From the Byron and Beyond 2021 Visitor Guide, an ad for local community station Bay FM 99.9:
Of course I actually haven’t been up there lately, but got the brochure from someone who had. Couldn’t immediately throw it away without looking for any media-related advertisements that may be of interest to this forum! 
Australia’s first regional community radio station has turned 45 on the weekend. 2MCE in Bathurst debuted on 8 May 1976.
Has 2MCE always been on 92.3 MHz? I’m guessing so as back in the 70s, frequencies between 92-94 MHz were preferred as they were unencumbered by Band II TV services.
According to the 1975-76 ABCB annual report, 2MCE has been broadcasting on 92.3 MHz from the start.
Ummm, Sorry to let the FACTS ruin a good story but I believe the first one was 2UNE (Now TUNE FM 106.9) at the University of New England Armidale on 1630am from the 27 April 1970 pre the CBAA even becoming an entity. It was called experimental back in the day but I’m sure they regard it as the first of it’s type in the country
Though it is a narrowcast station. The now defunct UNSW off-band station VL2UV started in 1961. It was originally on 1750 kHz.
Yes I think both VL2UV and the fledgling 2UNE would be regarded as off band, experimental stations. Don’t forget frequencies above 1602 kHz couldn’t be tuned by most radios back then. I think 2UNE is still a HPON to this day. 2MCE would definitely be the first regional community station on a conventional frequency.
Speaking of VL2UV, here’s an excellent aircheck:
And sign on:
Sounds like the announcer is IDing as: “Radio Euroversity” ???
Bad faux BBC English accent.
Mumbrella reports last night’s Federal Budget has set aside $8 million for community broadcasting, with a specific focus on community radio. The additional support comes in recognition of the contribution community radio played during the 2019-20 bushfires and 2020 pandemic, with 450 community radio stations to benefit.
From Team Starter FB:
The transmission of Starter FM this week on 89.9 FM was not authorized by us.
The transmission was done by the WHCR FM and Harmony FM groups of which we do not work with nor do we support.
This has been escalated to the ACMA as the illegal transmission of our content will not be tolerated.
If any of our listeners hear us on 89.9 before we announce our transmission date please contact us via 0487 878 178 so we can report it.
It looks like tensions between aspirants in the Hawkesbury are escalating again!!!
Any updates on whether starter will commence broadcasting on 88.0 as a LPON or are you now holding out for a time share on 89.9.
Re River fm I was driving around Castle Hill and Hornsby today, anywhere with good LOS to the west River could be received on 87.6 over other LPON’s on the same frequency. Their coverage for 1.6W is massive.
Somewhat easily fixed - ACMA just tells them, either merge and form one community broadcaster, or we’ll pick one. ACMA just needs to grow a pair.
All three unlikely to happen.
Well something needs to happen. Having 3 broadcasters for a area sharing a single frequency cannot be sustainable long term.
…or if worst comes to worst, reallocate the 89.9 frequency to someone and/or somewhere else.
Agreed. The current situation must be a particular mess whenever the Hawkesbury region (which last I heard, isn’t infrequently bushfire/flood prone) requires localised emergency broadcasts.
Yes unfortunately, I even got a very abusive call from Allan Quinn only a few hours ago so definitely not very welcoming for a community group.
We will be holding out for the 89.9 frequency for now as we still have quite a bit of support for the youth in the Hawkesbury to get this station on air but because Starter is run a bit different then most TCBLs, (in the fact that we started out as an online only station) gives us room to pursue other avenues if our current plans don’t work out.
No matter what. Starter FM is here to stay for the long term FM or otherwise.
I agree, I believe that even if Starter was not to get a license, the other groups like Hawkesbury Gold and Hawkesbury Radio have enough content together to merge (with a bit of youth content from us) to make a band new entity that would suit the whole community and ACMA.
The problem, as you point out is that ACMA just don’t seem to have the gull to put there foot down and demand action and weed out the groups who are doing nothing or are toxically run.
Exactly. It’s embarrassing. These groups should be representing the entire area and all of its residents, and it doesn’t seem like they are. The situation exists because ACMA allows licensees to go on and on with no expectation of improvement. And that’s not just community but commercial as well. If stations had to renew their licenses every 5 years or so, and allow the public to point out their good and bad points, we’d have a much better media landscape in this country.
Commercial radio have to renew licences, but unless they do something really bad, automatic renewal is pretty much always granted.
Community on the other hand, also have to renew licences every 3 or 5 years & they have to put in quite significant documentation to ACMA to have the licence renewed.
Info ACMA need includes, how many paid members the station has, how much & what do they do & give back out in the community, do they have a technician, & are they employed by the station, voluntary, external contracted, what qualifications to do technical work do they have & how long have they been a broadcast tech (if qualified), how many volunteers does the station have both on air & off air to help run the station, how many hours they have spent off air & for what reason since the last licence renewal, etc.
Any member of the community can send a submission to ACMA separately at any time about any issues if they think a community station isn’t serving the community, note that community licence renewals are usually submitted to ACMA 3 - 6 months out from licence expiry date, so if you’re going to make complaint to ACMA hoping to stop a licence renewal, do it before this, don’t wait until 2 weeks before their current licence is due to expire.
Yes that’s correct…Braidwood FM must go through the process next year. Very much a double standard when licence renewal is virtually automatic for commercial stations but under resourced community stations have to jump through hoops.
