WGPB-FM

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WGPB FM 97.7 is the new public radio station in Rome, Georgia. It is the newest part of the Georgia Public Broadcasting radio network, which in turn is a member of National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media. Unlike most stations on the GPB network, WGPB will not be completely simulcast with the network. WGPB will also produce its own programs. The studios are located at Georgia Highlands College's Heritage Hall campus in downtown Rome, from which locally-produced programming will originate. The station began broadcasting as WGPB at 5 AM on June 30, 2006.

The station began as WROM-FM, sister station to WROM AM 710, and had that callsign until November 1979. It then became WKCX, known as "K98", most recently with a hot adult contemporary format. A satellite delivered format was used during most of the broadcast day, except for mornings and afternoons. The station was previously owned by Mills Fitzner, who owned WKCX for 20 years under the name Briar Creek Broadcasting Corp.

The deal, worth 4.2 million dollars, was announced in March 2006. The deal was finalized after a 45-day waiting period on June 29, one day before GPB began broadcasting on the frequency. Most of WKCX's staff left the station on May 31 in preparation for the changeover.

Rather than being licensed to the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, it is licensed to The Foundation for Public Broadcasting In Georgia, Inc., who acquired the station on GPB's behalf. The GPB foundation has the same Atlanta street address as GPB's headquarters.

WGPB is the first GPB or NPR radio station in northwest Georgia, and covers all of Floyd and and about half of each neighboring county reliably. The only other NPR/PRI stations available are WABE FM 90.1 from Atlanta, and WUTC FM 88.1 and WSMC-FM 90.5 from Chattanooga, both of which have marginal to poor reception in the Rome area. GPB Radio is also usually available on the second audio program of GPB TV station WCLP-TV 18, from near Chatsworth, except for when WCLP is using the SAP channel for other uses.

The station broadcasts with a power of 4.3 kW at 241 m HAAT, and is class C3. Despite what seems like a low effective radiated power, its height makes it approximately equivalent to the class C3 maximum of 25 kW at 100 m, which gives a reference distance of nearly 40 km or 25 miles from the radio antenna site. This is the only GPB station, and one of the few non-commercial educational stations in the country, that use a channel outside of the 88-92 MHz reserved band.