QUAY-FM

Last updated

QUAY-FM 107.1
Broadcast areaAlderney (Channel Islands) and territorial waters.
Frequency FM: 107.1MHz
DAB
Programming
Format Mixed (Local information/hot adult contemporary)
Ownership
OwnerAlderney Broadcasting Company Limited
History
First air date
28 July 2000 (2000-07-28)
Former frequencies
87.7 MHz
Technical information
Power 50 Watts. [1]
Transmitter coordinates
 49°43′24″N2°12′1″W / 49.72333°N 2.20028°W / 49.72333; -2.20028
Links
Webcast stream.quayfm.gg:1071/live
Website www.quayfm.gg

QUAY-FM is a VHF-FM broadcasting station on the island of Alderney. It holds the only Community Radio licence in the Channel Islands which was granted in February 2014 to the Alderney Broadcasting Company (a non-profit organisation, limited by guarantee). [2] [3]

Contents

The scheme under which community radio stations were established in the United Kingdom by Ofcom originally did not apply to the Channel Islands, each of which has separate legal systems. Further legislation was needed in order to enable the establishment of community radio stations in the Islands. [4]

After representations from the QUAY-FM volunteers who had been operating an twice-yearly RSL and from the Government of Alderney, [5] this was enabled by the extension, by Order-in-Council of the relevant parts of the UK's Communications Act, 2003 to the Bailiwick of Guernsey. [6]

Applications were invited by Ofcom in December 2013 [7] and closed in March the following year. This application round resulted in a licence being granted to the Alderney Broadcasting Company Limited, a non-profit company incorporated in Alderney, limited by guarantee (company number 1899) which was the only applicant within the Bailiwick, no applications having been received from either Guernsey or Sark.

History

The station was founded in the summer of 2000 by a number of volunteers, several of whom had backgrounds in BBC Radio, Independent Local Radio (ILR) in the UK, and university radio. [8] including broadcast professionals Johnnie Fielder and Colin Mason. Presenters on the RSL service included local hotelier Steve Collins [9] and former University Radio Essex presenter Nigel Roberts.

The station was originally authorised to transmit on 87.7 MHz FM under a Restricted Service Licence (RSL) issued by the then UK Radio Authority. It broadcast only for one month, during the peak summer vacation period, to cover Alderney Week. In 2004, a regular Christmas broadcast period was added.

The station equipment was kept available for possible use in times of civil emergency and was activated during the extreme weather conditions of the winter of 2010 (it was nicknamed "SNOW FM" locally, although the familiar QUAY-FM identity was used on-air).

Since early 2015, the station has broadcast year-round under a Community Radio Licence issued by Ofcom (the successor licensing body to the Radio Authority). [10]

Live, year-round transmissions were commenced at 7:00 a.m. on 12 February 2015 with the first transmission being made by Tim Butler (one of the original presenters on the very first broadcasts in August 2000, presenting the Early Morning Show. [11] (Butler has been the Station Manager since 16th January 2023)

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021, QUAY-FM once again became a vitally important part of the Island's emergency planning measures, with Willian Tate, President of the States of Alderney, making daily broadcasts to update islanders on the situation during the emergency powers lockdown and in the period following during which restrictions were gradually eased.

QUAY-FM started broadcasting on the Channel Island DAB+ local multiplex on 1 August 2021, and by this means coverage of Sark, Guernsey and Jersey was added in addition to Alderney. The new digital service was later complemented by a local Alderney DAB+ transmitter for located at Fort Albert which carries the whole Channel Island multiplex to Alderney. Alderney's DAB services are provided as a joint project between Alderney Broadcasting and Tindle Radio.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Solent</span> BBC Local Radio service for Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, England

BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, broadcasting on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.

BBC Radio Guernsey is the BBC's local radio station serving the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Jersey</span> Radio station in Saint Helier

BBC Radio Jersey is the BBC's local radio station serving the Bailiwick of Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel 103</span> Independent Local Radio station for Jersey

Channel 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the island of Jersey on 103.7 FM and DAB+ digital radio.

Greatest Hits Radio South Yorkshire is a local radio station serving Doncaster in South Yorkshire and the Bassetlaw district of north Nottinghamshire. The station, originally known as Trax FM, was folded into Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020.

