Alnwick and Morpeth small-scale radio multiplex licence revoked

UK DAB Networks has decided not to launch the small-scale multiplex in Alnwick and Morpeth for which it was granted a licence to operate in 2021.

The company decided not to go ahead citing difficulties in securing access to transmitter sites that formed part of its original application and of securing alternatives providing comparable levels of coverage whilst remaining commercially viable.

And because no technical plan or intention to launch has been provided to Ofcom ahead of the required time frame, the regulator has announced the licence has now been revoked.

There were two applicants for the Alnwick & Morpeth licence, but Ofcom confirms that there is no statutory mechanism for awards to be passed to a “reserve” applicant without a further application process.

Ofcom says it will now consider re-advertising the Alnwick & Morpeth multiplex licence should it receive any expressions of interest following this news.

Ofcom notes that UK DAB Networks’ application involved a relatively large number of transmitter sites (five) to achieve a relatively modest coverage of 62% of the population of the advertised area.

In a statement, Ofcom said: “Since the locality was advertised, small-scale multiplexes have launched in two neighbouring and overlapping areas (namely Newcastle & Gateshead, and Tynemouth & South Shields).

“Therefore, should we decide in principle to readvertise, we would not necessarily do so imminently or with precisely the same advertised area, and any potential applicant expressing an interest may wish to express a view on those issues.”

Ash Elford from UK DAB Networks told RadioToday: “We’ve made the difficult decision to formally decline the licence award for the Alnwick & Morpeth DAB multiplex with Ofcom. We are very sorry that this will mean the rollout of small-scale DAB in the Alnwick/Morpeth will be delayed.

“We appreciate that some people will be disappointed and maybe even angry with this development. Unfortunately between applying for the licence in late 2020 and today, a number of factors concerning viability have changed and we have decided it is for the best to not launch the multiplex.

“We wish the radio services in the North East the best of luck for the future and hope another organisation is able to reapply for the licence from Ofcom in due course.”