Not long ago, TV stations thought the idea of losing their spectrum to wireless carriers was a fantasy. Then came the FCC’s incentive auction. Billions of dollars changed hands. Broadcasters that took the money gave up their channels. The rest had to “repack” into tighter spaces on the dial.
That set the precedent. Once a spectrum space is considered “underused,” it can be bought and resold.
So far, AM and FM are safe. No FCC plan is aimed at taking radio spectrum — at least, not yet. The Commission’s current fights are higher up the dial. But radio operators are getting nervous.
Why carriers care
Mobile carriers prize mid-band and high-band frequencies for 5G. That’s where the speed and capacity are. AM doesn’t deliver that. It’s especially noisy and too narrow to be useful.
But FM sits between 88 and 108 megahertz — prime real estate. If radio listening keeps declining, FM could start to look attractive.
Why broadcasters push back
Taking FM away would be political dynamite. Broadcasters, local officials, and public safety groups would fight tooth and nail — most likely led by giants like iHeart. Radio still handles local emergencies, community voices, and free access for anyone with a cheap receiver.
That’s why the industry is lobbying hard to keep AM radios in cars. Automakers don’t want to bother with broadcast radio, since most drivers can stream any station through the dashboard. Broadcasters argue AM is still essential for emergency alerts. They’re right. But the fact that they need Congress to step in shows how fragile radio’s place in the car has become.
The writing on the wall
Radio companies are already walking away from signals they can’t support. AM outlets, especially Townsquare and Cumulus, have given stations back to the FCC. That doesn’t mean spectrum auctions are coming tomorrow. But it shows the value equation is shifting.
TV broadcasters once thought the idea of losing spectrum was a dystopian fantasy. Then it happened.
If AM and FM are ever seen as underused, auctions are just a matter of time. And if that day comes, “radio” won’t be defined by a dial at all. It’ll be streaming — just like television is finding out.
Here’s an irony. If FM becomes an annex of mobile phone carriers, you might be streaming “radio” to your phone over the same frequencies that radio once used.
And if radio migrates to that New Land, how much of it will change when it gets there? Where will the next generation of “DJs” come from — the voices that give you insights into the music and keep you company? They’re already a dying breed. Will the shift to streaming finish them off?
These are questions I couldn’t have imagined when I started in radio 45 years ago. Hell, even 20 years ago. But here we are. And the smart operators might want to start packing up for the move.