Listeners of commercial radio stations 2EC Bega, 2XL Cooma and 2GN Goulburn may soon be retuning their radios if the ACMA accepts proposals by the stations that would see them swap from AM to FM transmission.

ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin, says “FM radio provides improved audio quality for listeners in regional areas and can be more cost-effective to operate than AM radio.

“A number of regional commercial radio stations are seeking to convert their services to FM under an industry-led conversion program. The ACMA will facilitate a conversion after taking a number of issues into account. These include availability of suitable spectrum and being satisfied that audiences in regional areas do not lose radio services under that proposal.”
 

In the next step in determining the outsome, the ACMA now want to hear from the audiences in Bega, Cooma and Goulburn about their views on the conversion proposals.

Submissions on the Bega, Cooma and Goulburn proposals are due by 26 April 2019. More information about AM-FM conversion is available here.

If the ACMA decides to approve these conversions, the timing of the transition would be up to the broadcasters.