ing explored, viz: "satellite" stations which are actually low-powered TV transmitters but which employ no cameras or other studio facil ities for the local production of programs and derive their program material by retransmitting, on a separate channel, the signals of TV broadcast stations; and "booster" stations, which intercept thesig~ nals of a TV broadcast station, amplify them, and retransmit the signals ou the channel on which they weI''' received. The data ob tained by these experimental stations will enable the Commission to determine whether or not either or both systems provide answers to the problem of unserved areas. Experimental Facsimile Broodcas. Stations FM broadcast stations may transmit facsimile either on a simplex or multiplex basis. (Simplex facsimile can be transmitted only when no aural program is being broadcast; multiplex facsimile can be trans mitted at the same time an aural program is being broadcast.) A station used exclusively for the transmission of facsimile material for reception by the general public would be considered to be a facsimile broadcast station. During the past year no experimental facsimile broadcasting was conducted and very little interest was shown in the transmission of facsimile over FM broadcast stations. A few FM broadcast stations are authorized to transmit facsimile. , Developmental Broadcast Stations This service has remained lllOre or less dormant during the past year. Operation has been confined to the testing of aural broadcast transmitters and antennas by manufacturers of broadcast equipment. Some interest has been expressed in the operation of an FM broad cast "satellite" station to solve a terrain "shadowing" problem, but no operating authority has as yet been requested. AUXILIARY BROADCAST SERVICES The auxiliary broadcast services provide for the licensing of radio transmitting apparatus that is used by broadcast Rtations for snch supplemental nse as the pickup and relaying of pl'ograms or events that occur outside of a regular studio, i. e., parades. fairs. sporting REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 105 events, conventions, and newsworthy occurrences. Transmitters may also be licensed to provide a program circuit between the studio and transmitter of a broadcast station and, in the case of television, may be used for intercity relaying of video programs, thus making possible network broadcasting in areas where common carrier intercity TV transmission facilities have not yet been constructed. Five basic classes of stations are licensed in the broadcast auxiliary servi"".: remote pickup broadcast, aural broadcast STL (studio transmitter links), television pickup, television STL, and television intercity relay stations. Remote Pickup Broadcast Stations Remote pickup broadcast stations are operated by broadcast station licensees for on-the-spot coverage of events that occur outside a regu lar studio. They are used primarily by aural broadcast stations- AM and FM-but may be used by TV stations to relay the aural por tion of such programs where the visual portion is relayed by means of TV pickup stations. Portable or mobile equipment is employed ranging in power from a fraction-of-a-watt "handitalkie" that can be carried in one hand to transmitters of a hundred watts or more installed in automotive vehicles, boats, or aircraft and capable of transmitting signals over relatively long distances. Most of this equipment is self-powered and can be used to provide emergency com munication facilities in the event of disruption of normal circuits resulting from floods, storms, or other disasters. Extensive use of remote pickup facilities was made during the 1952 political conven tions and the subsequent inauguration ceremonies, giving the listen ing public the most comprehensive coverage of these occasions yet achieved. Aural Broadcast STL Stations Aural broadcast STL (studio-transmitter link) stations make it possible for AM or FM broadcast station licensees to locate their transmitters at favorable sites even though wire-line circuits are not available or practical at such locations. They are used to provide a radio circuit for the transmission of program material from the studio to the transmitter. During the past year this service has grown apace with the aural broadcast services. Television Pickup Stations Television pickup stations are the visual pickup equivalent of remote pickup stations in the aural broadcast field. They provide" means 106 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMU]l,'ICATIONS COMMISSION whereby TV stations are not limited to sources of program material at places which have a physical wire connection to the broadcast station. Because such wire circuits must use a special kind of cable (known as coaxial cable) to carry video programs, and such special circuits are not generally available, TV broadcasters rely more heavily on their pickup stations than do aural broadcasters. The past year has seen a rapid growth in this service and it is expected that this growth will continue as more and more new TV stations commence operation. Television STL Stations Television STL (studio-transmitter link) stations are used to pro vide a program circuit between the studio and transmitter of a TV broadcast station. Both the visual and aural portions of such pro grams may be transmitted on a common microwave channel by means of multiplexing, or separate transmitters may be employed. The use of such radio circuits permits locating the TV transmitter on mountain tops or other desirable sites so as to provide wider coverage where the installation of special coaxial cable circuits is impractical. With the rapid expausion of TV broadcasting this service has greatly increased. Television Intercity Relay Stations For frequency conservation the Commission requires that intercity transmission of TV programs for network television broadcasting be handled by communication common carriers as is the case in aural broadcasting. However, it is recognized that common carriers are not able to construct the special facilities required for TV transmission as rapidly as they might be needed. Therefore, provision is made in the Commission's rules for the operation of private intercity relay systems by TV broadcasters on an interim basis pending the availa bility of adequate common carrier facilities. Although the common carriers have greatly expanded their TV relay facilities, there are many places not so served. This service is expected to continue to expand until the common carriers are able to catch up with the demands for TV intercity relay service. Remote Control Operation of Broad<;ast Stations The Commission amended its rules and regulations during the year to permit the operation of AM and FM broadcast stations using non directional antenna systems and operating with transmitter powers of 10 kilowatts or less by holders of operator licenses other than radio- REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 107 telephone first class and the remote control of snch stations. Approxi mately 2,000 comments were received from individual operators, labor unions, trade schools, individual broadcast stations, associations of broadcasters, and national networks. Factors such as the marked improvement and reliability of trans mitter equipment, the satisfactory utilization of lesser grade operators during World War II and on a temporary basis at a number of broad cast stations since January 1951, the successful operation by non technical personnel of many electronic devices of a complex nature npon which the safety of life and property is often dependent, and the extensive reliance of stations on their chief engineers for signifi cant repair work, were considered by the Commission in reaching its decision. The amended rules became effective April 15, 1953, and by the end of the year there were granted authorizations for remote control to 35 FM broadcast stations and to 102 AM authorizations for remote operation using wire lines for control and telemetering purposes. In the cases of the radio controlled remote operations, multiplex tech niques at both the remote control position and the transmitter were used for transmitting the control and telemetering information. A number of stations are constructing their own remote control equipment while others are purchasing manufactured equipment. The initial investment in such equipment can in most cases be recovered in a short time through savings in salaries of personnel. Remote control further permits the use of transmitter sites otherwise impractical to use and is especially advantageous to those FM stations with traus mittel' installations placed on mountain tops to obtain good coverage. Many such stations found it difficult to recruit personnel willing to stand transmitter watches at such remote sites and also found in cases of bad winter weather that the sites were practically inaccessible and operators might be marooned there for days at a time. BROADCAST HEARINGS The Commission took several steps intended to simplify and expe dite the general broadcast hearing procedure. It amended its rules to require all competing applications for the same facility to be on file at least 30 days prior to the scheduled hear ing instead of the previous 20·day "cut-off" period. It also specified that broadcast hearings start with It hearing con ference between the hearing examiner (or other presiding officer) and representatives of parties to the proceeding looking toward agree ment on matters respecting the conduct of the hearing. The parties are required to state all the matters which they will rely upon in the 108 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ! hearing. The hearing examiner then issues an order setting forth these matters, and the proof to be adduced by the parties is limited by the order unless modified for cause shown. The hearing conference idea had previously been followed, but as u "pre-hearing" conference. These changes were prompted largely by complications occasioned by Section 309 (b) of the Communications Act, as amended in July 1952. This section requires that applicants who face a hearing be , notified to that effect and be given an opportunity to reply prior to the actual designation for hearing. The changed procedure develops and sharpens the major issues sufficiently in advance of the oral testimony to curtail much of the time spent in the course of the hearing. In this fashion the hearings are expedited, yet comply with the letter and spirit of the recent amendment of the Communications Act. In addition, findings are now made on the basic qualifications of the applicants (legal, financial, technical, etc.) before designating them for hearing on comparative qualifications. In most instances this has eliminated lengthy testimony on matters upon which no actual controversy exists. Policy was also established for completing each TV case designated for hearing even if the competitive applicant or the cause for the hearing is removed, instead of taking the surviving application from hearing and returning it to the processing line for administrative action. This has resulted in a number of applicants merging their interests and thus eliminating hearings and speeding TV service to the public. Rules affecting the taking of depositions in broadcast hearings were changed to eliminate the filing of petitions by parties and an order by the Commission or the Motions Commissioner before depositions could be taken. The rules now provide for the taking of depositions on reasonable notice and more flexibility with regard to the persons whose depositions are taken. The Commission substituted a certificate of service in broadcast cases for the old method of proving service by an affidavit. This method of proof of service has been operating successfully. Commission counsel in the past generally declined to enter into stipulations in hearings on the ground that they could not be a party to an agreement which dispensed with proof involving any matter put in issue by the Commission. Since most matters in an applica tion were put in issue, all of them usually had to be proved. This was not too burdensome in AM and FM hearings, but with the advent of TV hearings it was an almost endless proposition. Broadcast Bureau counsel were accordingly authorized to enter into stipulations of uncontested facts which were verified by oath. This has contributed to shortening the hearing procedure. