Two Community Stations to Increase Coverage Area

Beginning in West London, Punjabi station Desi Radio has been granted a power output increase to allow its existing MW transmitter. Due to an increase in steel structure buildings and electronic devices, this transmitter broadcasting to the Southall area is impacted by the ‘noise floor’ interference, which the power output increase will overcome.

Additionally, the target community served by Desi Radio has spread out to surrounding areas. The power output increase will also allow the transmitter to serve these areas. This will re-align Desi Radio with its target audience and the community it serves.

Seahaven FM, currently serving the Neahaven area, is to expand to also serve Eastbourne using a second transmitter. This will be combined with a power output increase at the current transmitter. A previous similar request for a second transmitter was rejected by Ofcom, due to a lack of contiguous coverage. However, the combination of new transmitter and power increase overcomes this hurdle.

Seahaven FM is a locally focused service, and the extension to Eastbourne means more people in the area can access local content in their area, something that commercial stations fail to provide. Additionally, the power output increase will also improve coverage for those in the existing license area.