OFCOM has given traditional radio a new lease of life by agreeing to licence new stations on DAB, FM & Medium Wave, they will be giving priory to community stations and see no need for more commercial radio. More SS-DAB licences will be offered where there is a demand, as will FM slots where spectrum availability permits.
Medium-wave will be considered where this offers the best coverage - likely to be in hilly places. Applicants need to submit expressions of interest before the end of October, in the case of MW this will need a robust business plan.


OFCOM policy document PDF file

EoI process for new AM community radio licences: Ofcom will not generally license new
services for broadcast on AM because we consider that audiences are most likely to be better served by FM or DAB services. However, we have decided there may be exceptional circumstances where it may be appropriate to grant an AM community radio
licence. The interested party will need to set out additional information in the EoI process
that justifies the need for a new AM service.
In reaching this decision, we have taken account
of the sustainability challenges facing these services and will include additional questions
in the EoI document to enable us to assess
whether there is a credible business plan and
listener demand for such a service. We believe this will help us better assess whether there
is a strong likelihood that the service will be launched and that it will be sustainable for the
longer-term.