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 109 BROADCAST RULE CHANGES In addition to the significant revision of the rules reported else where in this chapter, there were other major rule changes in the broadcast service. A number of rule changes were adopted for AM, FM, and TV which removed obsolete sections, simplified others, and brought many sec tions up to date in accordance with new practices and policies. Rules governing practice and procedure were amended to provide for (1) continuing in effect licenses of stations engaged in activities of a continuing nature without further Commission action pending determination of their renewal applications, and (2) temporary ex tension of licenses of stations engaged in activities of a noncontinuing nature pending action on their renewal applications. The Commission finalized its rule-making proposal of June 8, 1951, which precludes further assignments of Class IV standard (AM) broadcast stations on regional channels to prevent any further in crease of the interference level to the degradation of the service on those channels. The 20 (mostly 250 watt) Class IV stations now operating on regional channels were not required to change frequency or power. All such stations are not protected against interference from Class III stations, which also use regional channels. The Commission revised and brought up to date several of its appli cation forms. It consolidated into one form (FCC Form 323) its Annual and Interim Ownership Reports of Broadcast Stations now submitted on separate forms (323--Annual Ownership Report, and 323-A-Interim Ownership Report). The consolidated form spells out what information is required, simplifies the process of filing and, by the nature of the information requested, emphasizes the necessity of obtaining Commission consent prior to any change in ownership that involves a transfer of control or an assignment of license. As a means of facilitating the issuance of papers incident to the grants of renewals and modifications of licenses, the Commission adopted a short form Certificate of Renewal of Station LicenSB (FCC Form 359). In the 1952 annual report mention was made of modification of the rules covering the filing of the "Annual Financial Report of Networks and Licenses of Broadcast Stations" (FCC Form 324) to specify single copy instead of the duplicate filing previously required. Dur ing the past year, after a conference with the industry advisory com· mittee, this report form was further simplified by eliminating several schedules and modifying others to materially lessen the burden on those preparing the report. 110 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION STATISTICS _Broadcast Authorizations There was a net gain of nearly 700 broadcast authorizations during the year. Television authorizations rose from 108 to 500 (including 17 noncommercial educational grants) as a result of the first year of processing following the lifting of the "freeze." The 2,584 AM authorizations were 164 more than the year previous. Commercial FM authorizations decreased from 648 to 601, but noncommercial educational FM added 12. A breakdown of authorizations for the different broadcast services follows: Class of broadcast station Cmnmcrdal:o.tandard (AM}. _ Commercia) tdevlslon (TV) _ Noncomml1fcial educational TV.... . _ AUlnlJary TV __ Commercl.al frequency modulBtlon(FM)~ NOIlCOmmcrclaleducational FM__ Remote Dtckull_ _ Studio transmitter link _ P1lvelopmentaL~_,_ TotaL__ -I June 30, .J~:30, i Incr{>l>S£> OJ I~'--~II-"""''''''') 'I 2,420 2, i'l84 1M _ 108 483 375 1 ----.- -.. Ii 17. 221 25\J 38 _ 64-8 601 I (-IV _ 104 III; i 12 _I 1,}75 1l.~05'130 I 44 47 3 _ 2 1 (-1) -"-I-~I~~3--iQl These fignres do not include international broadcast stations, which are in a state of flnx. There is no separate facsimile broadcast service, but commercial FM stations can engage in facsimile operation and there is provision for facsimile experimentation. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION III Growth of Broadcasting The number of authorized and licensed commercial AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations at the close of each fiscal year for the past 11 years is shown in the following table: AM FM TV Total Author· Licensed Author- Licensed Author- LicensedAi:e~r-ILicensed ired ized ized 1943 '" 911 48 37 6 6 006 954 194' 92. 912 52 45 9 6 I." lI63 1945. _ 955 .,[ 53 .. 25 6 1,033 1183 1946_ 1,215 9'H "'i 48 30 6 1,701 1,015 1947 ___ ------------- 1,795 1,298 91' 48 66 6 2,779 1,352 1948. ------------- 2,031- 1,693 1,020 [42 109 7 3,153 1,842 1949_. ________ 2,179 1, lI63 865 377 117 13 3,161 2,353 1950. ____ ----------- 2,303 Z,ll8 732 493 109 47 3,144 2,658 198L __ 2,386 2,248 "'9 53' 109 81 3,153 2.863 1%2. ________________ 2,420 2,333 64' 582 lOS 96 3,176 3,on 195.'L -----------_.- 2,584 2,439 5O[ 551 483 101 3,668 3.091 Broadcast Authorization Deletions Commercial broadcast station deletions in fiscal 1953 numbered 108 as compared with 72 in 1952 and 161 in 1951. FM deletions rose from 36 in 1952 to 79 in 1953. The 23 AM deletions in 1953 were 2 less than the year previous. There were 6 TV deletions in the past year; 1 in 1952. Monthly figures for 1953 were: AM FM TV Monthly total 1 4 0 5 1 5 0 6 1 • 0 5 4 5 0 9 3 3 0 6 2 12 0 " 2 5 0 7 0 1 0 1 3 5 0 , 2 12 1 15 2 11 1 " 2 12 4 18 23 7ll 6 [OSYear's total Month 1959 January . .__ _ . . . _ February. __ ._________________ _ . March.. _ " _ AprIL_____________ _~. May _ June , _ I-~-I-~~-I-~-I~~- 1951 July _ _ AugusL . . september . . , _ Oerober _ November~. _ De.ce·mber-~___ • _ 112 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Broadcast Applications Of nearly 7,000 broadcast applications received during the year, nearly half were for AM, more than 1,200 were for TV, and slightly more than 700 for FM. There were 655 applications for new TV sta tions as compared with 198 for AM and 45 for FM. AM New stations . . ._ Change in facilities 1 _ Renewals______ _ . _ LicensfL _ Transfers _ MiscellanOOllil _ Pending June 30, Received Disposed 1952 323 214 281 48 72 59 Pending June 30, 1'53 11 30 " " IS 1.\ 'rotaLI=~~'97~I~~~+~~~,I~~,=,;;; FM' New stations . _ Change in facilities 1 _ Renewals • _ License. _ _ Transfers___________ _ _ Miscellaneous~ TV- New stations . . _ =t~_~~~~I~_I_~~:======:===:=:::::::::::::::::::: Llcense . __ ._ Transfers _ Mlsoeltaneous _ TotaL. ._ All other 717 13 4JJ 7 12 6 865 NewstatiollS . . 66 287 317 36 ChangelnfaciJitiesl_..~.____ 48 101 141 8 Renewals • . .. lIKi 864 865 I 192 LJoonse______________ 71 285 I 273 I 83 Transfers_______ 67 1911 241 I 17 Miscellaneous__ 7 nm- --n!'tt' 5 Total -----------1---2.-·.-0052-1---61-••~-".-~71 ••94293~1=.,31~771 Grand totaL____________________ l10V ... 1 Includes changes in power, frequency, directional autenna, hours of operation, and lorot.1on. ~Includes noncommercial educational. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 113 Broadcast Receiving Sets The Commission does not license or otherwise regulate broadcast receiving sets. Industry estimatesthat more than 110,000,000 receivers are in use. Many are capable of dual reception. Thus, about 25,000,000 can receive TV and 10,000,000 can receive FM. Radio homes approximate nearly 45,000,000, with about 75,000,000 sets. Sets in automobiles exceed 26,000,000, with about 9,000,000 other sets in business establishments, etc. Networks The Commission does not license networks as such; only individual stations. However, stations are subject to chain broadcasting regu lations, adopted by the Commission in 1941 to promote competition in broadcasting. There are national, regional and state networks. The major networks are those of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters, Inc.; Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.; Mutual Broad casting System, Inc. ; National Broadcasting Co., and DuMont Television Network. Broadcast Industry Financial Data In the calendar year 1952, the grand total reveuues of the broad casting industry (radio and television) reached nearly $800 million, the highest on record. Total revenues, which comprise revenues derived from the sale of time, talent, and program materials to adver tisers, were reported at $793.9 million. Radio revenues inereased from $450.4 million in 1951 to $469.7 million in 1952, while aggregate TV revennes of $324.2 million in 1952 were 37.5 percent greater than the $235.7 million for 1951. Broadcasting profits of $115.6 million in 1952 were 16.6 percent greater than those of 1951. The industry reported a profit from television broadcast operations of $55.5 million, one-third higher than in 1951. Earnings from radio broadcast operations increased by 4.5 percent from $57.5 million in 1951 to $60.1 million in 1952. All profit fignres are before payment of Federal income tax. The following tables show the comparative calendar year 1951-i>2 radio and television financial data for the radio and television broad cast industries: 114 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION All networks 1 and stations, 1951-52 Radio "__ . ..._. .._ _ _ _ Television. . . .. Percent 1952 increase in 1952 .'-'JiUio1/.8 $793.9 15. ;'" 469.7 -1-.3 324.2 37.."> 678.3 15. t:i 409.6 4.3 268.7 38.4 11.5.6 16.6 ------ 60.1 4• .:. 55,5 33... ! 1951 I I ""m,,,,li~-I--- , $G!I6. I -------1----- 450.4 235. 'I = ----I . .587.0 , 1----__.___cc-I---·-- _, 392.9 i~~'=94C'.'~;'~~~~I~~o""",7" _____ 1 00.1 I 1-----="."'", 1,----CC-~ 41. 6 Item Total broadcast revenues Broadcast income (before Federal income tax) Radio . _ TelevisioD. _ Radio ' .._ . . ,~. _ Television .____ ____ . __ . ._. Tottll broadcast cxpenseL _ 1 Networks enKtlging in joint radio-TV operations have indicated that wrtain overhead expenses not readily allocable between radio and television have been charged to radio. '1'0 the l'xtent that this oeeurred, the above fi!:"llres may understate radio income and overstate television incoml'. 2 Radio includes AM and I<'M broadcasting. NOTE.-The 4 nationwide radio networks (ABC, CBS, MBS, and NBC) owned and operated a total of 18 stations and the 3 regional radio networks (Don Lee, Texas State, and Yankee) owned and operated 1;10 total of 7 stations in 19,'H and 1952. As a result of ownership changes in 1952, however, operation of three SUCh stations are included only for that part of 1952 during which the stations were network·owned and operated. The threlj stations are included in"All other stations" for the remainder o( the year. ThE' 4 TV networks (ABC, CBS, DuMont, and NDC) owned and opt'rated a total of 15 stations in 1951 and 1952. Nationwide networks onlY,l 1951-62 (Including owned and opcrated stations) Item HI.'i2 Percent in· crease (or decrease) in 1952 ._------------~j----------- Revenues: Radio _ l'elevisiol1_ 'I'otaL_ Expenses; Radio _ Televlliion_ I ""Jillions i }.tiUfoll-s [' $99.0 $95.8 (:l. 2) __._________ __. .: 128.4 180.2, 40.3 _____________.----------------i--m4 ----:::27"6.-0'-1---''',-., -----------. 1 !'9.6 85.6 (4.4" , f.l7.4 170.3 45.1 'I'owL TotaL .. __ . Income (before Federal income tax): Radio_~~_.·_ Television 2_ _ ._ , ----------i~~20~6~.~91~~~255~.9~1~~~"'~·,;~ :::::1 ':1., '8:(l~;) -----i 20. [,\---~~,-.,-1---(~2.-0-) ---------------'-----'---------- ( ) Denotes loss. 1 Radio itlcludes A11 and I<'M broadcasting. :I Radio includes A1\1 and FM broadcasting. NOTE.-The 4 nationwide radio networks (ABC, CBS, MilS, and :-,IDC) owned ami operated a total of 18 stations in 1951 and 1952_ As a result of ownership changes in 1952, however, operation of two such statiollS are included only for that part of 1962 during which the stationsw~'retletwork-owned and oper' ated. 'rhe two stationsan~includt'd in"All other stations" for the remaind('r of tile year. 'I'he 4 TY networks (ADC, CBS, DUMont, and NBC) owned and operated a total of IS stations in 11151 and 1952. