Frequency telepathy

Swiss Music Radio submits application in ZurichBased on a technical study and previous practice in awarding temporary licenses, there should be enough free FM frequencies in Zurich to allocate one of them to Swiss Music Radio (SMR) for longer-term use." This was stated in a communiqué on 8 July, in which SMR announced that it had submitted an application to the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) for the terrestrial broadcasting of its program in Zurich. However, on July 8, a letter from Bakom was also delivered to various mailboxes in Zurich confirming that a new Zurich FM frequency was available (see page 1) Is this coincidence? "Yes", says SMR co-founder George Wismer. In any case, he knew nothing about the letter from Bakom. The decision to submit an application for a Zurich FM frequency was made by SMR last weekend on the basis of indications that something was happening in this regard. This was triggered by the information on www.djradio.ch and its involvement in the approved "FM4" short experiment at the Wettingerfäscht.
SMR plans to broadcast on FM in the greater Zurich area from spring 2003. SMR's aim is to give Swiss music a better hearing. "The big established radio stations in Zurich all broadcast the same standardized mash defined by German consultants, and there is hardly any room for Swiss music any more," said Wismer. Markus Knöpfli