Title: Broadcasting Infrastructure
Course: Critical Infrastructure: An Overview > Section: Course Content

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Broadcasting Infrastructure

Broadcasting is “the transmission of programs or signals from a radio or television station” [18]. According to Radio World, “There are 15,406 radio stations by the traditional statistic counting AMs, FM commercial and FM educational stations…” [18]. Additionally, the types of television stations total 8,203 [18].

Television and radio broadcast facilities are generally composed of studio facilities (some have main and backup studios), multiple studio-to-transmitter links (can include wireline, wireless, and satellite), and a form of transmission (most have a backup as well as primary).

The local studio can receive broadcast material from sources like the network they belong to, a syndication provider they subscribe to, or emergency officials. They combine these resources with material they create themselves for broadcast. The broadcast is sent over a studio-to-transmitter link to the transmitter. The signal from the transmitter then is broadcasted from towers, antennas, or similar.

“As a group, broadcasting services represent the most pervasive and redundant means of communications to the public and are the only services available at no cost to the consumer” [2, p. 106]. When emergencies happen, many of us rely on broadcast news for information. Broadcast communications can provide warnings, inform the public of available resources, instruct the public in emergency procedures, provide evacuation information, as well as provide valuable information after a disaster. Without broadcast communications many people would be uninformed and have to handle emergency situations on their own, without knowledge that could help them survive.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a group that makes rules that regulate broadcasting. It is the purpose of the FCC to help promote, regulate, and provide leadership in the field of communications. Rules governing broadcast content come from the FCC [20].