Radio Authority To Offer 12 New FM Licences In 2003

Twelve new FM commercial radio licences will be issued next year, the Radio Authority has announced. The licences, for areas including Cornwall and the West Midlands are likely to be the last issued by the authority before its powers transfer to the new communications regulator, Ofcom.

The new licences are likely to be advertised at the rate of around one per month from early in 2003, in the following sequence: West Midlands; Carmarthenshire; Glasgow; Ballymena; Kidderminster; Cornwall; Blackburn; Norwich; Banbury; Durham; Ashford, Kent and Torbay.

The West Midlands licence is the area’s third regional licence, while the Glasgow licence is large scale. The Cornwall licence is the second countywide licence issued.

The Radio Authority is planning to publish a comprehensive statement later this year, outlining what it considers to be the development options available to Ofcom, including the possibilities for further AM licences and the expansion of the FM spectrum.

Radio Authority: 020 7430 2724 www.radioauthority.org.uk

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