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 115 F1\J broadcast revenues, expenses, and income, 1951-52 1951 Hem F./IJ hroadraat reuellUt8 F::\1 stations operated by; AM licensees; Reporting no FM revenues 1 • Reporting F M revenues :.'\on-AM licensees. Total FM stations._. 3.0 i (I) i (1.8)1' (1) _ 1952 2.1 (') (1.0) (') ( ) Denotes loss. 1 In view of the dilliculty in a joint AM-l<'M operation In allocating FM operation expense separatelY rram AM stationoperatioJl cxpense.,llcenseesor~ueh'stations were not rcqnlrcd to report FMslation"ex pcuSt'separately. As a result. FM industry totals for expeuw and income are not available. AM-FM licenses, however, were requl'stcd to report separately the revenues, if any, attributable to FM station operation if such data were readily available. In onlyafew instances didAl\[~F~1Iicensecs statc thcy wen' unable to segregate the 1<'11 revenues. TV broadcast revenues, income a,nd 1:nvestmenl, 1952 {In thousands1 4 networks i I Ul;lllll~~n~~C~n~I 93 other~Industry opel'atcd I stations J!I total stations ~~~~~~~~.~;;;:nn~~;;o:~lti:::".t~l:tion-al-and -.regioriai adveriisprs- Bllci. -I $101, 484 1 $36,014 Ii $137, 498 u:~;~~~~'i,om,,;i; ;,[i,;;,,- ,i;i"",1"1'iil,,,,,-,;"ct-'oo;"",;, :::::::: 1___J~~~:::i'~i__~:~~r 'l'otalrevenuesfromtilllesales_____________ 139,8881 142,5061 282,394 I Excludes 14 stations which commenced operations during 1952, having TV broadcast revenues, ex pen "'s, and loss or $h2!J,24" $824,314 and ($Hl5,06,) respectively. 116 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Radio 1 broadcast reven-ues, income and investment, 1951-52 [In thousands] Item All other stations 3 Total broadcast revenues $99,0451 $95,8241 $4,983 $4,796 $.'H5, 1971$367,972 $449,226 I$468,592 Total hroadcastexpenses 89,1\17185,590 -4,417~~04l1318,119'389,9751407,si6 Total broadcast income (be- I:;'~~;~;;~~;;::;nt:i'~;'9, ''"-I' 10, 234~-_ 989, 49, 156 I4?~_~-=59, 251 I 61,076 OriginalcosL 29,533 28,241 1,097 976 1224,100 238,124 254,731 267,341 Depreciation to date 16, 4401' 15, 375~------s62 87,001'1100,394 101.9341116.631 DepreciatedcosL 13,087 12,866 113 114 136,596,137,730 140,797 150,710 1 Excludes independently operated FM stations, 66 in 1951 and 56 in 1952. 2 Includes the operations of 25 network-owned stations in both years. Afl a result 01 ownersllip changes in 1952, however, operation of three such statiOllfl areinclud~donly for that part of 1952 durin,!!," which the fltations were network-owned and operated. The three stations are included in "All other stations" lor the remainder 01 the year. 3Includefl 2,175 stations in 1951 and 2,299 stations in 1952. t Data available lrom 2,161 stations in 1%1 and 2,289 stations in 1952. Field Engineering and Monitoring GENERAL The twofold purpose of Commission field engineering and monitor ing is to provide service to industry, the public and Government, and to enforce radio laws, treaties and regulations. There is no substitute for this grass roots representation and fact development. The Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau has a Field Operat ing Division which supervises 9 regional offices, 24 district offices, 6 suboffices, 3 ship offices and 18 monitoring stations; also three staff divisions which advise and set standards in monitoring, inspection and examination, and field engineering work. The Bureau's scope of operations includes: Inspection of radio stations of all types and serving notices for discovered discrepancies; Conducting radio operator examinations and issuing operator licenses to those found qualified; Monitoring the radio spectrum to assure that stations operate on their assigned frequencies with satisfactory signal quality; Doing special monitoring for military and civilian Government agencIes; Locating and closing unauthorized transmitters; Investigating complaints of interference to various radio services; Obtaining and correlating technical data for Commission use; and Furnishing direction finding "fixes" to aircmft and ships which are lost or otherwise in distress. The Bureau additionally processes data concerning new or modified antenna construction to insure that no hazard to air navigation will result, and administers Parts 15 and 18 of the Commission's rules and regulations pertaining, respectively, to restricted radiation devices and industrial, scientific, and medical equipment. MONITORING Monitoring Stations and Facilities The Bay St. Louis, Miss., secondary monitoring station was closed early in the fiscal year for economy reasons. The monitoring network 275628-58--9 ]]7 118 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION continued to operate with 11 primary and 7 secondary stations, indu" ing 1 in Hawaii and 2 in Alaska. (See list in appendix to this report.) These stations have high frequency direction finders which were rebuilt and modified for remote operation during the year. Excep tions are the stations at Lexington and Anchorage which are to be relocated. Seven monitoring stations are also equipped with low frequency direction finders: namely, Kingsville, Laurel, Livermore, Millis, Portland, Santa Ana, and Fort Lauderdale. All of this type are also operated from the monitoring position and are "remote con trolled" in design. F'or $2,550 paid to the General Services Administration in January 1953, the Commission acquired the Spokane monitoring station prop erty formerly used for an Army radio station. The purchase required special congressional appropriation and presidential approval. In December 1952 the Commission completed an interchange of property with the Oregon Highway Commission which was necessi tated by the routing of an express highway near the Portland monitor ing station. Although uo funds were iuvolved, it required a special congressional authorization to exchange these tracts. Monitor'ing Participation in Defense Projects Military agencies found need for the services of the Commission's monitoring stations, particularly in several projects wherein direction finding and monitoring from widespread points were necessary. A smn of $56,650 was transferred to the Commission by two separate branches of the military for these services. This made duplicate in stallation unnecessary and furthered the undertaking. Expenditures were almost entirely for personal services. Monitoring Surveys The Commission was asked to perform 37 monitoring surveys relat ing to problems of international frequency usage and allocations. Some involved only one frequency and a few days work by one moni toring station, but most required the entire network for periodic ob servation of frequencies for considerable periods of time. One such survey necessitated observations by 18 monitoring stations over a 3 month period; covered 360 frequeneies and totaled 4,680 monitoring hours. Moniloring Dolo for ITU The United States participates along with many other countries in furnishing data eonce,rning frequeney usage and band oecupancy to :REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 119 the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The United States Cimtralizing Office for Monitoring (provided for by the 1947 Atlantic City conference) is vested in the Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau of the Commission. As far as is known, the Commission's monitoring stations are the only United States source of this data beingfurnished the IFRB. During the year, reports of 5,100 monitor ing observations were submitted. ' Monitoring for Interference Resolution of an interference problem frequently requires monitor ing on a large geographical scale. Requests for such service came from sources listed below: Fiscal year Fiscal year 1962 1953 12' 125 292 200 112 40 88 ,. 188 125 " 30 37 l' SI9 "" '58 '10 10 ,. --------.-. '00 1,917 1,714TotaL • --. -_ ---------------- --- --------.--•••------- United States Army . . ----------- United States Air Force -----------,.---- ----- United States Navy . ._ ----------------------.- United States Coast Guard___ _ . ----------------- Civil Aeronautics Administratioll. . . _ Other Go'Vernment agencies . __ Law enforcement :lil:ellcies.________ ----------------------- ---. -------- Commercial air lines_____________ -----.._-_. Commercial concerns . . Foreign Governments_" .--~------------ -- ---- ---- -- --- Miscellaheous__ • . ------------------- ------------------------ -- 1---=1----= A.an example of an interference case solved by monitoring: On March 3, 1D53, a large communications company in New York reported to the Commission that it was experiencing severe inter ference to one of its stations from what appeared to be a broadcast station at Leopoldville in the Belgian Congo. The international frequency list showed a station listed on the complained of frequency at Leopoldville. However, monitoring observations proved that a Europeari broadcast station was responsible and the matter was resolved. Other Monitoring Cases While interference figures in the majority of cases handled, special monitoring is required to determine illegal radio operation, locate clandestine radio stations, and obtain information ill other matters. Such cases handled last year totaled 448 as compared with 828 for 1952. This reduction is due to personnel curtailment aud the priority of special assignments. 120 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Diredion Finding Long-range direction finder bearings are very useful and at times absolutely necessary to identify strange transmissions. Should the station be illegal or clandestine, then bearings are required to locate it. Bearings are also the only practical way to trace the source of radio interference of otherwise unidentifiable nature, such as spurious radiation, unmodulated carriers, and experimental or complex types of emissions. Some of these emissions are unintentional but never theless constitute serious interference until they are located and suppressed. The monitoring stations obtained a total of 80,208 bearings in 1953 compared with 83,196 the year previous. As part of Commission ])articipation in the Air Sea Search and' Rescue program, the direction finder network obtained 2,170 bearings on lost or disabled aircraft or seacraft. There were 130 requests for this type of assistance com pared with 138 for 1952. One of the interesting lost plane cases is summarized below: On May 2, 1953, the United States Coast Guard requested Com mission aid in obtaining a fix on a Navy plane en route from Bermuda to Norfolk. The plane was handicapped by compass trouble and had turned back toward Bermuda. Monitoring control furnished five fixes to the Coast Guard. An Air Force plane and a Coast Guard plane then made visual contact with the distressed plane and escorted it to a safe landing in Bermuda. According to the Coast Guard: "The prompt accurate fixes furnished in the case of lost aircraft Navy 7461 aided largely in successful conclusion of intercept and escort. Your assistance greatly appreciated." Additional Monitoring Statistics 'tom ilearlngs obtained~._. . . •__ ". ._ Alerts. unknown or suspicious signals discovered _ IdentLfl.cation cards made. _ Cases relerred to other agencies for investigation . ._ . _ Unlicensed stations monitored. 4 " __ • 4 • Citations served (moaltorlng)~• . __ iNVESTiGATiONS Investigative. Facilities Fiscal year "" 83,196 7,167 56,823 35 1.. 