The extended mediumwave broadcast band, commonly known as the AM expanded band, refers to the broadcast station frequency assignments immediately above the earlier upper limits of 1600 kHz in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Region 2 (the Americas), and 1602 kHz in ITU Regions 1 (Europe, northern Asia, and Africa) and 3 (southern Asia and Oceania).
In Region 2, this consists of 10 additional frequencies, spaced 10 kHz apart, and running from 1610 kHz to 1700 kHz. In Regions 1 and 3, where frequency assignments are spaced 9 kHz apart, the result is 11 additional frequencies, from 1611 kHz to 1701 kHz.
ITU Region 1 ITU Region 1 & 3(9 kHzspacing) 2(10 kHzspacing) 1611 1610 1620 1620 1629 1630 1638 1640 1647 1650 1656 1660 1665 1670 1674 1680 1683 1690 1692 1700 1701 1710 1710
Europe The extended band is not officially allocated in Europe, and the trend of national broadcasters in the region has been to reduce the number of their AM band stations in favor of FM and digital transmissions. However, new Low-Power AM (LPAM) stations have recently come on the air from countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Italy. These frequencies are also used by a number of "hobby" pirate radio stations, particularly in the Netherlands, Greece, and Serbia. Vatican Radio for many years transmitted on 1611 kHz, before ceasing broadcasts on this frequency in 2012. Since 2014, a licensed Norwegian project has been broadcasting both Radio Northern Star and The Sea on 1611 kHz."Silent MW Radio Countries", compiled by Bruce Conti (bamlog.com)
ITU Region 2 In 1979, a World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC-79) adopted "Radio Regulation No. 480", which stated that "In Region 2, the use of the band 1605-1705 kHz by stations of the broadcasting service shall be subject to a plan to be established by a regional administrative radio conference..." As a consequence, on June 8, 1988, an ITU-sponsored conference held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, adopted provisions, effective July 1, 1990, to extend the upper end of the Region 2 AM broadcast band, by adding 10 frequencies which spanned from 1610 kHz to 1700 kHz. The agreement provided for a standard transmitter power of 1 kilowatt, which could be increased to 10 kilowatts in cases where it did not result in undue interference.Final Acts of the Regional Radio Conference to Establish a Plan for the Broadcasting Service in the Band 1605-1705 in Region 2 (PDF) (Rio de Janeiro, 1988. ITU.int)
Anguilla Even before the formal adoption of the expansion, a 50,000-watt religious station located on the island of Anguilla, British West Indies, was broadcasting on 1610 kHz as "The Caribbean Beacon"."What to Listen for in the 1990s" by Don Bishop, Monitoring Times, January 1990, page 6. This station dated to the early 1980s, and is no longer on the air."The Fleet Is In: Angling for Radio Buoys" by Mario Filippi, Monitoring Times, July 2013, page 12.
Argentina
In Argentina, the expanded band assignments are primarily in the region surrounding the nation's capital, Buenos Aires."Radios en AM en Buenos Aires, Argentina" (radio-america-latina.org)
Canada Canada has made an informal agreement with the United States to allow Canadian stations operating on 1610, 1630, 1650, 1670, and 1690 kHz to be located closer to their common border than would normally be allowed, in exchange for allowing the U.S. the same privilege on the other frequencies.Report on AM Broadcasting Possibilities in The Greater Toronto Area, Government of Canada, July 11, 2013 (gc.ca). Therefore, all of its limited number of expanded band stations currently operate on these frequencies.
Cuba There have only been a few expanded band stations established in Cuba. The most commonly used frequency is 1620 kHz, where multiple stations simulcast Radio Rebelde network programming."Cuba Radio Map" (as of February 6, 2019) (bamlog.com)
Mexico Mexico has a total of 4 radio stations licensed for the expanded band prior to 2017: XEUT-AM 1630, XEARZ-AM 1650, XEANAH-AM 1670, and XEPE-AM 1700. Both XEARZ (5 kW) and XEPE (10 kW) operate with nighttime power greater than 1 kW."Estaciones de Radio AM" Instituto Federal de Telecommunicaciones, May 16, 2018. These stations were authorized before changes in 2014 set aside the AM expanded band, along with 106-108 MHz on FM, for social community and social indigenous radio stations.
With the exception of XEFCR-AM in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, all of the stations since assigned to the expanded band have been community or indigenous stations: XECSCA-AM, XECSCGU-AM, XECSIA-AM, XECSIB-AM, and XECSIC-AM.
United States Background In the United States, implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement in 1941 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had established 1600 kHz as the upper limit for the standard AM broadcast band. Beginning in the 1930s, adjacent higher frequencies had commonly been designated as a police radio band. Even after police radio transmissions were no longer made on this band, some county and city ordinances still forbade receivers capable of picking up transmissions on these frequencies,County of Los Angeles Code Chapter 13.10 and they had reportedly been occasionally enforced to cite motorists in possession of amateur radio gear, or in extreme cases an AM radio installed in the vehicle as original equipment.
