IN THE NEWS

Improved availablility for 6IX No community radio he ABA has varied the FM frequency 105.7 MHz. The Tlicence area plan for Perth, translator services were made licence in Latrobe Valley to improve the availability available in order to rectify re- of the commercial radio service ception deficiencies in the north 6IX in the southeast area of and the south of the 6IX licence Perth. area. The ABA is making alterna- Since the release of the Perth he ABA has decided not to Until such time as the ABA tive technical specifications licence area plan, the licensee Tallocate a community radio reviews the temporary licence available for the 6IX FM trans- of 6IX, Radio Perth Pty Ltd broadcasting licence in the services and reconsiders a per- lator service at Rockingham. (Radio Perth) has proposed Latrobe Valley at this time. manent allocation, the channel The alternative technical speci- changes to improve the cover- The ABA sought applications set aside for this licence (99.9 fications include a change of age of the two additional trans- for the licence in May 2002. MHz) will be made available site, along with an increase in lators. Two groups applied, Gippsland for temporary community the effective antenna height and In March 2002, the ABA re- Christian Broadcasters Inc (Life broadcasting. Both groups will a change in the radiation pat- leased an explanatory paper FM) and Gunai Media Aborigi- be able to broadcast under tem- tern. and draft licence area plan vari- nal Corporation (Gunai). Life porary community broadcast- ‘The ABA is of the view that ation proposing alternative tech- FM claims to serve the Christian ing licences, sharing the one the changes to the translator nical specifications for the community of the Latrobe li- frequency. service at Rockingham, along Rockingham translator service. cence area while Gunai claims with the additional translator The proposed alternative tech- to represent the Aboriginal Latrobe Valley service at Wanneroo, will rec- nical specifications included an population in the licence area. licence area tify signal deficiencies in the alternative transmitter site, an ‘After giving careful consid- Perth area improving the avail- increase in the effective an- eration to the criteria laid down At Census 1996 the licence area ability of 6IX within its licence tenna height and a change in in the legislation and the infor- population was 81 826. The area,’ said Lyn Maddock, Act- the radiation pattern. The ABA mation provided by all appli- 2001 census data reveals a slight ing ABA Chair. did not propose any changes to cants, the ABA has decided in decrease in the population of Before deciding on whether the technical specifications of this case not to allocate the the licence area, to 80 569. to change the technical specifi- the northern translator service, licence,’ said Ms Maddock. ABC and SBS television and cations of the Rockingham FM as the ABA was satisfied that ‘The ABA finds that neither of three commercial television translator service, the ABA took the licence area plan technical the applicants were able to sat- services broadcast in the Latrobe into account the views of all specifications at Wanneroo isfy the ABA that they could Valley licence area. Radio serv- who made submissions to the would provide adequate cov- provide a broadcasting service ices include two commercial draft variation. erage of the 6IX service in the that would meet the needs of services, 3TR and 3GG, one northern part of its licence area. their claimed community of in- community service, 3GCR and Licence area plan The ABA considers that the terest.’ three national services, 3GLR, alternative technical specifica- ‘The ABA has decided that in 3ABCFM and 3JJJ. The ABA determined the Perth tions for the Rockingham trans- 12 months it will review the In the radio licence area plan licence area plan in October lator service will allow 6IX to situation, with a view to for the Latrobe Valley area, re- 2001. In determining the plan, ensure that it achieves the opti- readvertising the availability of leased in December 2001, the the ABA made available chan- mal audience reach within the the licence. During the inter- ABA determined that one new nel capacity for two additional southern part of its licence area vening period the ABA encour- community FM radio broad- translator services for the exist- without causing interference to ages both groups to operate casting service be made avail- ing AM commercial radio serv- the 6IX translator service in the temporary services to develop able for the Latrobe Valley. ice 6IX at Wanneroo and north. their capacity,’ she said. Rockingham, both using the

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