10, 139 80,208 ~"'" 56,950 33 105 ~,.. At 31 of the Commission's field offices and monitoring stations there are stationed one or more radio direction finding cars 'equipped for locating unauthorized radio stations and for tracking down sourc,," llEPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 121 of interfeNnee to radio reception. In most instances the search or investigation is initiated as the resu,lt of reports or complaints from the public, Commission licensees and military or other Government agencies. An important funGtion of these mobile units is to com plete the job of running down illegal stations and interference sources localized to a particular area by the Commission's fixed long-range monitoring stations. Interference During fiscal 1953, the number of interference complaints requiring investigation was 21,149, an increase of 11,625 over the 10,124 received in 1952. AM, FM, and TV broadcasting accounted for 19,932 com plaints with TV cases predominating. This increase in interference complaints made it impossible for the limited field investigative staff to give prompt or complete atten tion to every case. Priority was given those causing interferenoo to safety services, such as aviation, and to others involving illegal radio activity. The continued progress made in organizing Commission-sponsored local citizens interference committees has proved very helpful to TV viewCl's in combating interference. There are now 293 cooperating committees functioning in 282 communities, with additional com mittees continuing to be established. American radio operators, TV set ovmers, manufacturers' representatives, and others thus work to gether to solve TV interference problems on a local level. Attempl:l'1 to receive television in weak signt\l areas, partieulllrly in communities located in valleys where rooftop antennas give unsatis factory reception, have led to creation and growth of "community an tenna systems". In such a system TV signals are picked up by an antenna on a high tower or atop a nearby monntain, and then Car ried by coaxial cable to subscribers' TV receivers. About 200 such systems are now in use, with at least one installation using over 100 miles of cable to serve oVer 1,500 subscribers. Unfortunately, many of these wired TV systems have radiated and caused interference. Operation of industrial, scientific, and medical equipment utilizing radio frequency energy continued to cause interference to safety serv ices as well as to TV and other radio reception. While most of the interference originated with equipment manufactured six or more years ago, some of it was caused by newer equipment, usually due to failure to take certain necessary interference prevention precautions at the time of installation. In 1953 there were 619 cases involving interference by such equipment compared with 641 in 1952. The following is an example of interference caused by such equipment: 122 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS· COMMISSION Long-range radio bearing from the Commission's monitoring sta tions showed that interference complained of by the Los Angeles Police Department was originating in the general vicinity of Chehalis, Wash. A mobile unit dispatched fro\ll Seattle promptly found the radiation to be coming from an industrial radio frequency heater in a. factory at Chehalis, 900 miles from the city in which it was disrupt iug police communications. With the increasing number of radio raceivers in use, not only are there more listeners to complain of interference, but at the same time there are more receivers which, unknown to their owners, are continuously radiating a signal capable of causing interference to other receivers as well as to safety communication services. One instance of continuous interference to TV neighborhood reception was traced to a console type shortwave receiver which had accidentally been left on for 5 weeks-the console being so covered with vases, flowers, books,magazines, ashtrays, and doilies that its original func tion had been forgotten. During the year there were 1,498 cases of interference from elec trical equipment other than radio. Because of personnel limitations, investigations of complaints were limited primarily to cases involving interference from radio stations and from equipment utilizing radio frequency energy and, in particular, where interference to a radio safety service was involved. The following case illustrates the potential seriousness of even sim ple electrical interference: In May 1953 interference caused to International Airport, East Boston, Massachusetts, was traced to a partly broken 4400-volt power cable inside a metal conduit on a high line pole 2'12 miles from the airport. Investigation of Unlicensed Stations Mobile investigative units located and closed 92 illegal stations in 1953 as compared with 114 in 1952. This decrease is due in part to greater awareness of the likelihood of apprehension, and to the in creased number of interference cases handled. Some illegal opera tion involved the transmission of race results. However, track and police officials are more vigilant to prevent this practice. One illegal broadcast station purporting to operate at Sonora, Mexico, was actually transmitting from near Long Beach, California. Although the station moved operations during the investigation, it was finally located by mobile monitoring units. The operator was arrested, later convicted, and fined. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 123 COMMERCIAL RADIO OPERATORS Radio stations of all classes licensed by the Commission are, in the main, required by law to be operated by radio operators also licensed by the Commission. The grade of license required is determined by the complexity of the station and the degree to which the station's "perations are vital to safety of life and property. The Commission has waived the licensed operator requirements for operation of certain types of stations. Radio operator licenses ar9 issued in a variety of grades to meet the operating requirements of the various radio services and stations. They are issued only to citizens of the United States. Operator Examinations and Authorizations Radio operator license examinations continued to be given at 01 -examination points at quarterly, semi-annual ot'" annual intervals throughout the United States and its territories. The places and times of these examinations are published in an official examination sched ule obtainable from any of the district engineering field offices listed in the appendix to this report. A substantial increase was noted in the number of amateur r"dio operator examinations given during the year. A total of 44,685 such examinations were conducted in 1953 as compared with 35,389 in 1952. (See section of chapter on Safety and Special Radio Serv ices which deals with amateurs.) The increase was due to popularity "f the new Novice class license and the role of amateur radio in the military service. Commercial radio operator licenses and authorizations totaling 176,169 were issued in 1953 as compared with 179,928 in 1952. This represents a decrease of about 2.1 percent and brought the total of outstanding commercial licenses of all classes to approximately 730,136 at the close of the year. Comparative figures by grades of licenses follow: Class of Ucense Radiotelegraph: First class. . , . . _ Second class . _ 'fhlrdcJa,.~1_" • • * _ Temporary Umlted: Second class_. • _ Radiotelephone: First class . . . _ Second class _ Third class . . _ Restricted radiotelephone operator permlt__ , _ Aircrart radiotelephone operator authorlzations _ TotaL _ IJune 30, 1952 June 30, 1953 Increase or (decrealle) 5,244 5,477 m 9,24S 9,694 44' 1,694 1,930 23' '17 '44 '" 44,531 47,221 2.... 27,672 30,297 2,225 8, 953 13,218 4,265 463,007 525,685 62,078 117,5M 95,970 (-21,594) 679,136 730,136 61,000 I Includes restricted radiotelegraph operator permits. 124 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION INSPECTIONS Broadcast Station Inspections Among the dnties performed by Commission field engineers is that of inspecting radio station equipment in all classes in the broadcast services. Various phases of technical operation of the station are ob served, and records of past technical operations are reviewed to ascer tain whether the stations are operated efficiently and in compliance with technical rules and standards and the terms of the operating anthorization. Inspections help insure that an adequate technical service is rendered to the listening and viewing public and that the station's towers do not create a hazard to air navigation as a result of improper antenna marking or lighting and, further, to prevent in terference to other broadcast stations through improper technical ad justments. Broadcast station inspections totaling 881 were performed during 1953, while 532 were accomplished in 1952. Discrepancies observed during these inspections totaled 366 in 1953, compared with 232 in 1952. The ratio of violations to inspections is roughly comparable for both years. Ship Station Inspections The safety of life and property at sea requires marine radio equip ment to be both accurate and reliable. Periodic inspections of ship radio equipment, therefore, ar9 made by Commission engineers in ac cordance with provisions of the Communications Act and the Safety of Life at Sea Convention. These inspections assure that the equip ment is adequately installed, protected, and maintained in a state of effectiveness and readiness for emergency operation and that quali fied operators are in charge of the installation at all times. Inspections were made during the past 2 years as follows: Number of ship Inspectlons 1952 1953 UnIted States.shlps------- • •••• .•__ ••._. ••_._____________ 7,001 5,923 ForeJgn shlps. . •••.__ < • __ • • • • __ •• 2,706 2. 942 TotaL . •••••__ • ._ 10,607 8,865 Deficiencies requiring corrections Were noted as follows: Number of deficiency notices served 1952 19.53 United States shlps ._.__ .._.___ ___ 5,778 3,564- ForeIgn shlps__ c_ • • • __ _ 1,032 1,243 TotaL . __ . A • ._ • •• ._ 6,810 4,807 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 125 Deficiencies which were corrected by stations during inspection do not result in the issuance of formal notices. The number of the cor rected deficiencies is shown below: Violations cleared during inspections 19fi2 1953 United States shlps . . ._____ __ _ _ 3,531 2,844 Foreis!n shlps ••••• • .___ _ 495 6M TotaI •__ •~_••_. • .___________________________ 4,026 3,398 During the year the Commission inaugurated a program of assist ance to owners and operators of small business or pleasure marine craft, furnishing squadrons, flotillas, yacht clubs, and individual small boat owners with informative pamphlets to assist them in achieving greater usefulness in the operation of their radio communication equip ment. A further step in this effort culminated in an "enlarged sel£ education" program among organizations of small boat owners. Also, the Commission provided an unofficial "check off" sheet which is used by members to check their own installations, and the radio instal lations on boats of other members at their request. This helped to maintain equipment in an efficient operating condition and avoided, to a large extent, mutual radio interference among the small boat owners and operators. Inspections of Other Radio Stations During the year inspections of other than broadcast and ship radio stations totaled 7,134, while 8,926 inspections were made in 1952. Dis crepancies of a technical nature totaling 2,393 were disclosed in 1952, while 1,360 were discovered in" 1953. In this category, too, the number of radio station inspections was of necessity drastically curtailed due to reduced personnel and budgetary travel limitations. The Commission continued its "self-inspection" programinaugu~ rated in 1951 in the case of several classes of other-than-ship stations. A special "check off sheet" assisted them, through their own efforts, to maintain their equipment in an efficient manner and, at the same time, relieved the Commission of the need of more frequent inspections. FIELD ENGINEERING FACILITIES' A problem of major importance was brought about by the provi sions of the Atlantic City conference of 1947 pertaining to more strin gent frequency tolerances for many classes of stations. These pro- 126 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATlONS COMMISSlON visions became effective this year. However, the operating frequency of many of the stations cannot be checked at the monitoring station because of low power, distance from the monitoring stations, or propa gation characteristics of the frequency used. This necessitates the use of portable frequency measuring equipment which can be taken to the vicinity of the station to be measured. As a result of the more exacting frequency tolerances, the Commission has had to provide portable