A small group of frequencies, starting at 1665 kHz,"Servicing Cordless Telephones" by Christopher Kite, Radio-Electronics, May 1985, pages 77-80, 118. had been set aside for use by cordless telephones, however in 1983, a higher allocation was assigned, and production of handsets transmitting on the lower frequencies was prohibited after October 1, 1984."Fourth Notice of Inquiry" (FCC 88-72. Adopted February 25, 1988, released June 3, 1988), page 4511 (footnote no. 15). Therefore, by 1988, the frequencies from 1610 to 1700 kHz were largely unoccupied, with one major exception: 1610 kHz was one of two primary frequencies (along with 530 kHz) that had been assigned for use by hundreds of low-powered Travelers Information Stations (TIS). Moreover, the controlling licensing authority for these stations was not the FCC, but instead was the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), so coordination between the two agencies was required. It was concluded that, for operation on 1610 kHz, TIS and broadcasting stations were considered "co-primary" services, thus existing TIS stations were protected from having to move to new frequencies."Travelers Information Stations" (paragraph 24), Memorandum Opinion and Order, Docket No. 87-267, FCC 93-196, filed May 11, 1993, effective date June 11, 1993. The restriction imposed by having to protect existing TIS stations on 1610 kHz generally reduced by one the number of available expanded band frequencies, and because the sole U.S assignment for this frequency, KALT in Atlanta, Texas, was eventually deleted; currently there are no broadcasting stations licensed for 1610 kHz in the United States.
The FCC gave approval for TIS stations to operate on 1620–1700, on a secondary basis, and it was informally suggested that, once most radios could tune to the higher frequencies, all of the TIS stations on 1610 kHz could be moved as a group to 1710 kHz, however this was never implemented. (Currently 1710 kHz is unused by TIS stations with one exception: a waiver has been granted to Hudson County, New Jersey, to operate a single-frequency network (WQFG689)).Universal Licensing System: WQFG689 (FCC.gov)
Preparation When the ITU approved the extension of the "top end" of the AM band to 1700 kHz in 1988, few consumer radios could tune higher than about 1620 or 1630 kHz. However, it was reported at the time that FCC "officials have been meeting with American manufacturers of radio receivers to make an early start on producing sets capable of receiving signals in the new band...""RIO is stage for AM spectrum conference", Broadcasting, May 23, 1988, pages 55-56. and when the first U.S. expanded band radio station began operating in late 1995, it was estimated that by now there were 280 million radios capable of receiving the full expanded band."WJDM to be first on extended AM band" by Glen Diskson, Broadcasting, October 9, 1995, page 66.
During the 1988 ITU conference, it was suggested that as many as 500 U.S. stations could be assigned to the new frequencies. On April 12, 1990, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to begin the process of populating the expanded band. Although some individuals had hoped the commission would give preferences to minority-owner or daytime-only stations, it announced that the main priority would be reducing interference on the existing AM band, by transferring selected stations to the new frequencies. It was now estimated that the expanded band could accommodate around 300 U.S. stations."FCC Votes To Proceed With AM-Band Improvement Plans" by Bill Holland, Billboard, April 28, 1990, page 10.
The president of WJDM in Elizabeth City, New Jersey, John R. Quinn, was frustrated that the station was limited to daytime-only operation, and required to sign-off at night, because it was located within protected nighttime coverage area of a Class I "clear channel" station, WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, there were no unused fulltime assignments available on the AM and FM bands in the congested New York City region. Quinn saw this as an opportunity for WJDM to move to a new frequency allowing fulltime operation. It was arranged for congressional representative Matthew J. Rinaldo to introduce legislation that added a carefully worded provision to the Communications Act of 1934 in late 1991, mandating that "It shall be the policy of the Federal Communications Commission, in any case in which the licensee of an existing AM daytime-only station located in a community with a population of more than 100,000 persons that lacks a local full-time aural station licensed to that community and that is located within a Class I station primary service area notifies the Commission that such licensee seeks to provide full-time service"."Additions to Section 331 of the Communications Act of 1934" (Approved December 20, 1991), Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, page 2402."Persistence pays off for Quinn", Broadcasting, April 19, 1993, page 14.
This addition successfully advanced WJDM's status, and on December 8, 1995 the station began broadcasting on the additional frequency of 1660 kHz, as the country's first with regular broadcasting on the expanded band."WJDM to be first on extended AM band" by Glen Diskson, Broadcasting, October 9, 1995, page 66. The wording inserted into the Communications Act was broad enough to qualify a second station, KXBT on 1190 kHz in Vallejo, California, for an expediated assignment, which debuted at 1640 kHz on March 19, 1996."Classic Soul KXBT (AM) Jams on Expanded Band" by Alan Peterson, Radio World, April 17, 1996, pages 1, 3.