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Comment by Larrikin | Hacker News Reader

If it's a requirement why don't you care that they are running a scam?

Surely if it's a rule there's a reason behind it, no? I imagine I'd care about avoiding whatever negative impact the rule was mitigating. But when rules become an end rather than a means to an end, there's no clearer separation between what's legal and what's ethical. Just rules are necessary for an organized society, but rules aren't automatically just merely because they exist.

One thing I still haven’t understood after reading far too much about this strange story, is why the requirement is there. Like, why can’t they just apply for a regular FM license on the frequency they already use?

They went with the license they did because it's cheaper. They can't just get a regular license at that frequency quickly because, according to the FCC:

> THE FCC IS NOT ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW FM COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATIONS AT THE PRESENT TIME.

Even if they were, your application just puts the allocation up for the next auction. I don't think the FCC has held an auction in a long time.

https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/how-to-apply#FM

I mean, that's the reason they can't ask for one, but I'm more interested in the reason why the FCC said they can't ask for one.

Is it because of pointless administrative gridlock? If so, good on them for finding a way to get around some bureaucrat's unwillingness to wield their approval stamp.

Is it because of some technical reason? Ok, bummer, but that's totally different. If it's someone's bottom line vs a public resource, that's that... but I get the sense the FCC would have said that explicitly, no?

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