frequency measuring equipment with considerably greater accuracy than had been used in the past. This new portable frequency meter has a tolerance of 0.001 percent as compared with 0.01 percent for that previously available. To keep abreast of the growing use of the higher frequency ranges, there is a continuing problem of providing new or improved facilities to the enforcement offices and monitoring stations for rule enforcement and for obtaining propagation and other data in connection with fre quency allocation and with promulgation of new or revised rules and engineering standards. For example, an urgent need for additional UHF field intensity measuring equipment for use in determining the extent of radiation from ultra high frequency TV receivers was par tially met by the purchase of a second UHF field intensity meter. A new precision frequency standard was purchased for the Grand Island monitoring station. It will take the place of the obsolete frequency standard that has been in use for the past 22 years. Nine new automobiles were acquired as replacements for some of the 1941 and 1942 cars that are still being operated in the field fleet of investi gative and inspection cars. Thirteen heavy-duty battery charging systems were provided for some of the newer investigative cars. Progress has been made on a long-range plan to locate all of the monitoring stations on Government properties that are owned or con trolled by the Commission. Liaison is maintained with the General Services Administration for purposes of reviewing its real estate list in/,'S of surplus property which might provide suitable sites for those monitoring stations that are still located on leased lands. FIELD ENGINEERING PROJECTS The program to provide all monitoring stations with remote-con trolled long-range direction finders was accelerated. Beginning the year with 4 statiol1s operating with this equipment, the number had increased to 14 as the year ended. Construction is under way at two additional stations. This activity was a part of approximately 7,600 man-days spent on 108 field engineering projects, 50 of which were initiated during 1953, REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 127 while 58 other projects were carried over from previous years. These projects were distributed among the monitoring stations and field offices with the former accounting for nearly 80 percent of the project time, or about 6,000 man-days. Field intensity recording and analysis projects relating to propagac. tion studies were maintained at about the same level as in 1952. An extensive program of continuous recordings of VHF and UHF stations was carried out in cooperation with the Central RadioProp~ gation Laboratory of the Bureau of Standards. Including the long established recording of noise level and signal strength of AM broade cast stations, a total of 39 recorders were in continuous operation at various monitoring stations. Engineering projects, as in other years, covered a variety of subjects. Some of these included investigation of interference to ship radiotele phone services from Loran stations transmitting on nearby frequen cies, the use of pulse transmissions for direction finding purposes, field intensity measurements and recordings of community television systems, commercial carrier current installations and UHF television stations along with the field intensity measurements of radiation by UHF television receivers. Construction and development projects are under way for items such as a compact mobile monitoring receiver for the investigative cars and for new and improved adcock direction finder beams, structures and tuning units for the remote controlled direction finders. MISCELLANEOUS RADIATION DEVICES The Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau is responsible for administering the Commission's rules concerning restricted radiatiOn devices (part 15) and equipment operating in the industrial, scien tific and medical service (part 18). Restricted radiation devices include such sources of radio-frequency energy as garage door openers, phonograph record players and carrier current systems. Industrial, scientific and medical equipment includesindustJ~alheating equip ment, medical diathermy machines, used for therapeutic purposes, welding devices, hair removing apparatus and other types of equip ment using radio-frequency energy coming within the scope of part 18. The end of the fiscal year marked the close of the period in which the operation of pre-July 1, 1947 diathermy and industrial heating equip!llent was permitted without compliance with the technical stand ards .of part 18. After J nne 30, 1953 such equipment must comply with those standards. (See also Industrial, Scientific and Medical Service in chapter on Research and Laboratory.) 128 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION April 30, 1953 was also the end of the period in which pre-April 30, 1948 miscellaneous equipment was permitted without compliance with those standards. After that date the operation of all miscellaneous equipment must be in compliance with the mles and regulations. (See also Restricted and Incidental Radio Devices in chapter on Research and Laboratory.) The final date for diathermy and industrial heating equipment was originally set as June 30, 1952 but, because of a shortage of critical materials, equipment and engineering services, the Commission ex tended the date to June 30,1953. Thus a 6-year amortization period had been provided for the operators of diathermy and industrial heat ing equipment and a 5-year amortization period for operators of mis cellaneous equipment. A few operators of pre-July 1, 1947 diathermy and industrial heat ing equipment indicated a desire to operate such equipment beyond June 30, 1953, but in no instance did they indicate that necessary materials, equipment, and qualified engineers were not immediately available to effect compliance with the rules. Therefore, no extensions were granted. Toward the end of the year a special effort was made to obtain com pliance with part 18 by those operators of pre-July 1, 1947 industrial heating equipment who have failed to comply with the rules. Such operators were requested to do so without further delay or to discon tinue operation. There were 13 such cases, and unless compliance is effected promptly injunction proceedings may be necessary. It is the policy of the Commission to seek action to eliminate objectionable interference through the cooperation of the responsible individual or organization. Where the responsible party indicates inability or un willingness to take the requisite action, more formal proceedings may be instituted under the Communications Act. The number of inquiries concerning the rules governing the opera tion of diathermy and industrial heating equipment decreased during the year, indicating that industry is now familiar with the require ments of part 18. ANTENNA OBSTRUCTION MARKINGS All radio transmitting towers licensed by the Commission are studied to avoid authorization of antennas which would be hazards to air navigation. Pursuant to the Communications Act stipulation that the Commission require painting andlor illumination of radio towers ifand when in its judgment such towers constitute, or there is a reason able possibility that they may constitute a menace to air navigation, the Commission promulgated part 17, Rules Concerning the Construc- REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 129 tion, Marking, and Lighting of Antenna Towers and their Supporting Structures. The Antenna Survey Branch in the Engineering Division of the. Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau administers part 17. Its', primary functions are to study the height and location of proposed antenna construction. Where necessary, tower proposals which vio late the criteria set forth in subpart B of part 17 are referred to> appropriate Regional Airspace Subcommittees (ASP) of the Air Co ordinating Committee (ACC) for special aeronautical study by avia tion intereSts in cooperation with the applicant. In this manner it is usually possible to effect a compromise and to prescribe, when neces sary, appropriate obstruction markings. Prior to fiscal 1953, the number of antenna proposals requiring Commission reference to the ASP for special aeronautical study amounted to approximately 25 per month or about 5 percent of all those processed by the Antenna Survey Branch. During 1953 the number approximately doubled as a consequence of the lifting of the TV "freeze" and the Commission's approval of new TV service which. employs high antenna towers. The quantity of referrals to ASP would have been further increased but for a procedure mutually ac ceptable to the Commission and to the ASP, whereby an applicant may request an ASP regional subcommittee to make a preliminary study of an antenna proposal prior to the filing of the application, and receive a preliminary recommendation of which the Commission takes cognlzance. During the year, the Commission amended part 17 to provide etand-· ards of obstruction markings for towers up to 1,500 feet in height in accordance with recommendations of a joint Government-industry conference which studied the new hazard problem created by higl. TV antenna towers, whereas previous standards were for heights up to 500 feet. However, rulemaking covering standards for the ob struction marking of guy wires was deferred pending further study of practical methods whereby guy wires can be satisfactorily lighted_ New obstruction marking standards for high towers require 20 new separate lighting specifications, depending upon tower heights, in ad dition to the continuance of 20 existing specifications. To eliminate the requirement for 40 separate specification forms, a new specifica tion sheet (FCC Form 715) was adopted March 30, 1953. This form incorporates by separate paragraphs all previously approved specifi cations. In the future, appropriate paragraphs of FCC Form 711> will be specified for all construetion permits and licenses that reqnire e with the radio communication services- It maintains a laboratory near Laurel, Maryland. Activities of the Laboratory Division embrace: Investigation of various methods of transmission and reception to determine their utility and interference factors; Tests of transmitters to determine whether interference signals are emitted on frequencies other than the assigned channel; Tests of receivers to determine how close together the Com mission might place stations without the listeners receiving sev eral stations at the same time; Tests of receivel's to determine what interference they may produce in other nea.rby receivers either in the same service or in other services; Tests of eqnipment such as apparatus involving safety at sea for reliability of operation; Investigation of interference produced by noncommunication nses of radio-frequency energy; Tests of frequency and modulation monitors for accuracy and reliability; and Development of special monitoring equipment for nse of Com mission engineers in the field, and maintenance of the accnracy of measuring installations and equipments. In general, the laboratory tests a type of equipment rather than individual units. Attempt is made to anticipate interfe,;;ence prob lems and have remedial measures taken prior to the manufacture and distribution of a large number of units. In some instances type tests are required by the rules and regula tions, and formal l\pproval is given. In other cases the laboratory makes type tests not specifically required, in order that the Commis sion may be aware of the existing service and interference problems encountered in practical operation, so that either the allocation struc ture 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. 