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Planned timetable for advertisement of new analogue local commercial radio licences

Notes:

• All of the licences below are offered provisionally for the use of a frequency or frequencies on the FM (VHF) waveband.
• Any identified frequencies are still subject to co-ordination, and may require restrictions in addition to any mentioned below.
• Applicants must note that, although in some cases Ofcom is seeking clearance of frequencies at particular transmission sites, it has not been ascertained whether there are any practical constraints or cost implications in using these sites. It will be for applicants themselves, if they wish to use the identified sites, to discuss these aspects with the relevant site operators.
• Applicants should also note that they may propose alternative sites to those identified below.
• The technical parameters of all existing services are available on the Ofcom website at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/engineering/

September 2006 - Update

Ofcom is considering advertising during 2007 up to two new FM commercial radio licences for coverage of most of North and Mid Wales, subject to gaining international agreement for the use of the required frequencies.

Ofcom is therefore seeking views as to whether there should be one or two new licences for most of North and Mid Wales. Initial (non-binding) expressions of interest in such licences from potential candidates 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.

Beyond this, Ofcom has no plans to advertise any further analogue local commercial radio licences for the time being.

Date of licence advertisement	Licence areas

Glossary

Transmission Proposal

A proposed geographical location for a transmitter, with details of its aerial's height, power, polarisation and any directional characteristics.

Maximum Effective Radiated Power

Transmission aerials squash their energy outwards rather than upwards. The power they radiate outwards is often not the same as the power the transmitter box sends to them. 'Effective' is a way for engineers to quantify what is actually radiated outwards, and if it is a directional aerial then it achieves its 'Maximum' radiation in that direction.

Polarisation

Radio signals vibrate either vertically, horizontally or sometimes both, depending on the way the transmitting aerial is mounted. If it is vertically mounted ('polarised') then the receiver aerial needs to be orientated vertically to get the strongest signal, likewise in the horizontal polarisation. If both polarisations are used (called mixed polarisation) then the receiver aerial can be either vertical, horizontal or slanted to get a signal. Most radio stations use aerials that are either vertical or whose vertical component is at least as powerful as the horizontal one.

Useable field strength

This is the level of signal required for the receiver to overcome any interference within the station's service area and provide good audio quality.

Interference

This is the degradation caused by one service to another due to the use of similar or adjacent frequencies.

Clearance parameters

This is the set of details used to seek agreement for the use of a transmitter site(s) for a service. It will include information on the location, aerial height, frequency, etc.. These details are distributed to other users of the radio spectrum, both within the UK and abroad, so that they can assess whether the proposal might affect the services they operate.

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