You'll notice that
the title to this page has four terms slashed together and prefixed
to 'radio': pirate/free/micropower/low-power. These all basically refer
to the same universe of ideas, but each have a slightly differing meanings.
Nonetheless, because their meanings are quite close, they tend to get
used interchangeably, which is why I've chosen to put them all in the
title of this page--that way folks will find it no matter what term
they're searching for. In order to help make sense of it all I'm providing
a few definitions so as to minimize confusion.
All of these terms
roughly refer to a grassroots form of radio broadcasting that uses low
power levels, usually on the FM dial. By broadcasting with low power
these stations cover small geographic areas, but benefit from being
very inexpensive to buy, build and operate. Because of this they are
very easy to obtain and use without obtaining a license, which is required
by law in most countries. In the US the Federal Communications Commission
is responsible for overseeing radio broadcasting, and from 1978 to 2000
refused to license low-power radio transmitters operating at less than
100 watts of power, which ended up providing impetus for unlicensed
broadcasters to come on the scene in the 1990s. Beside low cost, part
of the appeal of broadcasting with low power is that by necessity a
broadcaster has to be in the community it broadcasts to, which many
think allows for more community participation and accountability.
The terms
pirate
radio
- This term finds its origins in both the common sense of pirate, which
usually means something which is stolen or done outside the law, and
in the history of early unlicensed broadcasters who operated from boats
off-shore England and the Netherlands beginning mostly in the 1960s.
Since then pirate radio has come to refer to any unlicensed broadcasting.
However, the term is somewhat disfavored by some unlicensed broadcasters
because it implies that by going on the air they are stealing something,
while many in the movement believe that the airwaves are a public resource
and that therefore they have a right to use them. Thus they prefer these
other names:
free
radio -- is a term for unlicensed broadcasting that is often
perferred over the term 'pirate radio.' Free radio is inherently political
in nature, finding its root in the notion that the radio spectrum is
public property to be used by the public, and so unlicensed free radio
broadcaters see themselves as freeing the spectrum for this use. Free
Radio Berkeley is probably the group that pioneered the use of this
term.
micropower
radio - This refers to the low power levels that many unlicensed
broadcasters use. As such, it's really kind of a subset of pirate radio,
since not all unlicensed broadcasters use less than 100 watts of power.
Micropower broadcasters typically use anywhere from a portion of a watt
to 100 watts, and usually operate on the FM dial. The term 'micropower'
is in a way a misnomer, since 'micro' would tend to mean something around
one thousandth of a watt. The term was originally used somewhat derisively
by unlicensed broadcasters using higher power levels, often on the shortwave
bands, who looked down on broadcasters using cheap, sometimes homemade
FM transmitters at just a few watts, or even 1/10 of a watt. But as
the movement of people broadcasting at low power levels grew, the 'micropower'
name became more descriptive and people used it proudly, leaving its
derisive past behind.
low-power
radio (also low-power FM or LPFM) --
also refers to the power levels used by broadcasters, but unlike the
other three terms defined here, it does not necessarily only refer to
unlicensed broadcasters. Low power FM broadcasting has a
storied past that dates back to the 1940s when it was established
as a licensed service in the US, until 1978 when the FCC quit licensing
low-power FM stations. Due to a well coordinated activist movement,
that also involved more decentralized public disobedience (i.e. unlicensed
broadcasting), the FCC began licensing LPFM stations again in 2001,
though not until Congress passed legislation severely limiting where
these new stations could be built.
note
on the storied past of LPFM:
I wrote an essay on this history and the fight to make LPFM legal again
that recently appeared in the new book the
Radio Reader, edited by Michele Hilmes and Jason Loviglio, published
by Routledge. You can find out more info and buy this book at the mediageek
library.