Ofcom has awarded the first of the five-year community radio licenses advertised last year.

There has been much talk about pirate stations getting a look in, allowing excited editors to claim that Ofcom is giving a legitimate front to criminals and drug dealers. However, the licenses awarded yesterday don’t reflect these concerns.

Ofcom awarded community radio licences in the following areas:

• Havant
• Stoke on Trent
• Pontypridd
• Neath and Port Talbot

In awarding the licenses Ofcom is trying to add a third tier to radio broadcasting, after BBC and commercial stations. The new area, as outlined in Article 3 of the Community Radio Order, should broadcast for “social gain” to a certain geographical or social community. The transmission radius of the stations will limited to 5km and they will have to run on a not-for-profit basis.

The project follows on from a Radio Authority radio access pilot scheme, launched with 15 new stations in 2002, from which 14 stations are still running. Most of these have been a great success but the 5km restriction seems to be a big hindrance to many, creating poor signals for much of their audience.

Resonance FM in London is a good example. It advertises itself as “London’s first radio art station” and has received good reviews since it started in May 2002. But with a transmitter in London Bridge that only covers the limited 5km radius, much of London’s large arts community is left dancing around their rooms with the aerial in their hand, trying to get a signal. The Resonance website even recommends that in extreme cases listeners should move house.

Creating local community radio stations seems to be a good idea in principle and one that may work well in smaller, rural communities. However, Ofcom has not given the tools to create a viable community station in an urban environment, as communities are spread over too large an area. There is a greater problem with community radio in London because there are only be 6 available frequencies and 34 applications. In these areas it is far more enticing for stations to stay pirate as they have the opportunity to make a profit and to broadcast to a larger audience. The licenses for London will be awarded by the end of July and it will be interesting to see if any pirate’s are among them.