Ofcom is inviting applications for community radio licences to operate on medium wave, which gives the band at least another 7 years life.
Applicants will be able to apply later this year, which, if the usual Ofcom path is taken, means licences will be given out in early 2014 and stations will have two years to start broadcasting on a five year licence.
This means Ofcom is supporting the use of the medium wave band till past 2020 – confirming any switch-off date of full analogue radio is a long way off.
Licensing rounds are usually done on a region-by-region basis, but for AM Ofcom is inviting applications for community radio licences with up to 10km radius for locations anywhere throughout the UK in the second half of 2013.
There are over 200 community radio stations on-air around the UK today, with less than 10 of them on AM – four of which are in Greater London.
Posted on Friday, January 11th, 2013 at 6:43 am by RadioToday UK