History
The idea for this new level of radio broadcasting was piloted by the regulator at the time, the Radio Authority in 2002 with the licensing of 15 so-called Access Radio stations for a trial period of one year to test the feasibility of such stations.
The licences were extended in 2003 for a further year, and in 2004 a consultation was issued by the Authority's successor, Ofcom, on the creation of Community Radio. Following this, an invitation to groups to apply for community radio licenses nationwide was issued. 192 stations applied and of those, 106 were awarded licences. The first new community radio station to be licensed was Forest of Dean community Radio, followed by youth-based AfanFM in Neath-Port Talbot and the first to go on-air was 103 The Eye in Melton Mowbray. As of 18 November 2010 (2010-11-18), 228 stations had been licensed over two rounds of licensing, with 181 broadcasting, 17 that had decided not to launch or handed their licence back, and the remainder preparing to start broadcasting.
Read more about this topic: Community Radio In The United Kingdom
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