FM broadcasting
VHF Radio waves do not travel far beyond the visual horizon, so reception distances for FM stations are usually limited to 30–40 miles (50–65 km) They can also be blocked by hills or buildings.
Broadcast range
Various broadcast relay stations can help to extend a station's area by retransmitting them on the same or another channel. What is usually called a repeater in amateur radio is called a broadcast translator (different channel) or booster (same channel) in American broadcasting, or the much broader category or rebroadcasters in Canadian broadcasting (which includes more than just the low-power broadcasting used in the U.S.) Boosters are used only within the broadcast range of the parent station, and serve the same function locally as regional and national single-frequency networks do in Europe. Distributed transmission has also undergone tests in the U.S., but to preserve stations' market share in their home media markets, these will be limited to the broadcast area of a single large station. Satellite radio, which is designed for use without a dish, also uses ground repeaters in large cities due to the many obstructions their high-rise buildings cause to the many current and potential customers that are concentrated there.