Ofcom to offer more FM and AM radio licences

Ofcom has concluded the future of radio includes more new radio stations around the UK broadcasting on FM and AM.

But any new service on the analogue band must be a community-based station, as the regulator says it has zero plans in the short to medium term to allow new commercial radio stations to use FM.

The decision follows a consultation launched in February on how the regulator should use its licensing and spectrum resources as the current small scale DAB licensing programme comes towards its conclusion.

Ofcom says it will proceed with consideration of new FM community radio licences and has opened a formal “Call for Expressions of Interest” to identify where demand exists.

For digital radio, Ofcom will continue licensing small scale DAB multiplexes in unserved areas and prioritise requests from existing operators to improve or extend coverage. It will also take a more flexible approach to the small scale DAB “40% ceiling” where appropriate, but will not prioritise further local DAB multiplex licensing in the short to medium term.

The community radio process begins with organisations identifying areas where they would like to apply for an FM licence, or exceptionally an AM licence.

Ofcom will only consider inviting applications in areas for which it receives an expression of interest during this exercise.

Priority will be given first to areas without an existing community radio service and without small scale DAB coverage. This is followed by areas with analogue community radio but no small scale DAB, locations where a suitable frequency is likely to exist and areas where licences have previously been surrendered.

Groups submitting interest must provide details of the organisation, proposed coverage area, target community and transmitter location, along with an indicative coverage map.

AM proposals require additional evidence, including a detailed business plan and an explanation of why AM would serve the intended audience better than FM or DAB.

Expressions of interest close at 5pm on 26 October 2026, and you can see the full document from Ofcom here.