It’s a great idea. Who here thinks the combined Toowoomba/Warwick market is poorly served, given it gets stations from both at local levels. Stanthorpe - a town with 10,000 people - gets four commercial stations from those markets plus Rebel and Breeze, all on FM.
In this era of declining localism, why not merge more markets and at least offer more choice? The listener is the winner. The only loser? The incumbents. So as has been said, they will fight tooth and nail to ensure it never happens…
The Toowoomba/Warwick market has always been an odd one. First of all it’s huge. Oakey to Warwick is a big expanse. So the original stations from each - 4AK and 4WK have always struggled to really cover the entire area properly. 4AK has been great in Toowoomba along with 4GR, but 4WK was very hit and miss until the recent FM translator. I think the best solution is to get them all on FM and all effectively covering the entire licence area, somehow.
In many regional markets and every remote market, there is spectrum available for additional commercial radio services, the incumbents have had over 30 years to more than make their initial investment back, time to open these markets up to more players and give listeners some choice.
Very true. But ACMA seem unwilling to offer any new licences anywhere anymore. What’s the deal with that? They’ve just become a protection racket for the incumbents.
Our regulation model is designed to protect incumbency and doesn’t consider that technology (be it Radio or Television) allows for greater options for consumers.
The horse has bolted on it changing - decision-making is too embedded in largely satisfying existing licence holders and with the industry struggling to operate in a financially sustainable way with the existing competition, no one with any power will support broadening the competition base
I’ve got no issue with them looking after existing license holders.
But other ideas like merging license areas or increasing overlap of adjacent areas (call it a radio version of aggregation) or even allowing the incumbents in solus areas to have a third license to allow a new format would be good enough.
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In short:
The owners of Border radio station 2AY want to shift the broadcaster from the AM to FM band and take over the frequency now occupied by community outlet 2REM.
The community station is expected to move to a frequency elsewhere on the FM band, with ACMA noting it would take some time.
[ACE Radio CEO Mark] Taylor said he would not be surprised if the proposal to move its Wangaratta station 3NE to FM was approved earlier, because it did not involve an agreement with a fellow broadcaster.
Be interested to see where 2REM end up… 97.5 might be a suitable frequency, noting it would put it in the same spacing as the nearby TCBL at Holbrook and also The Light, which moved to 98.3 not long ago.
But then, probably no reason why 2AY couldn’t move straight to 97.5 either? Probably far enough away from 97.7 Shepparton for that to not be an issue.
Why should the community operator give up their frequency that is ridiculous find a new one that frequency is already in use. Does frequency placement make that much difference? If the content is good enough people will find the station regardless.
I imagine 107.3 appeals more to them given it’s next to ABC Goulburn Murray and not far away from the SCA stations (104.9/105.7).
97.5 and 95.9 would both be suitable frequencies I reckon- there was the DRM+ trial on 95.9 here a little while back with no real interference issues.
2AY should take either of those frequencies in my view, FM conversion is a privilege and 2REM has a long standing association with that frequency going back a few decades now.
Interesting comment on a local Facebook page from the community radio operator in Wangaratta, I wonder if they’ve had trouble with Ace too, perhaps eyeing off the 101.3 frequency in Wangaratta for a 3NE conversion as well.
Agree, Wangaratta is probably a bit more challenging spectrum wise…
106.1 could be suitable for 3NE? Far enough away from Deni and St Arnaud? Or if they moved 89.3 down from Mt Hotham, they probably wouldn’t need a relay there since The Edge doesn’t have a relay at Mt Hotham.
Possibly too close to the ABC on 106.5 which covers Wangaratta as a core area.
I’d recommend 99.1 as there’s already a repeater on Mt Buffalo there- would require the RSN/Sky Racing relays on 99.3 in Wangaratta and perhaps Albury to be moved but would be a lot less disruptive than asking a community station to move as both transmitters are very weak and it’s a niche service.
The new XLFM relay at Mt Selwyn might need to move then too.
Why shouldn’t they if they’re happy to or being compensated? It’s my understanding they can’t be forced to move or rather ACMA wouldn’t have the fortitude to try it.
I did consider that, any overlap would likely be minimal and concentrated around the Holbrook area which is well north of the Wangaratta licence area.
I’ve never received Selwyn in Albury even in elevated spots so think the distance would be OK.
Continuing the discussion from [AM To FM Conversions[quote=“Ant5476, post:1, topic:3694, full:true”]
As we have discussed this in many different threads let’s follow it under its own topic.
ACMA has given AM stations in Solo markets where they have an existing Fm service the opportunity to convert their existing AM service to FM.
Some of the pending applications for Fm conversion are for…
Armidale - 2AD
Bathurst - 2BS
Cooma - 2XL
Goulburn - 2GN
Lithgow -2LT
Nowra - 2ST
Tamworth - 2TM
How will ACMA find available frequencies to allow these conversions to take place for Lithgow, Bathurst, and Nowra where frequencies are very sparse?
Will The open narrowcasters (Sky Sports Radio) in Goulburn, Cooma / Monaro, Bathurst and Nowra, be forced by ACMA to give up their FM frequencies and move to the vacated AM frequency?
What frequency would be used in Lithgow for 2LT.
For 2ST Nowra I believe going to Knights Hill on 103.7mhz would be the best option for them. They would need a highly directional antenna to keep overspill out of the Wollongong and Bowral markets, and then direct 50kW at Nowra and the South Coast. This would then allow them to close their south Coast translator services such as Ulladulla, and Jervis Bay, and free up these frequencies. Alternatively ACMA may licence 2ST to Camberwarra lookout with the same specs as Sky Sports Radio (1kW to the north, 10KW towards Nowra) which would not cover Kiama like Knights Hill does.
All thoughts are welcome.
[/quote]
](AM To FM Conversions - #2232 by Brianc68):
2TLC FM 
in Yamba NSW changed frequencies to allow for 2GF Grafton to move to 89.5 Maclean for a full FM conversion. In return 2TLC received generous compensation including new transmitters and arrays. This allowed them to upgrade ageing transmission equipment so it was in the end a win/win for both broadcasters.
Bathurst, Cooma, Goulburn, Nowra have already been all done and converted.
Armidale and Tamworrh have been approved, but Armidale is awaiting a site change. Tamworth looks like it will be in the same boat re site change.
Nothing has happened with Lithgow yet.
I’ve heard a suggestion that there may not have been landowner approvals fortcoming for one of the new Tamworth sites.
Lithgow and Lismore are the toughest two at least in the ‘roach state; coincidentally, both have legacies on 900 kHz.
Do you mean one of the new relay sites at Manilla or Barraba or for a new tower at the main Soma site itself? Or are they looking to move off Soma altogether?
