OFCOM has announced today (Tuesday, October 18) that ToneFM’s parent organisation, The Tone Community Media Group CIC (TCMG CIC), has been awarded the Small Scale DAB Multiplex Licence for Taunton Deane.
It will enable TCMG CIC to bring a brand new digital radio service to the area.
OFCOM invited applications in March for organisations to bid to take control of the new service in Taunton Deane.
These new Digital Radio (DAB) will offer listeners a wider choice of content within a localised area, while being managed and led predominately by community radio providers.
A small consortium led by the team of volunteers who run TCMG CIC and who operate ToneFM in Taunton have today been confirmed as the winner of the licence application.
The award of this licence will mean that ToneFM, among other local community radio stations in the area, will be able to add a truly digital service to their outputs.
And it will create the chance for other local community groups to also gain access to a brand new platform for the area.
Director of TCMG CIC and ToneFM station director Patch Jobson is delighted at the announcement and is keen to progress with the installation.
He said: "There was never any guarantee that we were going to secure this licence, even though we were the only applicant in the area.
"However, as a team of dedicated volunteers, today we are over the moon as this will signify a huge change for our community in the ability to access a wider range of content, whilst also giving not just ToneFM but other stations in the area a chance to reach a wider audience.
"There is a considerable amount of work still to do, but as we head towards celebrating the 10th birthday of ToneFM next year, this is a superb way to head towards what will be an amazing 2023.”
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