What to do with Glasgow's 96.3FM spare frequency
What Xfm's old frequency in Glasgow could be used for
Global will hand the Paisley licence back in the middle of the month to coincide with the launch of Radio X, which means that 96.3, which has been transmitting something for the past 23 years, will fall silent. But does it really have to?
Could it be put to good use - and not impact on other services?
There are several community radio stations in Glasgow, some of which have defined geographical areas that they broadcast a general mix of programmes to. Others are specialist services that due to the quirk of the licencing of community stations have ended up broadcasting to small geographic areas, when a larger area would be of greater benefit.
Awaz FM is, to my mind, a misuse of FM spectrum. Why? Well, they have a pokey wee 25 watt transmitter on 107.2 that doesn't even serve all of Glasgow. Awaz FM is Glasgow's only Asian station, trying to reach as many Asians as possible for as much as their signal allows.
Meanwhile, up at Seargeant's Law, 96.3 is a higher powered transmitter about to fall silent. This one covers almost all of Glasgow and still gives something between very usable to very good reception in areas well beyond that, including most of Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, parts of South Lanarkshire, parts of Ayrshire and even good in-car reception along the M8 until you reach Black Hill.
That is potentially an awful lot more Asian people who could receive that signal.
(Editor's note: 21% of Glasgow's population is ethnic minority; around half that are Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi or Other Asian).
Ah! But has a community radio station ever taken over a frequency (with the same transmission power) as an ILR before?
Yes, it has. Vibe FM in Watford. They are a community station, with the unusual allocation of 200 watts, simply because the ILR that previously occupied the frequency had that power as well.
Ah! But has a radio station with absolutely no connection with another radio station ever been allowed to take over the transmitter and frequency of the other radio station when it was closing down?
Yes! Heartland FM was given permission to take over the Perth FM licence when Mark Page could no longer operate it, meaning that Heartland FM was able to extend its service area. Heartland later moved that transmitter site and has extended its area even further.
Does it not make total sense?
Awaz FM would in no way impact on the business interest of Global and their remaining services, which may have been the reason why they wanted to hand the licence back in the first place.