If you spin the radio dial to the very bottom of the FM band in Anchorage, Alaska - and then go a little lower - you'll find a pleasant surprise.  There's a radio station there.

Broadcasting on 87.7 MHz with 920 watts of power, KZND 'The End' is causing quite a stir 'up north.'  It was first stumbled upon by an intrepid newspaper columnist, and now offers full-fledged 'alternative music' to the masses.

But the station is out-of-bounds.  The FCC says any FM radio station must fall on a frequency between 88 and 108 MHz, and must have a minimum broadcast power of 6,000 watts. KZND fits none of the proper parameters the FCC allows for legal radio broadcasting.

So where's the FCC and its crackdown crackpots?  They usually jump all over low power radio stations.  Especially those so open and bombastic about their existence.  But KZND continues to operate - and makes some serious cash in the process.

How?  KZND has an FCC license.  But it's not legally a radio station to begin with; it's a low power television station.  Technically, it's not even governed by the radio powers-that-be!

Turns out KZND's planners found a small loophole in FCC regulations governing LPTV - one that allows such stations to operate their audio and video signals separately.

KZND is following all the rules for a television station; it's broadcasting a video signal on Channel 6, but only showing a still image.  And, conveniently, the frequency used to broadcast audio on Channel 6 neighbors the FM broadcast band.  There's even been a proposal floated to the FCC to allow low power radio stations on this frequency - most people's radio receivers can reach down to 87.7, so the listener base is there.

FCC regulations do not mandate what a low power television station must program, either visually or aurally.  So long as KZND fills Channel 6 with something, it can go hog wild with whatever it wants to on the audio side.  In this case, KZND is radio masquerading as TV.

Other commercial radio broadcasters in the Anchorage area are reportedly furious with KZND - they see it as 'unfair competition' to their stations, who are 'playing by the rules.'

But any legal challenge to KZND has yet to be filed with the FCC - and as far as it's concerned, there's no problem.

Ironically (and some may say unfortunately), this regulatory loophole is not being exploited by some broadcast pioneer looking to provide Anchorage with a true alternative - the same people who started KZND already own a television station there.  KZND's program director and morning show host, J.J. Michaels, is a long-time veteran of the market's commercial radio scene, too - he's even still listed on the staff of another station's website.

So, instead of using the opportunity as a way to bring a change to the way Anchorage listens to radio, it's being used to provide more of the same.  While the fruits may be depressing, the labor involved in bringing KZND to life is worth closer examination to others looking for a way to beat the system at its own game.