STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN Re: Policies to Promote Rural Radio Service and to Streamline Allotment and Assignment Procedures, MB Docket No. 09-52 I am very pleased to support this Notice of Proposed Rule Making, which will allow the Commission to more effectively carry out our obligation to distribute radio service fairly throughout the United States, especially rural and underserved areas. Today, the Commission also aims to increase transparency in the process of broadcast radio broadcast auctioning and licensing. The Commission’s objective in the auctioning and licensing process is to prioritize the needs of communities that do not already have local radio. Community radio stations do not merely serve the towns in which they are located. In rural areas across the country, local community radio stations reach out to keep farmers, ranchers and all those beyond the town limits informed and connected. Perhaps most importantly, these stations are essential components in our national Emergency Alert System safety net. In sum, the value and importance of these stations should not be underestimated. The current process by which licenses are granted has become rife with inequalities. In the case of both AM and FM licensing, our standards focus primarily on the largest proposed population to be served. In communities on the outskirts of more urbanized areas, potential licensees have taken advantage of our procedures by using nearby communities as backdoors to reach larger, well-served, urban areas. This NPRM will allow us to close this loophole, and ensure that licensees are committed to serving areas that truly need their own voice on the radio. Through this item, the Commission also proposes to open AM radio to new licensees. By creating more competitive bidding auction opportunities for AM license applicants, new applicants will be able to take advantage of bidding credits, or discounts on their winning bids. This will ease the financial burden on small entities that want to bring radio into unserved, underserved, and rural areas. Overall, this NPRM encourages equitable licensing procedures, expands broadcast radio to populations that have been largely ignored, and contributes to the growth and vitality of a diverse community of broadcast radio licensees. For these reasons, I support this item and look forward to public comment.