The Berlin-Brandenburg Media Council (MABB) decided at its meeting on 7 December 2007, to advertise tenders for the mediumwave frequencies 567 (100 kW), 693 (250 kW) and 1359 kHz (100 kW), all 24 hours a day. There is an option to use DRM on all three frequencies.
567 kHz was abandoned by the previous user, RBB, on 24 January 2006. 693 kHz is currently being used by T-systems for DRM tests of Voice of Russia in parallel with the AM service on 603 kHz. The broadcasting licence of the Voice of Russia runs out on 8 April 2008, and T-systems has indicated that it would like to use both 603 and 693 kHz. Under the rules, a tender has to be issued. 1359 kHz is the frequency previously used by Radio Berlin International.
The Oranienburg transmitter site to the north of Berlin can be used for all three frequencies, according to the MABB. The deadline for applications is 20 February 2008.
(Source: MABB)
on Apr 3rd, 2008 at 20:26
693 kHz has now been switched to plain AM mode, presumably effective 1 April. The wording of the original MABB press release was a bit unclear, but I understand that VoR’s plan is to use 693 kHz as regular service for the Berlin area, now that the engineering tests of the DRM hybrid mode on this frequency have ceased, and abandon the lower powered 603 kHz frequency. Due to the greater range of 693 kHz (250 vs. 20 kW) MABB considered itself obliged to run a new allocation procedure.
MABB has not publicized any further press releases on this matter, so I assume that nobody was interested in using either 567 or 1359 kHz. Btw, 567 kHz had been switched off by RBB on 31 December 2005 at 24:00 local time. The date mentioned by MABB presumably refers to some official letter about the permanent closure of the RBB transmitter at Stallupöner Allee in Berlin, which since has been completely dismantled.
And an explanation about the transmitter site, since there is often confusion about it: 603 and 693 kHz originate from a facility at Zehlendorf, about 10 km northeast of Oranienburg. This is the very same site than for 177 kHz, in fact the mediumwave transmitters (TRAM 50 and TRAM 200, respectively) are installed in the hall previously occupied by the old 750 kW longwave transmitter (now replaced by a much smaller TRAM 500 L) alone. The village of Zehlendorf is not to be confused with the district of Berlin with the same name, and 855/990/6190 kHz are an entirely unrelated site at Berlin-Britz, owned by Deutschlandradio rather than Media Broadcast.