New York State to start regulating radio signals on the airwaves

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 12: An antenna is seen on the top of a telephone pole at a telephone exchange in the New York City borough of Queens, New York, U.S., July 12, 2017.

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York state’s governor on Wednesday proposed rules to regulate radio signals in the state’s most populous boroughs.

The plan by Democrat Andrew Cuomo is part of an ongoing push to reduce emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels in the heart of the city.

The proposed rules would force radio companies to buy out their own equipment, or provide them with more spectrum in exchange for compensation, according to the draft.

Radio companies are the largest source of power for New York and other large cities, and have faced legal challenges from the state over the past decade over its lack of regulation.

Cuomo’s plan comes after a year in which emissions of nitrogen oxide, or NOx, from New York’s air increased by nearly 50 percent.

Nitrogen dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, and the state has pledged to cap emissions of the pollutant.

The plan would not change existing emissions limits for the gas, the governor’s office said.

Radio firms are in the business of transmitting radio signals, including to phone and radio towers, and they receive hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies.