Fun Coast Digital, led by former Radio Wave broadcaster Alistair Clarke, is set to bring local DAB community broadcasting to the Fylde Coast area (map below). This initiative will see up to 28 new local radio stations using a transmitter based at the top of the Blackpool Tower.

Alistair has said that community groups would be able to broadcast to digital DAB radios and to smart speakers around the coast when the system is set up in the next few months.

The photograph below shows the team from Fun Digital, led by former Radio Wave and Wish FM news head Alistair Clarke, along with DAB radio experts Viamux at Blackpool Tower viewing the proposed transmitter sand assess the existing infrastructure.

Alistair said, ‘Blackpool and the Fylde Coast loves local radio and we’ve had lots of groups discussing their plans with us. We had great support in the application from dozens of community groups, Blackpool Council, Merlin Entertainments and all the local MPs so now we have to turn the plan into reality. Viamux has been supporting us for 12 months now and really are experts in the DAB radio field.’

David Duffy from Viamux added: ‘At over 500ft, Blackpool Tower allows Fun Coast Digital’s multiplex to serve the entire area from a single transmission site. This not only reduces the cost and complexity of the solution but will make for rapid implementation.’

New small-scale radio multiplex licences have been awarded by Ofcom to stimulate community radio after a period of consolidation in local radio which has seen many smaller stations, such as Blackpool’s Radio Wave close or be taken over by national firms.

Contact http://funcoastdigital.co.uk/ for more information.