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24|06|04

Ofcom advertises two new FM commercial radio licences for Edinburgh and Blackburn

Ofcom today advertises two new local FM commercial radio licences for Edinburgh and Blackburn.

Edinburgh

Ofcom is advertising an FM commercial radio licence to cover the city of Edinburgh and the area surrounding the Firth of Forth.

The measured coverage area of this new service is likely to be broadly similar to that achieved by the existing FM Edinburgh service provided by Forth One, which contains an adult population (aged 15+) of around 940,000. The exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. The proposed frequency (107.0 MHz) for this licence is subject to international agreement on radio spectrum usage.

The closing date for the submission of applications is 5.00 p.m. on Thursday, 23 September 2004. A non-refundable fee of (GBP) £5,000 will be payable for each application submitted.

The full details for this licence, including the guidelines and procedures for the submission of applications, can be obtained from the Ofcom website - see Related Items

Blackburn

Ofcom is also today inviting applications for a licence to provide an FM commercial radio service to cover the town of Blackburn and the surrounding area, including the population centres of Darwen, Accrington, Clayton-le-Moors, and Great Harwood.

Ofcom estimates this licence could achieve coverage of an area with an adult population (aged 15+) of around 150,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. Up to two FM frequencies are being made available for this licence.

The closing date for the submission of completed applications will be 5.00 p.m. on Thursday, 23 September 2004. A non-refundable fee of (GBP) £1,500 will be payable for each application submitted.

The full details for this licence, including the guidelines and procedures for the submission of applications, can be obtained from the Ofcom website - see Related Items

General information

Both licences will be issued for a twelve year period.

All applications for these licences will be published on the Ofcom website as soon as is practicable after the closing date. The anticipated timing of the licence award decisions will be announced within two weeks of the closing-date.

Ofcom welcomes the views of the public about the local needs of listeners in these areas and the types of services required. Opinions on these issues can either be emailed to commercialradio@ofcom.org.uk or posted to Neil Stock, Head of Radio Planning & Licensing, Ofcom, Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA.

Ends.

NOTES FOR EDITORS AND CSEs

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.

For further details please visit www.ofcom.org.uk.

Contact

Ofcom Media Office
mediaoffice@ofcom.org.uk
(+44) (0)20 7981 3033

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