142 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Type testing also is required of certain noncommunications equip ment which employs radio frequcncies and may cause serious inter ference unless the frcquencies are properly maintained and the har monic. and spurious emissions sufficiently restricted. A summary of particular laboratory activities engaged in during the year follows: Broadcasting Most of the laboratory work in the broadcast field concerned tests as to receiver oscillator radiation and the various spurious responses of receivers, with especial emphasis as to impact of these problems on the implementation of the UHF television band. Studies were made of a number of proposed UHF tuners and receivers submitted by manufacturers. In order to obtain propagation data for the UHF band, the laboratory made field intensity recordings of 2 UHF-TV stations. Changes were made in the laboratory's TV signal generator equip ment to f\'cilitate operations on both color and monochrome. Perma nent facilities are being installed to permit examination of interfer ence between several color signals and the examination of new TV systems or methods for transmission. Tests are also being conducted on proposed types of color receivers. Nonbroadcast Services Measurements were made of the selectivity, intermodulation, and other spurious responses of receivers used in other than broadcast serv ices. The oscillator radiation of nonbroadcast receivers was tested and examination was made of the performance of deviation limiting devices now required in many transmitters to reduce interference on channels neal' the one in use. The art has progressed to the point where, with good equipment, consideration is being given to the implementation of closer channel spacings to provide more communi cation facilities. At the present time, automatic equipment which responds to dis tress signals is required only on certain ships which are radiotele graph-equipped. Through international conferences it has been agreed to extend this general type of protection to radiotelephone equipped vessels. A number of units operating on the latest proposed type of signal have been designed and constructed at the laboratory, and tests on the new type signal are under way. Lifeboat radio transmitter-receivers of 2 different types were tested and approved during the year. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 143 Calibration of Installations and Apparatus In its enforcement and investigation activities, the Field Engineer ing and Monitoring Bureau uses a large amount of testing and field intensity recording equipment. The Laboratory Division calibrates the signal generators, field intensity sets and other equipment nsed in the field. Noncommunication Equipment Industrial heating, medical diathermy, and other miscellaneous uses of radio-frequency energy for purposes other than communica tion have expanded to such an extent that the power used by this group exceeds the total transmitter power required for radio communication. Since such noncommunications equipment employs frequencies of the same order as used by the communications industry, severe interfer ence may be expected unless these units are designed and operated properly. Some of these units use power far in excess of the 50-kilo watt maximum permitted AM broadcast stations. Devices in this category are covered by part 18 of the Commision's rules and regu lations. Medical diathermy apparatus which falls within this classification is type approved by the laboratory to insure that the frequency is maintained within one of the specified bands and that the harmonic and spurious radiations are within the prescribed limits. During the year 18 diathermy machines were submitted for test. In addition, the laboratory made tests on 16 other devices employing radio-frequency energy and capable of causing interference. The Laboratory Division is represented on the fOllowing committees which are working toward reduction of interference from receivers, industrial radio-frequency heating equipment, power lines, etc.: I. R. E. Industrial Electronics Committee; A. I. E. E. Subcommittee on Induction and Dielectric Heating; A. I. E. E. Subcommittee on Radia tion Measurements above 300 Megacycles; I. R. E. Oscillator Radia tion Subcommittee; A. S. A. Technical Subcommittee No.1 of Com mittee C63; and CCIR Study Groups. [ Page 144 in the original document is intentionally blank ] Frequency Allocation GENERAL A continuing study of the radio spectrum is essential in order that channels can be allocated and used in conformity with advancements in electronics and the rendition of maximum public service. Frequencies in the various portions of the spectrum have different characteristics. For that reason, one group of frequencies may be useful to a particular service but not to others. Consequently, bands must be allocated to those services for which they are most suitable. In some instances these bands have to be subdivided to serve more specific purposes. Further, the transmissions of radio stations are not limited by na tional boundaries. There must be coordination by different nations to minimize interference by stations of one country with those of other countries. Also, there must be international agreement on the desig nation of frequencies for the many radio services, and universal practice and procedure in their use. INTERNATIONAL FREQUENCY ALLOCATION The chief activity of the Commission in the international radio field has been concerned with carrying out domestically the provisions of the Geneva Agreement (1951), which was signed by some 65 coun tries at the close of the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Con ference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This program ties in with the Commission's objectives under section 1 of t.he Communications Act to make ". • • available, so far as possible, 1.0 all the people of the United States a rapid, efficient, nationwide, and worldwide • • • radio communication service with adequate facilities • • • for the purpose of the national defense, for the pur pose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of wire and radio communication * • *". Progress has been made for each of the six principal radio services in the high-frequency spectrum as follows: Aeronautical mobile (R).-The Commission has cleared about 53 percent of the various frequencies in the aeronautical mobile R 145 146 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (Route) bands which will be used by aeronautical and aircraft sta tions engnged in serving both domestic and international civil avia tion. Additional clearances are being arranged on a continuing basis as rapidly as possible. Thus, the band 5500-5550 kilocycles has been converted from its Cairo allocation for ship telegraph to the Atlantic City allocation for aeronautical mobile (R) use. An entire 50 kilo eycle band has been made available for the latter service in beginning the intricate "chain reaction" adjustments in the 5 lllegacycIe band. The aeronautical mobile (R) plans for the North Atlantic and European-Mediterranean areaS are being studied by the Commission with a view to clearing the service frequenciesinvolved~Similar clearances will be effected for other areas based on plans adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for exclusive service-allocation of spectrum space to the aeronautical mobile (R) service as provided by the Atlantic City Radio Conference. In addi tion, 34 frequencies intended for assignment to domestic routes,remain to be cleared. "1e1'onautical mobile (OR).-The Commission does not at this time intend to license any stations in the aeronautic"l mobile OR (Off Route) service but it does recognize the importance of clearing these bands at the earliest date so that they may be brought into use by the fltations concerned in accordance with the Geneva Agreement. Exist· ing assignments made by the Commission on frequencies within the OR bands Can be moved to their planned frequencies in accordance with the Geneva Agreement as soon as the latter frequencies are cleared with the exception of those fixed station assignments above 4 megacycles which are at the present time in the OR bands. Deletions from licenses have been made from 29 of the total 41 fixed assign ments in the OR bands (71 percent). Solution to some of the remain ing out-of-band problems are being considered by the licensees con cerned, and additional progress in removing existing out-of-band fixed assignments will be reflected in actions now pending. Amateur serviae.-All of the adjustments in the service-allocations for the amateur service envisaged by the Atlantic City Table of Fre quency Allocations were made by the Commission early in 1952. These consist of the clearance and introduction of the new 21 mega cycle amateur band (21,000-21,450 kilocycles) and the reallocation of 50 kilocycles of spectrum space at 14 megacycles (14,350-14,400 kilo cycles) from the amateur to the fixed service. A considerable number of other countries also have made the new 21 megacycle band available to their amateur services. No additional action is required of the United States with respect to amateur frequencies. Fixed service.-The fixed service presents a serious frequency prob lem. This service is allocated more spectrum space between 4 and 25 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 147 megacycles under the Atlantic City Allocation Tablethan all the other services combined. It represents our major use of the high-frequency spectrum. Fixed stations provide rapid communication by telegraph, tele phone, facsimile, radiophoto, and other transmissions to most of the principal countries of the world. Yet there is no international plan of time and frequency sharing for this vital radio service, nor will there be until agreement is reached by the various countries on the International Frequency List. Drafts of this list are being prepared by the International Frequency llilgistration Board (IFRB), based on the in-band fixed service occupancy now developing as the result of the Geneva Agreement procedures. The traffic handled by our fixed stations is such as to make difficult, , in certain cases, the discontinuance of frequency assignments which were in-band with respect to the Cairo (1938) allocations but which are now out-of-band under the Atlantic City (1947) allocations. However, the original 166 out-of-band assignments with respect to Atlantic City have been reduced to 52 (69 percent), and proposals are under consideration by the Commission and the licensees with respect to 35 of the remaining frequencies. Thus a solution either has been found or is imminent to 90 percent of the original total. The Commission has assisted fixed licensees in adjusting their out of-band operations so as to accommodate the traffic load on appropriate in-band fixed frequencies. These efforts are being intensified to eliminate the relatively few remaining out-of-band fixed frequency assignments in a manner satisfactory both to the licensees concerned and to the Commission. In accordance with the Atlantic City allocations, the Cairo ship telegraph band 11,000-11,100 kilocycles has been relinquished by the maritime mobile service to the fixed service and the band 14,350-14,400 kilocycles has been converted from the amateur service to the fixed service. These actions were taken by the Commission to compensate, as far as possible, the net loss of spectrum space to the fixed service in the Atlantic City allocations as compared to the Cairo allocations. HF broadcaat service.-All high frequency broadcast stations licensed by the Commission are assigned frequencies within the At lantic City broadcast bands. This completes the initial task of bring ing the broadcast service within the Atlantic City allocations insofar as the Commission is concerned. However, the Geneva Agreement provides that the International Frequency Registration Board adjust the Mexico City basic plan and the. draft plans prepared by the. Te.chnical Plan Committee at Paris, and pre.pare. such additional plans as are considered necessary to deal with seasons and phases of solar activity. These plan" have not yet 148 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION been completed by the IFRB. The various countries will have to reach agreement on precise frequencies and hours for high frequency broadcast operation. At tile present time there is no international ch"nneling of the high frequency broadcast bands and no specifications as to hours of use for frequencies within those bands. Maritime mobile service.