Southampton DAB must relocate its main transmitter after new fire safety rules forced equipment out of Millbrook Tower.
Southampton DAB C.I.C. has applied to Ofcom to replace the site with a new transmitter at Romsey Golf Club, approximately 2.7km north of Millbrook Tower.
The local authority introduced new fire risk legislation which prevents third party equipment from being stored in the tower’s lift motor room. The transmitter equipment had been installed there, leaving the site unavailable for continued use.
The Millbrook Tower transmitter, which delivered most of the multiplex’s coverage, has been off air since May.
Romsey Golf Club has a lower elevation than the former location, meaning the replacement transmitter would provide less coverage to the west and over the South Downs to the north.
Southampton DAB has also requested an increase in power at its remaining Dumbleton Tower transmitter, from 125W to 160W, to help reduce the coverage loss.
Ofcom predicts the revised transmission arrangements would reduce potential coverage from 374,930 adults to 366,150. Around 24,165 adults would lose coverage while 15,385 would gain it, producing a net reduction of 8,870.
The regulator said the company had “genuinely sought to minimise these losses” and provisionally considers the reduction acceptable.
Ofcom is minded to approve the licence variation and is inviting responses until 5pm on 25 August. It plans to publish its decision in September.
