TEN new narrowcast licences have been assigned for WA, with three of them to be used for Perth’s airwaves.
Two of the Perth licences have gone to a national Italian-language broadcaster. One is for the AM band at 657 kilohertz and the other is on the FM band at 104.9 megahertz. The broadcaster paid $252,000 for the two licences and it is hoped the new station can begin broadcasting by early next year.
The third Perth licence has gone to Radio 6IX owner SEQ Broadcasters for $30,000.
It is understood the company is unsure about how it will use the licence for the FM band at 103.3MHz.
Options include using it to extend 6IX’s services or leasing it to another operator.
The remaining seven licences went to WA regional areas for $4,000 each.
United Christian Broadcasters picked up AM licences for Bunbury and Kalgoorlie, Norsat Communications secured an FM licence for Dampier, Phillip Rogers gained FM licences for Derby, Warmun and Halls Creek and Geraldton Newspapers secured an AM licence for Geraldton.
Narrowcast licences are services whose reception is limited by being targeted to special interest groups or by being intended only for limited locations. They can also be allocated for a limited period or to cover a special event such as an agricultural show.
An Australian Broadcasting Authority spokeswoman said narrowcast licences were often used for things such as tourist radio, racing radio and language programs.
