HOPES are high that a radio station that has already operated test transmissions in Perth will receive the green light to broadcast there permanently – it certainly helps that it is the only applicant for a vacant FM licence for the area.
By a deadline of Thursday evening, only Radio Perth FM Ltd had lodged an application for the 12 year-long licence, made available by broadcasting regulators, Ofcom.
While there’s no guarantee the company will be awarded the licence, it is hoped that two successful, four-week trials last year – one during the G8 Summit at nearby Gleneagles – stand it in good stead.
The company is run by Mark Page, a former DJ on Radio 1, Clyde and Scot-FM, among others.
In its submission to Ofcom, Perth FM described itself as “a high-quality service of local news, topical information and entertainment, designed specifically for the Perth area, combined with a broad mix of popular music”.
By coincidence, another of Page’s companies is today celebrating switching from MW to FM broadcasting; Edinburgh Garrison FM (as it now can be called) broadcasts to army barracks in the capital and is one of five Ministry of Defence-based stations in the UK operated by Page’s Garrison Radio.
Page’s confidence in landing the Perth licence is partly because Perth FM Ltd has, for the last nine months, been running a commercial radio licence, in Lanarkshire: L107.
Ofcom’s decision as to whether Perth FM is awarded the licence is expected over the next few weeks.