A UK Restricted Service Licence, is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event. Licences are granted by the broadcasting authority Ofcom.

Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. As of March 2010, the multiplex covered more than 90% of the population from 137 transmitters. Coverage was extended to Northern Ireland in July 2013. It contains a list of DAB and DAB+ radio stations operated by Bauer Media Audio UK, Global and Wireless Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tindle Radio</span> Radio group in the British Isles

Tindle Radio is a media company which owns commercial radio stations and a DAB multiplex business in the Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland. It has its head office in Farnham, Surrey, shared with Tindle Newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorlands Radio</span> Radio station in Leek

Moorlands Radio is a community radio station based in Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands, England. It was granted the full-time licence in the second round of community radio licensing by broadcast regulator Ofcom in February 2008. The station serves the rural Staffordshire Moorlands, covering the main towns of Leek and Biddulph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital radio in the United Kingdom</span>

In the United Kingdom, the roll-out of digital radio has been proceeding since engineering test transmissions were started by the BBC in 1990 followed by a public launch in September 1995. The UK currently has one of the world's biggest digital radio networks, with about 500 transmitters, three national DAB ensembles, one regional DAB ensemble, 48 local DAB ensembles and an increasing number of small-scale DAB ensembles broadcasting over 250 commercial and 34 BBC radio stations across the UK. In London there are already more than 100 different digital stations available. In addition to DAB and DAB+, radio stations are also broadcast on digital television platform as well as internet radio in the UK. Digital radio ensemble operators and stations need a broadcasting licence from the UK's media regulator Ofcom to broadcast.

In the United Kingdom, community radio refers to a system of licensing small, micro-local, non-profit radio stations, which started in 2002. In its early days, the pilot scheme was known as access radio. New legislation paved the way for this additional tier of radio, starting in 2005, and hundreds of community stations have since been set up. Unlike commercial radio licensing, which is generally advertised to cover a specific region, community radio stations are usually limited to broadcast areas smaller than commercial or BBC local stations, nominally within a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) radius of their transmitter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calon FM</span> Radio station in Wrexham

Calon FM is a community radio station serving Wrexham and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island FM</span> Independent Local Radio station for Guernsey

Island FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting across the Bailiwick of Guernsey on 104.7FM and 93.7FM in Alderney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio Exe</span> Radio station in Exeter

Radio Exe is an Independent Local Radio station based in Exeter, Devon, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Voice (North Devon)</span> Radio station in Barnstaple

The Voice is a local radio station serving North Devon, and based at studios in Barnstaple.

Stafford FM is a local community radio station serving Stafford, Staffordshire, England. It broadcasts on 107.3 FM and online. The station was one of two to apply in 2014 for an FM community radio licence to cover Stafford. The other was BFBS.

This is a list of notable events in the timeline of digital audio broadcasting in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YO1 Radio</span> Local Radio station in York and Selby, England

YO1 Radio is a community radio station based in York, England. It broadcasts local news, weather, travel and information alongside music from the 1980s to the present day. It broadcasts to the city of York on 102.8 FM, in Selby on 90.0 FM with transmissions in the surrounding parts of North Yorkshire on DAB+. It takes its name from a district of the YO postcode area covering central York.

LDC Radio is a community radio station based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, with a dance and urban music format. Its studios are based in Leeds city centre. Its name is an abbreviation of Leeds Dance Community Radio.

References

  1. ↑ "UK and Ireland FM Transmitters" (PDF). Frequency Finder UK and Ireland. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Alderney Community Station Given Radio Licence". BBC. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "New Radio Station for the Channel Islands". Radio Today. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Community radio may come to Guernsey, Alderney and Sark". BBC News. 14 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "BILLET D'ETAT FOR 19-07-2006".
  6. ↑ "Channel Islands to get first community radio station".
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ Roberts, Nigel. "About QUAY-FM". QUAY_FM. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Alderney's memories of King of Diddy Men". guernseypress.com. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Ofcom Awards First Community Radio License in the Channel Islands". 12 June 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Quay FM starts year-round broadcasting from today". 12 February 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.