Ofcom today advertises two new local FM commercial radio licences for Belfast and Cornwall.
Belfast
Ofcom is advertising an FM commercial radio licence to cover the city of Belfast and the surrounding area.
Ofcom estimates that this licence could achieve coverage of an area with an adult (aged 15+) population of around 750,000. The measured coverage area of this new service could potentially be more extensive than that achieved by the existing FM Belfast service provided by City Beat 96.7 but more limited than that achieved by Cool FM. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics.
The closing date for the submission of applications is 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday 8 December 2004. A non-refundable fee of ?5,000 will be payable for each application submitted.
The full details for this licence, including the guidelines and procedures for the submission of applications, can be obtained from the Ofcom website. Please see related items.
Cornwall
Ofcom is also today inviting applications for a licence to provide an FM commercial radio service to cover as much of the county of Cornwall as possible.
Ofcom estimates this licence could achieve coverage of an area with an adult population (aged 15+) of around 410,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission sites and other technical characteristics. Two FM frequencies are being made available for this licence.
The closing date for the submission of completed applications will be 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday 8 December 2004. A non-refundable fee of ?5,000 will be payable for each application submitted.
The full details for this licence, including the guidelines and procedures for the submission of applications, can be obtained from the Ofcom website. Please see related items.
General information
Both licences will be issued for a twelve year period.
All applications for these licences will be published on the Ofcom website as soon as is practicable after the closing date. The anticipated timing of the licence award decisions will be announced within two weeks of the closing-date.
Ofcom welcomes the views of the public about the local needs of listeners in these areas and the types of services required. Opinions on these issues can either be emailed to commercialradio@ofcom.org.uk or posted to Neil Stock, Head of Radio Planning & Licensing, Ofcom, Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA.