What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Radio related FOI responses by Ofcom to be posted into here for reference & discussion!
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james_wilson16
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What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Post by james_wilson16 » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:39 pm

Here is a general question I asked OFCOM, and their response-

Dear sir or madam

When and what frequencies will be available for commercial broadcasting radio in the Dorset area in 2015, in specific Bournemouth / Poole area?

Kindest Regards

Mr Wilson

Dear Mr Wilson,

We acknowledge receipt of your query.
Commercial Analogue Radio
Ofcom is not currently undertaking any new commercial analogue (i.e. FM or AM) licensing, and has not been since 2007. This is because of the proposed migration of radio listening in the UK to DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), and because, in the case of FM, there are no new frequencies available in areas of the UK where we think further new commercial radio services could be financially viable.
In situations where a commercial radio licensee does not renew its licence as a result of providing a relevant DAB service (as provided for in the 1996 Broadcasting Act) we ‘pre-advertise’ existing commercial radio licences approximately a year before their expiry date. The current planned timetable (which is subject to change) for the re-advertisement of local analogue licences can be found at:
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... timetable/
The re-advertisement process is explained in our Notes of Guidance at:
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... ent/notes/
Community Radio
A community radio licence is for a small-scale radio station broadcasting full time on FM or AM, (http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... ity-radio/). The focus for a station is the delivery of specific social benefits to enrich a particular geographical community or a community of interest. The licence runs for five years and is designed to cover a small geographical area (coverage radius is generally up to 5km). The licence has to be held by a not-for-profit ‘body corporate’ such as a company limited by guarantee or a community interest company; it cannot be held by an individual. The application fee is £600 (non-refundable) and if a group is successful and goes on to launch, it will be required to pay £850 a year in broadcast licence fees; there are no reductions or discounts. See the notes of guidance for further details: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/ ... idance.pdf
The application form is available to download from the website (http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... r-licence/).

The specific requirements attached to a community radio licence are set out in legislation and to ensure that all interested groups are treated fairly, we only take applications during what we call a ‘licensing round’, when community radio groups can apply. In the current round we are accepting applications on a region by region basis, see the timetable on Ofcom’s website: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... /timetable

To keep up to date with any developments in community radio including timetable revisions, we advise all interested parties to sign up to receive the broadcasting email alerts http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/subscrib ... asting.htm
These alerts feature all of Ofcom’s broadcasting work, including community radio and also the monthly radio updates

When we first started this licensing round, we set out in a guidance document the areas where FM was not available for new services. As the situation may have changed since then, our engineers will look again and we will publish an updated list when we come to invite applications for each region.

The Community Media Association (CMA) is another body which may be able to give you further guidance, for example on setting up and running a community radio service, (http://www.commedia.org.uk/). The CMA is the UK representative body for the community media sector; it is a non-profit-making membership organisation which offers a range of advice, information and consultancy services to help develop community media, including the community radio toolkit: http://www.communityradiotoolkit.net/
Digital Commercial Radio
If you are interested in broadcasting a radio service on DAB, you will first need to speak to one of the DAB multiplex operators first about carriage availability and cost. A directory of DAB multiplex operators can be found at:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolic ... s-main.htm

To broadcast on DAB, you will also be required to hold a DSP licence with Ofcom.

The DSP application guidance and application form can be found here: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... radio/dsp/

The application must be accompanied by a letter of corroboration from the multiplex operator that you/your organisation has entered into an agreement with, for the service you detail in the DSP application.
The DSP licence application fee is £250 and the licence fee is £100 per annum.

Satellite and Cable Commercial Radio

For satellite and cable radio services, you would need to apply for an RLCS licence. Further information about the RLCS licence and the licensing process can be found here:

http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-bro ... adio/rlcs/
Internet Radio services
An online radio station does not need a licence from Ofcom as we do not regulate services which only broadcast over the internet. However, as with any Ofcom licensed radio service, you would need the appropriate licences to play any copyright music from the music royalty collection agencies, PPL (http://www.ppluk.com) and PRS for Music (http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx). These organisations operate separately from Ofcom and you would need to contact them directly to find out the specific details and costs.
I hope you find this information useful.

Regards,

Commercial Radio Licensing

Effemm
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Re: What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Post by Effemm » Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:41 pm

For such a simple question i bet you was chuffed to bits to recieve such a response...or did you fall asleep whilst reading it like me lol :)

james_wilson16
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Re: What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Post by james_wilson16 » Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:57 am

Long winded for sure, just like the way OFCOM make everything. LONG WINDED AND PRICEY

dancemusicdj
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Re: What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Post by dancemusicdj » Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:23 pm

the paisley licence formerly x fm scotland, which was handed back by global, is apparently to be re-advertised by offcom.

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teckniqs
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Re: What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Post by teckniqs » Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:46 pm

Yeah I heard about that, when XFM recently became X Radio they dropped the 96.3 XFM in Scotland.

dancemusicdj
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Re: What Commercial licences are to be available in 2015

Post by dancemusicdj » Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:17 pm

apparently they handed it back because they would have had to do 7 hours a day local programming from scotland. a breakfast and drive time show. surprised offcom didn't relax the rules its what they usually do

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