News
New VPR station for Brattleboro to begin broadcasting soon
BRATTLEBORO—While Vermont Public Radio is the most listened-to radio station in Brattleboro, according to broadcasting rating services, some listeners to VPR have said they have a hard time picking up its signal.
Reception of VPR’s main frequency for southern Vermont, WVPR 89.5 FM, can be spotty at best, depending on where you are in Windham County.
That will change later this summer when VPR puts a new frequency, WVBA 88.9 FM, into service to carry its news and talk programming.
“VPR’s current signal reaches north, well into Canada, east into New Hampshire, west into New York State, and south into Bennington, but not well into the Brattleboro area,” said Robin Turneau, president and CEO of Vermont Public Radio. “Windham County residents have been asking VPR for decades to provide them with a clearer, stronger signal so that they can participate in the statewide conversations that VPR convenes.”
The tower of WVBA, a Class B1 station, will be located near the Brattleboro/Guilford town line, and broadcast with an effective radiated power of 8,900 watts, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Turneau said that WVBA will serve 32,000 Vermonters, 16,000 of whom currently do not have access to VPR. The station’s signal will extend west towards Wilmington, north towards Bellows Falls, east towards Keene N.H., and south to Greenfield, Mass.
Once that goes on the air, Turneau said the current 10-watt translator frequency in Brattleboro at 94.5 FM will be used for VPR Classical’s programming.
VPR applied for the Brattleboro frequency in the fall of 2007, during a brief window of opportunity provided by the FCC for community, religious, and public broadcasters to apply for new channel allocation in the 88-92 section of the FM band. It was granted a construction permit three years later.
WVBA will become VPR’s 13th full-power station. It also operates 11 low-power translator frequencies that rebroadcast signals from the full power stations to provide better coverage in areas that have unreliable reception.
What do you think? Leave us a comment
Editor’s note: Our terms of service require you to use your real names. We will remove anonymous or pseudonymous comments that come to our attention. We rely on our readers’ personal integrity to stand behind what they say; please do not write anything to someone that you wouldn’t say to his or her face without your needing to wear a ski mask while saying it. Thanks for doing your part to make your responses forceful, thoughtful, provocative, and civil. We also consider your comments for the letters column in the print newspaper.
Obituaries/Births/News of Windham County people
—
We make our news available at no cost, but that doesn't mean it comes free. Reader memberships and donations make a huge difference and help all Vermont Independent Media programs, including The Commons and the Media Mentoring Project
Information and rates about advertising in The Commons
Information and rates about advertising on Commonsnews.org
The Commons, Commonsnews.org, and the Media Mentoring Project are projects of Vermont Independent Media, a nonprofit source of news and media education in southern Vermont.
Vermont Independent Media
139 Main St., #604
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-246-6397
info@commonsnews.org
—
General contacts
Newsroom/submit announcements:
news@commonsnews.org
Advertising inquiries:
ads@commonsnews.org
Comments (1)
Add Comment