More on the airwaves soon?

Radio Three additional national stations would be economically and technically feasible in Switzerland Just in time for Radioday, the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) publishes the results of three studies on the radio market - and thus provides food for discussion. One thing is certain: from both an economic and a (frequency) technical point of view, there is room for one more radio station in French-speaking Switzerland and up to two more in German-speaking Switzerland with a supra-regional ("agglo-spanning") or even language-regional character.However, in order for them not only to survive, but also to help boost the radio advertising market, radio marketing would have to become much more nationally oriented instead of the current focus on local stations. This in turn requires, among other things, "an optimization of the complicated pool structures", according to the study by the Berlin-based GoldMedia Institute.
Technical complications
On the technical side, OFCOM concludes that additional VHF frequencies could be freed up, but only by reducing the recommended safety distance between neighboring frequencies. This would have the disadvantage that the range of all transmitters would decrease because the majority of radio receivers cannot differentiate finely enough.
In addition, a comprehensive replanning of the frequency spectrum would be necessary, the financing of which would first have to be arranged. A switch to DAB would also be possible, according to a third study, but this would cost a total of CHF 200 million. OFCOM is now hoping that the consultation process will provide clarity on how to proceed.
Markus Knöpfli