Call signs in North America

{{Short description|North American broadcast call signs}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2009}}
[[Call sign]]s are frequently still used by [[North America]]n [[broadcasting|broadcast stations]], in addition to [[amateur radio]] and other international radio stations that continue to identify by [[call sign]]s worldwide. Each country has a different set of patterns for its own call signs. Call signs are allocated to [[amateur radio|ham radio]] stations in [[Barbados]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]] and the [[United States]].

Many countries have specific conventions for classifying call signs by transmitter characteristics and location. The call sign format for [[radio call sign|radio]] and [[television call sign]]s follows a number of conventions. All call signs begin with a prefix assigned by the [[International Telecommunication Union]]. For example, the [[United States]] has been assigned the following prefixes: '''AAA'''–'''ALZ''', '''K''', '''N''', '''W'''. For a complete list, see [[ITU prefix|international call sign allocations]].

==Bermuda, Bahamas, and the Caribbean==
Pertaining to their status as former or current colonies, all of the [[British West Indies]] islands shared the '''VS''', '''ZB'''–'''ZJ''', and '''ZN'''–'''ZO''' prefixes. The current, largely post-independence, allocation list is as follows:
* [[Anguilla]] (in amateur radio '''VP2E''' prefix)
* [[Antigua and Barbuda]] (uses '''V2''' prefix)
* [[Bahamas]] (has the '''C6''' prefix)
* [[Barbados]] (uses '''8P''')
* [[Bermuda]] (also uses '''VS''', in amateur radio normally '''VP9''')
* [[British Virgin Islands]] (for amateur radio uses '''VP2V''')
* [[Cayman Islands]] ('''ZF''' for amateur operation, '''ZF1''' for [[Grand Cayman]], '''ZF8''' for [[Little Cayman]] and '''ZF9''' for [[Cayman Brac]] islands. Visiting reciprocal for all islands is '''ZF2''')<ref>{{cite web|title=Cayman Amateur Radio Society|url=http://caymanhams.org/|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> 
* [[Dominica]] (Commonwealth of Dominica, uses '''J7''')
* [[Grenada]] (uses '''J3''')
* [[Jamaica]] (uses '''6Y''')
* [[Montserrat]] (for amateur operation '''VP2M''' prefix)
* [[St. Kitts and Nevis]] (uses '''V4''')
* [[St. Lucia]] (uses '''J6''')
* [[St. Vincent and the Grenadines]] (uses '''J8''')
* [[Turks and Caicos Islands]] (typically uses '''VP5''')

===Cuba===
Cuba uses the prefixes '''CL'''–'''CM''', '''CO''', and '''T4''', with district numbers from 0 to 9 for amateur operations.

===Dominican Republic===
The Dominican Republic uses the prefixes '''HI'''–'''HJ'''.

===French West Indies===
All of the French possessions share the prefix '''F'''. Further divisions that are used by amateur stations are:
* [[Guadeloupe]] – uses '''FG'''
* [[Martinique]] – uses '''FM'''
* [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]] – uses '''FS'''
* [[Saint-Barthélemy]] – uses '''FJ'''

===Haiti===
Haiti has been assigned the call sign prefixes '''HH''' and '''4V'''.

===Netherlands Antilles===
The [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] use the '''PA'''–'''PI''' prefixes, while the [[Netherlands Antilles]] use the '''PJ''' prefix. [[Aruba]] has been assigned '''P4''' by the [[ITU]].

===Trinidad and Tobago===
The island nation of [[Trinidad and Tobago]] use the '''9Y'''–'''9Z''' prefixes.

==Canada==
{{main|Call signs in Canada}}
Canadian broadcast stations are assigned a three-, four-, or five-letter base call sign (not including the "-FM", "-TV" or "-DT" suffix) beginning with '''CB''', '''CF''', '''CH''', '''CI''', '''CJ''', '''CK''', '''VF''', or '''VO'''. The "CB" series calls are assigned to [[Chile]] by the ITU, but Canada makes [[de facto]] use of this series anyway for stations belonging to, but not exclusively broadcasting programs from, the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dxinfocentre.com/wx-fm.htm# |title=DXinfocentre.com |access-date=2006-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210194402/http://www.dxinfocentre.com/wx-fm.htm# |archive-date=2007-02-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Several other prefixes, including '''CG''', '''CY'''-'''CZ''', '''VA'''-'''VE''', '''VG''', and the '''XJ'''-'''XO''' range, are available, but are not used in broadcasting. Conventional radio and television stations almost exclusively use "C" call signs; with the exception of a few commercial radio stations in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]] which existed prior to the admission of Newfoundland as a province in 1949, the "V" calls are restricted to specialized uses such as [[amateur radio]].

