AFN's Naples, Italy, radio service
has returned to full power
By Ward Sanderson,
Naples bureau
NAPLES, Italy — Dr. Laura is back, and loud as before.
The American Forces Network has announced that its Naples-area radio service is back at
full power. Italian officials forced the station to dial back its wattage earlier this
year during a countrywide cancer scare over broadcast radiation.
Now, Italian court authorities say the Z-FM and Power Network stations, FM 106 and 107,
could broadcast as powerfully as the previously agreed limit of 5,000 watts. The station
was cut to 1,000 watts in June. That was actually an improvement over March, when AFN and
about a dozen other stations broadcasting from rural Mount Camaldoli were taken off the
air.
The "elettrosmog" scare was much wider than Naples. Even Vatican Radio in
Rome faced being unplugged.
U.S. government officials fought back, saying AFN broadcasts were at or beneath their
legal limit for decades.
Though it took nearly seven months, the wrangling paid off.
According to AFN spokesman Roger Williams in Frankfurt, AFN Naples is now broadcasting
at 3,500 watts.
In a prepared statement, the head of Vicenza-based AFN South said that these days, the
radio service is more than just a convenience.
"I am very thankful that AFN is back at full power in Naples," said Lt. Col.
Nelson McCouch III. "It is important that American communities receive not only the
entertainment programming we provide, but access to local commander information too,
especially these days."
McCouch said military officials need to know AFN can reach troops in case of an
emergency.
"It’s a powerful tool we need to preserve."
The Naples transmitter sits in plenty of company atop Mount Camaldoli, which sprouts
towers and dishes as well as the occasional monastery.
Italian environmental authorities had claimed AFN produced about 10 times the legal
amount of radiation.
The network and listeners alike asked how that could be when the station’s wattage
had remained the same for years.
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