Narrowcasters triumph in radio licence auction

In Kalgoorlie and Kambalda, Radio West (Southern Cross Media group) were also apparently defending their turf, although perhaps they entered the HPON race in these towns fearing that somebody other than RWWA might emerge and threaten their own commercial radio interests, especially in Kalgoorlie, if they were to win the auction.

The Italians would have loved an FM licence in Kalgoorlie, but they may have exhausted their resources in securing the Griffith NSW HPON, and in an auction, it all comes down to who’s got enough money in their pocket. They may content themselves with using the decent AM narrowband frequency they already own in Kalgoorlie.

I understand that Radio West did not contest the Kambalda HPON on the day of the auction, which RWWA was then able to pick up at the reserve price. Maybe they figured that the licence wasn't worth fighting for once RWWA had beaten all contenders for the Kalgoorlie HPON.

A closing word about LPONS

While Kambalda is a modest-sized mining town in regional Western Australia, the important factor here is that low-power Open Narrowcast FM licences (LPONs) are not permitted in town, due to an exclusion zone around the existing Channel 3 TV station, whose analogue transmissions occupy the lower part of the FM band. So this HPON is the only Open narrowcast licence available in that town until the exclusion zones are lifted.

This is most likely to occur around 2014, once the TV stations have completed their switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting - an ingredient in what various analysts have called the “digital dividend”. There is a similar exclusion zone around Channel 3 TV in Bunbury WA, which extends for a 150km radius, almost reaching the Swan river in Perth. It comes as no surprise therefore that ACMA is releasing more new HPONs for the Bunbury region, where new LPONs are not permitted.

However, LPON operators like myself would hasten the day when these exclusion zones are lifted and LPON frequencies become available in these areas: Bunbury, Newcastle - Central Coast, Wollongong, Narooma, Renmark, Townsville. And we are also hoping the LPON system continues beyond the current expiry date of December 31, 2013. ACMA will hold a review into the LPON system next year to decide whether or not to continue with it. So for the moment, HPONs, which have permanent tenure, are a better and safer investment than LPONs. ACMA needs to release more HPONs in towns across the country.