==Mexico==
{{main|Call signs in Mexico}} 
Mexican broadcast stations are assigned call signs beginning with "XE" (for [[mediumwave]] and [[shortwave]] stations) or "XH" (for [[FM broadcasting|FM radio]] and [[television station]]s), followed by one and up to five letters and a suffix according to the band in which they broadcast, these suffixes are: "-AM", "-OC" (shortwave or ''Onda Corta''), "-FM" and "-TDT" (Terrestrial Digital Television). The "-OL" ([[longwave]] or ''Onda Larga'') and "-TV" suffixes are currently phased out as those bands are no longer used. Some FM and television stations have call signs beginning with "XE", usually reserved for AM radio stations. Most of these "XE" cases in FM and television stations were solicited by the concessionaires themselves so the stations would have the same call sign as an existing AM station (as it is the case of [[XEW-AM]], [[XEW-TV]] and [[XEW-FM]], all founded and owned by the [[Azcárraga family]]), while others are for disambiguation (like [[XHTV-TV]] and [[XETV-TV]] or [[XEIMT-TV]] and [[XHIMT-TV]]). All TV stations originally assigned with the "-TV" suffix, had been given the "-TDT" suffix as they made the [[digital switchover]].<br />

Television stations are required to identify every 30 minutes; there has been no equivalent requirement in radio since 2014. Television [[rebroadcaster]]s are assigned the call signs of the station they are licensed to retransmit; for instance, [[XEZ-TDT]], located on Cerro El Zamorano in [[Querétaro]], has a repeater on Cerro Culiacán serving [[Celaya]], [[Guanajuato]], which is also XEZ-TV. [[Digital subchannels]] are not assigned a distinctive call sign, they keep the call sign of the station. The technical guidelines for digital television stations stipulate the use of [[PSIP]] short names matching the parent station (e.g. [[XHTDMX-TDT|XHTDMX]]2, XHTDMX3).

[[Amateur radio]] stations in Mexico use "XE1" for the central region, "XE2" for the northern region, and "XE3" for the southern region. "XF" prefixes indicate islands. "XF4" is usually used for the [[Revillagigedo Islands]] and nearby islets. Special call signs for contests or celebrations are occasionally issued, often in the 4A and 6D series, although these will follow the usual district numbering system (4A3 for the south, etc.).

==United States==
{{main article|Call signs in the United States}}
The earliest identification, used in the 1910s and into the early 1920s, was arbitrary. The U.S. government began requiring stations to use three-letter call signs around 1912, but they could be chosen at random. This system was replaced by the basic form of the current system in the early 1920s. Examples of pre-1920 stations include 8XK in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], which became [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]] in November 1920, and [[Charles Herrold]]'s series of identifiers from 1909 in [[San Jose, California]]: first "This is the Herrold Station" or "San Jose calling",<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kqw/kqw_30th-anniv_nov-10-1945.shtml | title = About Doc Herrold | first = Marty | last = Cheek | publisher = Bay Area Radio Museum | location = [[Pleasanton, California]] | access-date = 2010-05-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070203083252/http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kqw/kqw_30th-anniv_nov-10-1945.shtml | archive-date = 2007-02-03 | url-status = dead }}</ref> then the call signs FN, SJN, 6XF, and 6XE, then, with the advent of modern call signs, KQW in December 1921, and eventually [[KCBS (AM)|KCBS]] from 1949 onward.

All broadcast call signs in the United States begin with either '''K''' or '''W''', with "K" usually west of the [[Mississippi River]] and "W" usually east of it. Initial letters '''AA''' through '''AL''', as well as '''N''', are internationally allocated to the United States but are not used for broadcast stations.

In the United States, broadcast stations have call signs of three to seven characters in length, including suffixes for certain types of service, but the minimum length for new stations is four characters, and seven-character call signs result only from rare combinations of suffixes.

==See also==
* [[City of license]], another element of station licensing
* [[Facility ID]], used by the FCC in the United States to distinguish broadcast stations without regard to call sign changes

==References==
The rules governing call signs for stations in the United States are set out in the FCC rules, 47 [[Code of Federal Regulations|C.F.R.]] chapter I. Specific rules for each particular service are set out in the part of the rules dealing with that service. A general overview of call sign formats is found at {{CodeFedReg|47|2|302}}. Rules for broadcast stations' call sign are principally defined in {{CodeFedReg|47|73|3550}}.
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==External links==
* [http://www.tophour.com Tophour.com]&nbsp;— Top-of-the-hour station identifications with call signs from American AM and FM radio stations
* [http://henney.com/chm/callsign.htm Military Callsign List]
* [https://earlyradiohistory.us/kwtrivia.htm K/W Call Letters in the United States]&nbsp;— A comprehensive historical review of K and W call letter assignments for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations in the United States
* [https://earlyradiohistory.us/recap.htm EarlyRadioHistory.us]&nbsp;— United States call sign policies

{{Americas topic|Call signs in}}
{{Call signs}}

[[Category:Call signs|North America]]
[[Category:Communications in North America]]