-The Atlantic City Radio Regulations provide the martime mobile service with exclusive bands for each of 4 classes of stations-ship telephone, sbip telegraph, coast telephone, and coast telegraph. The Geneva Agreement anticipates the introduction of the ship telegraph bands in successive steps as follows: calling bands, cargo working bands, and passenger working bands. Introduction of these three families of subbands at 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16 megacycles, in the order .listed, is to be followed by the introduction of the Atlantic City ship telephone bands. The Commission has completed all of the frequency changes envisaged by the Geneva Agreement for the entire spectrum between 20 and 27.5 megacycles. The Geneva Agreement anticipates the introduction of coast tele graph and coast telephone assignments, one at a time as clearances can be effected. The Commission has already established September 1, 1953, as the date for the introduction of the Atlantic City ship telegraph calling bands (4177-4187, 6265.6-6280.5, 8354-8374, 12,531-12,561, 16,708 16,748, and 22,22{}-22,270 kilocycles). The Commission has not yet completed its part of the clearance of the cargo working bands and the passenger working bands for ship telegraph stations. Appropriate alillouncements will be made as these clearances occur and the shipping industry and a/fected licensees will be kept advised in a manner similar to that employed for the clearance :md introduction of the calling bands. The present international target date for opening of the cargo working bands is March 1, 1954. As regards coast telegraph stations, there are 127 assignments to be activated for the bands between 4 and 20 megacycles and 22 coast telegraph assignments in the 22 megacyc.le band, making a total of 149 assignments between 4 and 27.5 megacycles. As of June 30, 1953, 94 of these 149 assignments (or 63 percent) have been cleared and the licensees notified. Additional clearances are being arranged on a continuing basis, and licensees are kept informed of the status of clearances of interest to them. In the matter of the maritime mobile radiotelephone service for public correspondence, a substantial portion of the frequency adjust ments resulting from the Geneva Agreement has been made and service to ships is now provided on 57 percent of the ship assignments and 67 percent of the coast assignments. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 149 NATIONAL FREQUENCY ALLOCATION Many of the Commission actions during the past year concerning the allocation of frequencies on a national scale are directly or closely related to carrying out the obligations of the United States Govern ment in its international commitments. A list of the major of these domestic frequency allocation actions follows: Made final a change in the allocation of frequencies in the bands between 76-88 and 98-108 megacycles so as to permit the common carrier fixed service to use these bands in the Territory of Hawaii only. Amended Part 2 of its rules so as to permit non-Govermnent radio stations to use frequencies below 25 megacycles which are not in accordance with the Commission's Table of Frequency Allocations where such use is necessary for coordination with Government stations. Rearranged the frequency allocations in the 450-460 megacycle band to provide greater separation between the frequencies available for assignment to each of the services having allocations in that band. Recognized theater television as an existing service (common carrier) and found no necessity to provide a separate allocation of frequencies for the exclusive use of this service. (See chapter on Common Carriers.) Proposed the deletion of certain frequencies presently available to stations in the fixed Public Agricultural service. Additionally and in connection with frequency changes described in "International Frequency Allocation," the Commission proposed Or adopted many other modifications to its Table of Frequency Alloca tions to further bring it into conformity with the Atlantic City Table of Frequency Allocations, thus permitting a more effective and efficient utilization of the radio spectrum by stations in the various services. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS The Commission assisted in the United States preparation for and participation in 16 international conferences and meetings during the year. These were worldwide, regional or bilateral in nature. Most of the major conferences were convened under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) or the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Approximately 90 nations participate in the activities of the ITU and some 60 participate in the activities of the ICAO. 275623--53----11 150 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION The Commission furnished 3 delegation chairmen or vice-chairmen and 5 representatives to the following conferences and meetings: Melbourne Jan.13.19S3. Washlngtou Jan. 26, 1953. Stockholm~May 20--27, 1953. Arnhem~May 26--June 3, Um3. Name PIsCUS810ns with British Post, Telegraph and Telephone ~~~ee~fFM vs. AM on VHF range by Maritime MobUe ITU Conference lor Revision of London Agreement, 1949._ ITU Plenipotentiary Conference . . __ lOAO European Mediterranean Special Frequency Meet.- < rog. ' IOAO South East Asls-Bonthpaci.tl.c Regional Air Navigr.· tlon Meeting. US-UK Meeting Concerning Distance Measuring Equip ment. OCIR Study Group XI-TV Questions Related to Single Side Band. COlT 7th Plenary Meeting . . __~•• _ Pia", London, Paris, and Geneva. London. _ Duenos Aires _ Paris , June 2o-July 22, 19S2. July 9-21, 1952. Oct. 2-Dec. 22, 1M2. Oct. 28, 1952. In addition, the Commission engaged in preparatory Or follow-up work directly connected with the following conferences and meetings: Place Date URSI International ExecutIve Committee Sydney 4_ Aug. 8, 1952. l1RSI lOth General Assembly __do_ Aug. 11-21, 1952. OOIT Study Group 6 Vocabuwry and Definltlons Oenev3 Oct. 14, 1952. CCIT Study Group 1 General Telegraphy •• . do Oct. 14, 1952. 1st Air NavIgation Conference_____________________________ MontreaL__________ Feb.-Mar. 1953. CCIFStudy Group on TrlalsSemi-Auto Phone Operations_ Geneva_ Mar. 1, 1953. COIF Study Group on Operating and Tar1ff Questions do______________ Mar. 1, 1953. ITU 8th SessIon of Administrative CounciL do__ May 2-1une 1, 1963. CCIF Sub-Study Group on Qual1ty of TranSlllissious__••• Stockholm June I, 1963. The following conferences and meetings are projected for the future: Name PI"", Date 1954. 1954. Undetermined. HIM. 1954. 1955. 1955. 1955. 1956. US-M€"xico Meeting for Implementatlon Extraordinary Ad- Undetermined Tentative-1953. mfnistrative Radio Conference. US-Canada Meeting for Implementation Extraordinary Ad- do~4_ Tentative-I963. ministrative Radio Conference. ICAD 5th Communications Division Meeting . " "____ MontreaL________ October 1953. ICAD 2nd African Indian Ocean Regional Air Navigation Canary Islands November 1953. Meeting. URBI 11th General Assembly Netherlands _ ICAO 3d Caribbean Regional Air Navigation~Undetermined _ lOAD Middle EMt Regional Air Navigation Meeting do _ International HF Broadcast Oonfllrence Buenos Aites _ International Administrative CounciL _ Geneva _ ICAD South American Regional Air Navigation Meeting. Undetermined _ lOAD South Atlantic RegiOnal Air NavIgation Meeting.~do _ International Telephone and Telegraph Conference . __.~~_Buenos Aires _ ICAO 4th European Mediterranean Reglonul Air NaVigation Undetermined _ Meeting. COORDINATION AND NOTIFICATION The Commission was active during the year in coordinating nation ally the many changes necessary in frequency assignments to licensees REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 151 of the Commission and the Federal Government stations. Also, the IFRB of the ITU at Geneva was notified daily of all changes made by users of the radio spectrum in the United States and its territories as a result of the Geneva Agreement, in addition to the normal notifica tions of all radio frequency assignments to domestic stations which are capable of causing harmful interference internationally. The number of international interference cases coming to the Com mission's attention includes those due to normal use of the radio spectrum, plus those occurring because of the thousands of frequency changes which are being made all over the world. The total number during the year was 780, of which over 700 were resolved. Infractions by foreign stations of the International Telecommunica tion Convention and Radio Regnlations and of the radio provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, detected by the Commission's monitoring stations and inspection offices, were screened and forwarded to the appropriate foreign administrations in accordance with internationally agreed procedures. During the year a total of 1,670 cases of treaty infractions were so reported. Most of these involved spurious emissions, harmonic radiations, off frequency operation, or some other technically improper operation, all of which constituted sources of actual or potential interference to radio communication, or involved the safety of life and property in the air and on the sea. The exchange of technical data concerning proposed frequency assignments in portions of the VHF and the UHF spectrum continued between the Commission and the Canadian Department of Transport. This informal procedure announced in 1950 permits an effective and efficient exchange of engineering comments on proposed United States and Canadian assignments in border areas. The effectiveness of this exchange has been demonstrated by the fact that insoluble cases of interference between stations of the two countries in these portions of the spectrum no longer occur. Approximately 640 letters on this subject were exchanged between the two countries during the year. INTERDEPARTMENT RADIO ADVISORY COMMITTEE Frequency assignments to United States Government radio stations are made by the President upon recommendation of the lnterdepart ment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC), on which the Commission is represented. At the close of the year the administrative servicing of IRAC was transferred from the Commission to the Department of Commerce. [ Page 152 in the original document is intentionally blank 1 Appendix FIELD OFFICES Of the Commission's 64 field offices, 60 are engaged in engineering work throngh 9 regional offices, 24 district offices, 6 snboffices, 3 ship offices, and 18 monitoring stations of the Field Engineering and Moni toring Burean. The other four offices are maintained by the Common Carrier Bureau. A list of these offices follows: Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau ReglonalOtlke3 Headquarters North Atlantic 954 Federal Bldg., New York 14, N. Y. South Atlantic...__ ... 411 Federal Annex, Atlantj1 3, Ga. Gulf States 332 U. S. Appraisers Bldg., Houston 11, Tex. South Pacitlc 323-A Customhouse, San Francisco 26, Calif. North Pacific 801 Federal Office Bldg., Seattle 4, Wash. Central States . 832 U. S. Courthouse Bldg" Chicago 4, Ill. Great Lakes 1029 New Federal Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich. Hawaiian P. O. Box 1142, Lanikai, Oahu, T. H. AlaskaIl-__________________ 52 Post Office andCourthouse~Anchorage, Alaska. District Of{tce, Addre,8 L 1600 Customhouse, Boston 9, Mass. 2 748 Federal Bldg., New York 14, N. Y. 3 1005 U. S. Customhouse, Philadelphia 6, Pa. 3 508 Old Town Bank Bldg.. Baltimore 2. Md. 5 402 Federal Bldg., Norfolk 10, Va.; (ship office) 200 Post Office Bldg., Newport News, Va. 6 411 Federal Annex, Atlanta 3, Ga.; (suboffice) 214 Post Office Bldg., Savannah, Ga. 7 312 Federal Bldg., Miami 1, Fla.; (suboffice) 409-410 Post Office Bldg., Tampa 2, Fla. 8 400 AUdubon Bldg., New Orleans 16, La.; (sub- office) 419 U. S. Courthouse and Custom house, MobiIel0, Ala. 9 324 U. S. Appraisers Bldg., Houston 11, Tex.; (snboffice) 329 Post Office Bldg.,Beanmont~ Tex.; (ship office) 406 Post Office Bldg., Gal veston, Tex. 10 500 U. S. 