Broadcast regulator Ofcom has published the applications from prospective small-scale DAB multiplex operators in the eighth and final round of areas.
Ofcom received 21 applications for the 50 small-scale DAB radio multiplex licenses advertised last September. Ten of the areas were re-advertised areas from previous rounds.
The areas for which an application has been submitted are:
- Armagh
- Ballymena
- Barnsley
- Burton-on-Trent & Lichfield
- Cheltenham & Tewkesbury
- Chester
- Chippenham & Malmesbury
- Coleraine
- Cookstown & Dungannon
- Derby (two applicants)
- Guildford & Woking
- Leamington Spa & Stratford-upon-Avon
- Lincoln
- Newbury
- Skye & Lochalsh
- South West Fife
- South West Sussex
- Telford & Shrewsbury
- Ullapool
- Weymouth & Dorchester
Applications were submitted for some of the areas which were previously advertised.
Ofcom will now assess the applications against specific statutory criteria and decisions will be announced in the coming months.
Areas like Kilmarnock, Peterlee and East Cornwall join areas from previous rounds where no application was entered to operate a small-scale DAB multiplex. This could be because there is not sufficient demand in an area from radio stations or because a prospective operator does not believe it would be viable.
At the time Ofcom invited the applications for round eight there were 75 small-scale multiplexes on air.