Paul Rusling has just posted the following announcement on the Garry Stevens Message Board:
“It’s likely some of you will start seeing mentions of a new radio station, using the project working title UK International (but it may well become called England International or even London International by launch time) and I just wanted to suppress some of the rumours before it gets discussed too widely in sensational terms.
“Our plan is to use 500 kiloWatts on 648 kHz - now the BBC have confirmed they will stop using the frequency in 2 months time.
“The station will be owned by a group of UK and Dutch media folk and have a broad appeal, particularly to car drivers, and be a shop window for various products and services. It will be presented in the style of Top 40 radio, as we believe that is what will appeal to our target listeners.
“We have put in an offer to lease the facility at Orfordness, our preferred site, but if huge bureaucratic delays and problems are encountered we have a second site available.
“That’s all I shall say about it for the time being; hopefully it will avoid silly speculation.”
(Source: Garry Stevens Message Board)
on Jan 26th, 2011 at 18:42
Running from another site would be interesting because they need to use a very directional aerial system to protect other users of the frequency.
on Jan 26th, 2011 at 18:51
I have tried to hire 1296, 648’sister station, and those were (part of) the limitations.
The price was rather high, to put it mildly.
I dont think that the company (forgot the name, it used to be Merlin, VT communications etc) who runs the TX’s will or may use the channel in another place, or that the channel will be handed out to a private party.
This leaves a station in Dutch for Holland and Flanders, and will certainly not raise enough money to even meet the electricity bills.
Fair chance that Radio Netherlands International, RNW, that hires 1296, will go to 648 with much better coverage.
(BTW 1395 is off, maybe you can hire that one, you can start tomorrow, at a much lower price.)
on Jan 26th, 2011 at 19:02
The company that now runs it is Babcock: http://www.babcock.co.uk/pages/markets/critical-infrastructure/communications/default.aspx
on Jan 26th, 2011 at 19:03
Interesting times! Possibly Ofcom have regulations about the renting out of UK transmitters.
on Jan 26th, 2011 at 19:14
Well, 1296 has been used in the past by a couple of Dutch stations. I don’t think Ofcom has any special regulations in place. If the company is registered in the Netherlands, I don’t think it should be a problem.
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 11:08
I have come to take stories like this with a giant pinch of salt. I do not know all the ins and outs but as I understand it 648 KHz was allocated for UK use by the BBC in 1978 following the last frequency review. Any redeployment of the channel for anything other than BBC use would require a consultation followed by an auction as it would then be offered on competative tendering. Furthermore there would also be the cost of running such a high power transmitter. We all remember what happened when Big L wanted to start an AM service on 1008 KHz in Holland and how that fell flat on its face. A much better use would be for the BBC to re-allocate it to Radio 5Live to improve reception of that service in parts of the UK.
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 12:23
How much is the present power today of 648 kHz??
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 13:03
Officially 500 kW. But I don’t know if the BBC have been using it at full power. For example, RNW runs at 300 kW instead of 500 kW on 1296, because it costs a lot less and we don’t need the full 500 kW.
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 14:46
Part of my comment did not come through.
The limitations for hiring 1296 were mostly that the programmes may not be directed to the UK, and certainly commercials in English are forbidden, even when targetted at a non UK country.
1296 has been hired by Radio Nationaal of Ruud Hendriks, and 1 day by Caroline, paid for by the Dutch Caroline support group.
Radio Netherlands uses the channel now on a daily basis, and it would be rather logic to swap 1296 for 648, which has a much better coverage.
648 would be extremely expensive for just the Dutch and Flemish market, certainly in these days when you cant make much money out of AM commercial radio.
Including the UK would make a better business case, but the 648 TX is directed off UK, and there are limitations as mentioned before.
For a station that wants to hit the NL, Be and UK market I have a much better and more cost effective solution in mind.
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 16:01
The 648 can be issued as a domestic licensed station with an omni antenna if less power.
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 17:21
How about a nice DRM transmission of Country Music ?? In other words something totally different not the same tired old radio the UK has to put up with
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 19:44
Does anyone know just how many AM stations are all pushing out \’pop\’music in the UK? (There are MANY MANY of them already!)
It was very handy to be able to listen to BBC World Service programs in the car, but it seems someone thinks we need yet another pop-music station that no-one will listen to.
AM/MW/LW is much more suited to speech than music, and also there\’s PLENTY of so-called \’music\’ on the FM band, [even though many FM stations decide to waste their bandwidth / excellent sound quality by transmitting phone-ins!]
But if everyone else is sane, then I must be the one out of step!
on Jan 27th, 2011 at 20:06
With a correct format of music this station can be a great station, like 828 or 747 kHz <Holland.
on Jan 28th, 2011 at 06:30
I never had success with that 648 khz frequency from Souther Spain.
