The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator, Ofcom, just put out an invitation to apply for community radio licenses in West and East Midlands. These are official regions situated (as you might guess) right in the middle of England.
What caught my eye, however, is this codicil in the announcement;
“Applicants should note that there are currently no suitable FM frequencies available for community radio services in the following unitary authority, metropolitan borough, and non-metropolitan borough areas. Applications for services wishing to broadcast on FM within these areas will therefore not be accepted:
• City of Birmingham;
• Solihull;
• City of Coventry;
• Derby;
• Nottinghamshire (with the exception of Newark on Trent);
• Nottingham;
• Lincoln;
• Leicestershire; and
• Leicester.”
No suitable community FM frequencies for the City of Birmingham, “City of a Thousand Trades” with over a million residents? Not to mention Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry??? I see there’s Switch Radio 107.5, a community oriented signal for the Castle Vale area of Birmingham. I am hoping the above means ‘new suitable FM’ frequencies. If not, somebody talk to me . . .
