Reply #99: It is virtually impossible....

[sendero]

... to get such a license. Here is a condensed explanation.

Most people who wish to broadcast want to use the standard FM band (88-108 MHz) or occassionally the AM band (550-1600 KHz).

Licenses for using these bands are based on "channels", which on the FM band are 200 KHz apart, so there are approximately 100 channels available. To get a license on a channel, you have to avoid interfering with anyone else on that channel. I forget the exact distance, and it probably varies by station transmit power which also varies, but you are looking at about 50-60 miles apart.

Commercial interests really love these channels because they make big bucks using them. They "theoretically" operate in the "public interest" because we all own the airwaves, but the reality is that in the last 20 years or so - the concept of "operating in the public interest" has been so watered down as to be meaningless.

The FCC generally grants a certain number of licenses to "public radio" and college stations. The rest go to private business concerns. Virtually everywhere in the US, all possible channels utilized at full capacity. If you want a license, you have to buy it from someone who owns one.

The whole system sucks and like damn near everything else in our great country has been co-opted by greedy commercial interests.

(Of course, I have been an Amateur Radio operator for more years than I'd care to admit, that's why I know this stuff :))