I hope whatever starts on 648 khz it also starts on satellite or online.
Nowdays running a high power transmitter on MW is a craze. Who is going to pay the electric bill?.
on Jan 28th, 2011 at 07:58
If I reacall correctly, before 1978, 463m (647kHz ) was used for BBC Radio 3 from Daventry. This gave a strong signal across most of England.
on Jan 28th, 2011 at 08:55
If a power of max. 100kW and an omnidirectional antenna and a correct format for 50+ age, it ca be a great station. profitible.
on Jan 28th, 2011 at 10:12
Yes Paul, you do recall correctly. But under the new frequency plan that came into effect in 1978, the technical characteristics for 648 registered with the ITU changed completely. Unfortunately the copy of the ITU plan that I used in my days at WRTH has disappeared, and as far as I know it was never digitized.
Roy, you may be right, but Babcock’s licence doesn’t permit them to broadcast a service aimed at the UK. Can you imagine the uproar amongst all the small commercial stations in SE England? Paul Rusling knows what he is doing and is well aware of the restrictions. It’s no good suggesting solutions that are not legally possible.
on Jan 28th, 2011 at 11:14
Sorry, i didn’t know that info about restrictions of programs, but it can be changed. I got a list of 648 kHz cordinations in England.
500kW Directional Crowborough. 00E06 51N03. Orfordness. 01E35 52N06 ,150 kW-500kW.
2 kW in Edinburgh,Glasgow,Newcastle,redmoss,Redruth,Swansea,Exeter,plymouth, or less.
on Jan 28th, 2011 at 17:16
Thanks Andy for the confirmation of my remarks that there are serious limitations in both content on 648 (and 1296) and coverage.
My feeling is that the price might be another limitation.
If the BBCWS cannot afford to run 648 24/7 it is doubtful that a commercial station can.
Strange enough there was a much better opportunity in the recent past that has not been taken, but can de re-opened.
on Jan 30th, 2011 at 12:30
From past events, I would have thought Ofcom would be auctioning the frequency to the highest bidder.
On a technical note, 648kHz is almost inaudible here in Leicestershire due to the directional beam.
on Jan 30th, 2011 at 13:10
When it was before 1978 it was domestic service BBC 3??? and I suppose with an omni directional antenna with great reception in England and add the 2kW\’s repeters around England. Power max 125 kW omni.
on Feb 1st, 2011 at 18:41
Roy
Yes it was either Radio 3 or the Third Programme. It ran 150kW from Daventry Northamptonshire, and it was by far the strongest signal here in Leicestershire.
I think they claimed a 100mile radius for the coverage. I believe the mast is still there being used for mobile phones, DAB, comms links etc. The mast was a fair distance from the transmitter hall, so it had a long feeder arrangement.
on Feb 1st, 2011 at 19:37
I suppose someone will apply to 648 as a domestic licence with 150kW\’s or less omni directional after switch off, if not BBC WS resume before 3 months.
on Feb 15th, 2011 at 22:34
Everyone’s diving into tech details - politics will actually decide what’s done with 648 if anything. OFCOM do not want to upset the commercial radio lobby by allowing a new competitor to come in with low overheads and good coverage.
I think the entire channel could be run by volunteers, fits in nice with “big society” not?
on Feb 16th, 2011 at 09:53
This frequency is incordinated in England and can be in service by private broadcasters. Everyone can apply for a licence to use this frequency, that’s the EU law.
on Feb 18th, 2011 at 13:05
Can apply for, but won;t get.
BTW
what does “incordinated in England” mean?
on Feb 18th, 2011 at 14:46
NigelR, highpower incordinated, more than 10kW’s. All 120 AM frequencies can be in service of 10 kW’s in England, during daytime.
on Mar 19th, 2011 at 11:52
For everyone who listens to a choice of news stations in the car or in NW Europe, the closure of the 648 service is BAD NEWS.
Why not simply put the BBC TV news audio stream on 648 KHz ?
Similar service - less cost.
If the BBC do not want that, then let Sky News use the transmitter specifically for their TV audio stream.
on Mar 19th, 2011 at 12:17
Colin, I don’t understand the logic here. If you simply put a different audio stream on a high power transmitter, how is that less cost? You can of course turn the power down, but then the coverage area - at least in daytime - will be reduced.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 13:58
C’mon guys, we all know that what we need is another
news and sport station
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 15:56
That last comment was tongue in cheek(I think!)
A more practical idea would be an English language station modelled loosely along the lines of the Dutch \’Radio 5 Nostalgia\’,which incidentally,can be received
with ease on AM in East Anglia.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 16:04
To be honest with you Dennis, I can think of better and more attractive formats then R5Nostalgia.
