UK Pirate Relays
According to the Brighton's The Argus newspaper, a Brighton resident re-broadcast FIP for nearly ten years on two frequencies (91.0 and 98.5 MHz) in the FM band. The two signals, which were relays of FIP from satellite could be heard in many parts of Brighton. The two transmitters were operated to serve different parts of the city, one of them allegedly being in the Bohemian Hanover area of the city. The station had proved very popular.
The two signals operated on frequencies originally used by FIP at Lille and Metz, which were unused in the Brighton area and caused no interference to existing national or local stations. Technical quality was very high and the Radio Data System (RDS) identification was F_I_P with the two signals linked to ensure best reception on an RDS car radio. The Program Identification codes of the RDS appeared to be the same as those used on the real French transmitters.
The rebroadcasts broke UK broadcast rules enforced by UK telecom and radio, TV regulator Ofcom. Although it is believed that Ofcom officials visited the address of the station operator and confiscated the equipment, thus taking the pirate broadcasts off the air, the station can still be heard on one of the original frequencies, 91.0 MHz, throughout the city.
The pirate station was one of the UK's longest running land based unlicensed stations, running almost continuously for 10 years.
An appreciation society for fans of FIP, Vive la FIP, meets regularly in Brighton; some members even visited the Paris studios of FIP and were featured in an article in the French listings magazine Télérama in February 2007.
Read more about this topic: FIP (radio Station)
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