'rerminal Annex Bldg., Dallas 22, Tex. 153 154 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION District O/ftcea Addre8s 1L 539 U. S. Post Office and Courthouse Bldg., Los Angeles 12, Calif.; (subotfice) 15-0 U. S. Cus tomhouse, San Diego I, Calif.; (ship office) 326 U. S. Post Office and Courthouse, San Pedro, Calif. 12 323-A Customhouse, San Francisco 26, Calif. 13 307 Fitzpatrick Bldg., Portland 5, Oreg. 14 801 Federal Office Bldg., Seattle 4, Wash. 15 521 New Customhouse, Denver 2, Colo. 16 208 Uptown Post Office and Federal Courts Bldg., St. PaUl 2, Minn. 17 3200 Fidelity Bldg., Kansas City 6E, Mo. 18 826 U. S. Courthouse, Chicago 4, Ill. 19 1029 New Federal Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich. 20 328 Federal Bldg., Buffalo 3, N. Y. 21 502 Federal Bldg., Honolulu I, T. H. 22 322-323 ]j'ederal Bldg., San Juan 13, P. R. 23 7-8 Shattuck Bldg., Juneau, Alaska; (subotlice) 53 U. S. Post Olllfe and Courthouse Bldg., Anchorage, Alaska. 24 Briggs Bldg., 22nd & E Streets, N. W., Wash- ington 25, D. C. Prlmaru Monitoring Slatwn. Allegan, Mich. Grand Island, Nebr. KingsvUle, Tex. Millis, Mass. Santa Ana, Calif. Laurel, Md. Livermore, Calit'o Portland, Oreg. Powder Springs, Ga. Lanikai, Oahu, T. H. Anchorage, Alaska 8econdCU'1J Monitoring 8tatWM Searsport, Maine Spokane, Wash. TwIn Falls, Idaho Fort Lauderdale, FIa. Lexington, Ky. Muskogee, Okla. Fairbanks, Alaska Common Oarrier Bureau Field Office. Atlanta, Ga., 733 Hurt Building New York, N. Y., 90 Church Street St. Louis, Mo., 815 Olive Street San Francisco, Calif., 180 New Montgomery Street PUBLICATIONS The Commission's printed publications are not available,from the Commission, but are sold by the Superintendent of Documents, Gov ~rnmentPrinting Office, Washington 25, D. C., atth~prices indicated in the following list: , REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 155 T.fle Price Communications Act of 1934, with amendments and index, revised to Jan. 1952 $0.25 Federal Communications Commission reports (bound volumes of decisions and orders exclusive of annual reports) : Volume 3, July 1936 to February 1937______________________________ 2.00 Volume 4, March 1937 to Nov. 15, 1937_____________________________ 1.50 Volume 5, Nov. 16, 1937, to June 30, 1938___________________________ 1.50 Volume 6, July I, 1938, to Feb. 28, 1939____________________________ 1.50 Volume 7, March 1,1939, to Feb. 29,1940___________________________ 1.50 Volume 8, March 1, 1940, to Aug. 1, 1941-___________________________ 1.50 Volume 11, July I, 1945, to June 30, 1947-_________________________ 3.75 Volume 12, July 1, 1947, to June 30, 1948__________________________ 3.50 Annual reports of the CommJssion: Thirteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1947______________________ .25 Fourteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1948______________________ .80 Fifteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1949________________________ .35 Sixteenth Annual :Report-Fiscal year 1950________________________ .40 Seventeenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1951-____________________ .40 Eighteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1952______________________ .40 Nineteenth Annual Report-Fiscal year 1953______________________ (') Statistics of the Communications Industry: Jror the year 1939________________________________________________ .25 lror the year 1940________________________________________________ .20 For the year 1942________________________________________________ .35 For the year 1943________________________________________________ .30 For the year 1945________________________________________________ .50 For the year 1946________________________________________________ .55 For the year 1947________________________________________________ .75 For the year 1948: Secs. Aand B_______________________________________________ 1.00 Sec. B (Broadcast only) .... .85 For the year 1949: Secs. Aand B________________________________________________ 1.00 Sec. B (Broadcast only)______________________________________ .25 For the year 1950 (Common Carrier only)__________________________ .50 For the year 1951 (Common Carrier only) .40 Report on Public Service Responsibtuty of Broadcast Licensees (Blue Book), 1946________________________________________________________ .35 The Safety and Special Radio Services-a Public Primer. 1950___________ .15 Telephone and Telegraph-a Public Primer, HM9________________________ .10 An Economic Study of Standard Broadcasting, 1947_____________________ .40 Study Guide and Reference Material for Commercial Radio OperatorEx~ aminations, revised to Feb. 1. 1951-__________________________________ .35 Standards of Good Engineering Practice : Concerning Standard Broadcast Stations, revised to Oct. 80, 1947____ 1.25 Rules and Regulations: Part 0, Organization, Delegation of Authority, ete_______________ (') Part 1, Practtce and Procedure___________________________________ (') l In the process or printing-avaUable at Govemment PrfDUng omce at a later date. a Being revised-not available at present. .~5 .05 .15 .10 .10 (') .10 .05 156 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TlUs Rules and Regnlations--Gontinued Part 2, Frequency Allocations and Radio Treaty Matters; General Rules and Regulations, revised to July 30, 1952 $0.25 Part 3, Radio Broadcast Services, revised to June 30, 1953___________ .50 Part 4, Experimental and Auxiliary Broadcnst services, revised to Oct. 30, 1950 _ Part 5, Experimental Radio Services, revised to Mar. 17,1953 _ Part 6. Public Radiocommunication Services, revised to Apr. 27, 1949__ Part 7, Stations on Land in the Maritime Services, effective July 23, 1951___________________________________________________________ .20 Part 8, Stations on Shipboard in the Maritime Services, etrective July 23, 1951 (') Part 9, Aviation Services, revised to JUly 14, 1953___________________ .10 Part 10, Public Safety Radio Services, revised to Apr. 27, 1949________ .15 Part 11, Industrial Radio Services, revised to July 29, 1953__________ .15 Part 12, Amateur Radio Service, revised toJu~e6, 195L_____________ .10 Part 13, Commercial Radio Operators, revised to June 27, 1950________ .05 Part 14, Radio Stations in Alaska (Other than Amateur and Broad- cast), revised to Apr. 28, 1948 (') Part 15, Restricted Radiation Devices, recodified July 21, 1948_______ (') Part 16, Land Transportation Radio Services, revised to Jan. 7, 1953__ .10 Part 17, Construction, Marking, and Lighting of Antenna Structures, revised to June 30, 1953________________________________________ .05 Part 18, Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Service, revised to Jan. 25, 1950 _ Part 19, Citizens Radio Service, effective June I, 1949 _ Part 20, Disaster Communications Service, effective Mar. 21, 195L _ Part 31, Uniform System of Accounts for Class A and Class n Tele- phone Companies, revised to May 12, 1948________________________ .40 Part 33, Uniform System of Accounts for Class C Telephone Com panies, revised to May 12, 1948__________________________________ .30 Part 34, Uniform System of Accounts for Radiotelegraph Carriers, re- vised to Oct. 14, 1949___________________________________________ .20 Part 35, Uniform System of Accounts for "Tire-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 Certain Affiliates, revised to Sept. 21, 1953______________________________ .05 Part 45, Preservation of Records of Telephone Carriers, effective Oct. 1, 1950____________________________________________________ .10 Part 46, Preservation of Records of Wire-telegraph, Ocean-cable and Radiotelegraph Carriers, effective Oct. 1, 1950___________________ .10 Part 51, O<:cupational Classification & Compensation of Employees of Class A and Class B Telephone Companies, effective Oct. 10, 1951__ .05 Part 52, Classification of Wire-telegraph Employees, effective July 11, 1944_______________________________________________________ .05 Part 61, Tariffs, Rules Governing the Construction, Filing and Posting of Schedules of Charges for Interstate and Foreign Communica- tions Service, revised to Aug. 1, 1946____________________________ .10 J Being revised-not available at present. *Obtainable temporarily from the Federal Communications Commission without charge. REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 157 :Rules and Regulations-Continued Part 62, Applications under Sec. 212 of the Act to Bold Interlocking Directorates, revised to May 23, 1944 lfiO.05 Part 63, Extension of Lines and Discontinuance of Service by Carriers. revised to Dec. 30, 1946______________________________________ (') Part 64, Miscellaneous Rules Relating to Oommon Carriers, revised to July 16, 1948__________________________________________________ .10 II Obtainable temporarily from the Federal Communications Commission without charge. Purchasers ofthe Commission's Rules and Regulations are furnished ,a form by the Superintendentof Documents which, when filled out and forwarded to the Commission, entitles the purchaser to receive any future amendments to the part or parts purchased until a complete revision thereof is reprinted. AM and FM Standards of Good Engi neering Practice and most of the rule parts are printed on 8- by lO:y,,-inch pages and punched to fit standard three-ring binders. Standards with respect to television are now incorporated in part 3 of the broadcast rules. The Commission is not 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. TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS For informational purposes, the applicable Federal laws, interna tional treaties, agreements, and arrangements in force relating to electrical communication, and to which the United States is a party, are listed below. (Unless otherwise indicated, copies of these documents. may be <>btained from the Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C.) Date Series I Subject 1910 ._._ Ship Act of 1910 as amended July 23, 1912. (Those provisions relating to required radto-communtcatlon for shtps navigattng the Great Lakes). 1925~~~_T. S. 724-A Arrangements between the United States 01 America, Great Britain,Can~ ada, and Newfoundland. Effected by excbange of notes September and October 1925, providing for the prevention 01 interference by ships oft' the coast of these countries with radiO broadcasting. (Not available at the Government Prtnti.ng Office.) 1928andI929_ T. S. 767-A_ __ Arrangement effected by exchange of notes between the United States 01 America and Dommlon of Canada governing radio communications between PrIvate Experimental Stations. Signed Oct. 2, 1928, Dec. 29, 1928, and Jan. 12, 1929. 1929 T. S. 777-A Arrangement between the United States 01 AmerIca, Canada, Cuba, and Newfoundland relatmg to assignment of high frequencIes on the North AmerIcan continent effected by exchange of notes signed at Ottawa, Feb. 26 and 28, 1929. (Cuba ceased to be a party by virtue of notice to Canadian Govflmment of Oct. 5, 1932,effe~tiveOct. 5, 1933. Arrange ment stiIlln force with respect to United States of America, Canada, and Newfoundland). (Notavailabieat the Government Prtnttng Office.) 1934~.~__~~..___ Communications Act of 1934, as amended. See footnotes at end of table. 158 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Date Series I Subject 1934 E. A. S. 62._._ 1934 •• E.A. S.66c _ 1934. E. A. S. 72 •.•• 1937. ••••. E. A. 8.109 _ 1937•• T. S. 962 _ 1938.••. T. S. 949. _ 1939 E. A. 8.143.__ 19t-. ••• • • _ 1949 ._••• ._. _ 1951. • ••_w. __ . International Civil Aviation Convention. Signed at CbIcago, Dec. 7,lM.4c. Effeetivtl Apr. 4,1947. lOAO Regional Air Navigation Meetings, CommunIcations Com- mittee Final Reports.' lOAO Communication Division, Second Session, Montreal.s IOAO Communication Division, Third Session,Montreal.~ rOAO Communication DivisIon, FOllrth Session, Montreal.l 1T. S.-TreatySeries. E. A. S.-ExecutiveAgreement serieS. TIAS-Treatlesand Other Intemational Act Beries. I Not available at the Government Printing Office. Available from the Secretary General of ICAO. Internationsl Aviation Building, 1080 University Street, Montreal, Canada. o