On November 11, 1928 the United States implemented General Order 40, which classified each allocation in the AM band as either Local, Regional or Clear. The classification system considered stations in Canada as well. Gradually maximum power was increased to 50,000 watts: additionally there were some short-lived experiments with 250–500 kilowatt "super-power" operations. This system was continued in the 1941 NARBA system, although almost all stations shifted broadcast frequencies. The FCC's intent behind licensing 50,000 watt "clear-channel" stations was to provide reliable radio service to the thousands of Americans who lived in the vast rural areas of the United States. As a result, these stations usually reached large portions of North America at night. Radio fans (and staff at those stations) often affectionately call such stations "flamethrowers" or "blowtorches" because of their high power, and boast about their reach by a combined state and provincial count of their coverage area.