Organisations and groups who wish to apply for a Community Radio licence in the “second round” of developments have been invited to submit a letter of intent to Ofcom. by Friday 21st April 2006.
The ‘letters of intent’ will help Ofcom to design a licensing process which takes account of the pattern of expected demand in different parts of the country. This may involve inviting applications on a regional basis, rather than from all over the UK at the same time. This approach will help Ofcom to plan thier work more effectively, and to reduce the period between an applicant submitting his or her application and Ofcom reaching a decision on whether to award a licence.
Submission of a ‘letter of intent’ will not be taken as a binding promise on the part of its author to apply for a licence. Equally, the invitation to apply for a community radio licence will not be limited only to those who have submitted a ‘letter of intent’.
Out of the 194 applications made to Ofcom during “round one” 93 have been licenced so far. Click here for all Community Radio news as featured on RadioToday.co.uk since January 2004.