Ofcom has concluded the round six small-scale DAB multiplex licences with five more areas awarded.
The licences have been awarded for the following areas:
- Huntingdon: awarded to Huntingdon Digital Limited
- Nuneaton & Hinckley: awarded to Maxxwave Limited
- Walsall: awarded to Walsall DAB Limited
- Wetherby: awarded to Wetherby Community Radio Limited
- Yeovil: awarded to Radio Ninesprings
The 24 applications received for the 33 licences advertised in round seven have also been published by today.
In addition to this, Ofcom has published the list of areas it will be advertising later this year in round eight:
- Aberystwyth
- Andover
- Armagh
- Ballymena
- Barnsley
- Barnstaple & Bideford
- Brecon
- Burton-on-Trent & Lichfield
- Bury St Edmunds, Thetford & Mildenhall
- Cheltenham & Tewkesbury
- Chesterfield
- Chippenham & Malmesbury
- Coleraine
- Cookstown & Dungannon
- East Cornwall
- East Edinburgh & South Forth coast
- Falmouth, Penzance & Redruth
- Gairloch
- Girvan & Cumnock
- Grantham & Sleaford
- Grimsby
- Kilmarnock
- Leamington Spa & Stratford-upon-Avon
- Mansfield & Worksop
- Monmouth
- Newbury
- Newquay, St Austell & Truro
- North Powys
- Omagh
- Perth
- Peterlee
- Pitlochry & Aberfeldy
- Scunthorpe
- Skye & Lochalsh
- South Hams
- South Powys
- Stroud
- Telford & Shrewsbury
- Tiverton
- Ullapool
This will be the last currently planned round of small-scale DAB multiplex licensing as part of this programme.
Ofcom says it will be consulting later this year on radio licensing priorities as it recognises there is some demand for more analogue licensing, particularly in unserved and rural areas where small-scale DAB coverage is harder to achieve in a sustainable way.
There is also some demand for extensions and improvements to SSDAB multiplex coverage areas, as well as other potential calls on licensing and spectrum planning resources.