Who on earth will play the Stones, nobody in this country does.
Pirate BBC R-Essex as we experienced a few times, with an extended playlist would be far better, just for example.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 16:26
The\’Gold\’ format in it\’s present form has been flogged to death (and not very well,at that),so what I\’m proposing is something with a bit more depth and variety that would appeal to listeners and advertisers alike.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 16:38
Radio5 747 kHz is on the top in Holland, number 5 or 6 of most popular stations like Radio 10 Gold 828 kHz
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 19:32
Still can’t work out if anyone has plans for 648
Anyone know why we have to use these daft captchas to send a message?
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 08:41
We got to await the publish of the licence in the media and wich company’s applied. Nothing more to do.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 08:50
Still waiting for Ofcom to run “public consulation” re the use of 648.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 10:40
Thanks to all responding to my questions on the 648 tx.
Anyone know the point of these capcha things?
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 10:50
Yes, of course. They are necessary to prevent automated spamming on this blog. Before we introduced this system, I had to wade my way through dozens of spam messages. Some spammers still try to get their messages into this blog manually by disguising themselves as bona fide contributors, but they are added to the blacklist - which is now approaching 300 - preventing them from posting anything in future. Because this blog has a high ranking in Google blog search, it is a prime target for spammers. I regret having to use capchas. I don’t like them either, but I like spam messages even less.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 11:12
Thanks Andy. I haven’t had a pc long and don’t really understand why people do this spam stuff. Is it to be a nuisance or do they gain something from it? Can’t see the point!
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 11:19
Nick, this is a very big subject, but as a starter look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spamming and click on a few links.
A lot of the spam is from people who are trying to sell something. But under Dutch media law, because we are a public broadcaster I cannot link to commercial sites unless they are connected with the story, and most are not.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 11:36
Andy, the worst part is when someone infiltrates your email with a bot and uses your own mailing list to send out sales solicitations in your name to your own list! This has happened to me 3 times now. The emails link to things like a site selling Yamaha motorcycles and so on. I gave up trying to say sorry to people, that it was not me. MSN says that they are trying to stop spam - but they allow through spam in the name of Windows Hotmail account updates! So I have MSN Windows live in the spam box. It is crazy. Thank goodness the stuff sent out in my name has been just commercial and not for something sinister, but it is annoying just the same. More power to the Dutch in stopping this stuff!
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 18:04
>That last comment was tongue in cheek(I think!)
Of course
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 18:07
I see a minor problem with the capcha on this
site.
If you get it wrong and resubmit the post it seems
to add \’s backslashes wherever apostrophe’s are.
I wonder why ?
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 18:13
Why is there so many proposals on this thread for a new MUSIC station ?
Unless the format is going to be RADICALLY different, (maybe punk or new wave?) then I feel it’s pointless just having yet another oldies station.
There is precious little speech radio, and I admit I did like the original Talk Radio
in the UK when it started some 20 years ago. It did provide a sensible alternative
to listen to.
(BBC 5 live is dire vacuuous pap made only for the lowest common denominator
type listener).
So apart from BBC Radio 4, there’s NOTHING else
I will puke if it gets turned into yet another minorities station.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 19:04
Andy, we’ve had this problem with backslashes and apostrophes ever since I can remember. Unfortunately nobody seems to know how to fix it. The technical side of the blogs is under the control of our IT people. I usually delete the backslashes, but sometimes things slip through. I’ll have another look to see if anyone else has this problem.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 19:21
>Andy, we’ve had this problem with backslashes and apostrophes ever since
>I can remember.
I’ve only really noticed it recently, probably because of my increased use of the
site. I don’t see it as much of a problem. I know about it and as such know what to do
on Mar 22nd, 2011 at 07:55
Andy, the backslashes are created when the PHP directive magic_quotes_gpc is set to ON. It is now a deprecated feature and ought to have ben removed.
They can be got rid of extremely easily by using the stripslashes() function.
For example if $text is the text in the post then the code to use is:
$text=stripslashes($text);
I’m very surprised nobody in your organisation has been able to fix it, as it really very basic stuff.
on Mar 22nd, 2011 at 09:27
Thanks Terry, I have passed this on to the people who can fix it. We have a very small staff trying to cope with an ever-increasing workload, so blogs like this unfortunately are not top priority
But hopefully, since it’s such a simple fix, it will be done sooner rather than later.
on Apr 4th, 2011 at 09:15
Hello,
The BBCWS 648 MW was very practical for me to improve my english due to the fact that the speakers were very understandable for a French and that the sound was excellent on MW. I am living in Amiens ( Somme ) and I must now listen radio 4 on 198 LW (the sound is very bad )Is it possible on the FW ?
Your’s sincerely,
HH