OVERVIEW OF FM RADIO BROADCASTING STATIONS IN GHANA: Section 2 of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008, Act 775 mandates that the National Communications Authority;

 

• “shall regulate the radio spectrum designated or allocated for use by broadcasting organisations and providers of broadcasting services”;

 

• “… determine technical and other standards and issue guidelines for the operation of broadcasting organisations …”

 

• “… may adopt policies to cater for rural communities and for this purpose may waive fees wholly or in part for the grant of a frequency authorisation”.

 

The Broadcasting service is a communication service in which the transmissions are intended for direct reception by the general public. The sound broadcasting service involves the broadcasting of sound which may be accompanied by associated text/data.

 

Sound broadcasting is currently deployed in Ghana using analogue transmission techniques: Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Modulation (FM). Over the last two decades, AM sound broadcasting has faded, leaving FM radio as the only form of sound broadcasting in Ghana.

 

FM radio broadcasting stations are classified for the purpose of regulatory administration of the service towards the attainment of efficient use of frequency. The following is the classification of FM radio broadcasting stations in Ghana.

 

 

(1) Classification by Purpose:

 

a) Public – all stations owned and operated by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and/or any other station established by the Government of Ghana by a statutory enactment.

 

b) Public Foreign – stations established by Foreign Governments through diplomatic arrangements to rebroadcast/relay content from foreign countries e.g. BBC, RFI, VoA.

 

c) Commercial – those that are privately owned and operated for profit and controlled privately by independent commercial groups or individuals.

 

d) Community - a non-profit broadcasting service provided for a specific marginalised community by a radio or television station whose ownership and management are representative of the community for which the service is provided.

 

e) Campus – a station operated within the ambit of educational institutions

 

 

(2) Coverage classification:

 

a) Maximum coverage radius is 45km for Commercial and Public Foreign FM radio broadcasting

stations.

 

b) Maximum coverage radius for Community and Campus FM radio broadcasting stations is 5km. In cases where the definition of the community and the terrain require a variation, the Authority shall make extensions to the coverage area but this shall not exceed 25km in any case.

 

c) There is no coverage limitation on the Public FM radio broadcasting stations.

 

d) The signal strength at the periphery of the coverage circle/contour with the authorised radius shall not exceed 54 dB(µV/m). This does not mean the station cannot be heard beyond the circle/contour, because the ITU Recommendation BS.412-9 gives a field strength requirement of 34 dBμV/m for ‘acceptable’ service. The Geneva 1984 Agreement governing Sound Broadcasting services in the frequency band 87.5 – 108 MHz sets the field strength of 54 dB(V/m) as the threshold for coordination of the FM radio broadcasting service in the frequency band.

 

 

(3) Location classification:

 

a) Urban Type 1: - For the major metropolitan assemblies e.g. Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi.

 

b) Urban Type 2: For the other metropolitan cities that are not as economically viable as the above cities such as Tamale and Cape Coast, as well as the other regional capitals such as Koforidua, Sekondi, Ho, Bolgatanga, Sunyani, and Wa.

 

c) Sub-Urban Type 1: For the capital of some municipal assemblies and some major towns, e.g. Tarkwa, Oda, Berekum etc.

 

d) Sub-Urban Type 2: For locations that have moderate economic activity and moderate population, including some district capitals such as Bibiani, Sefwi Bekwai, Somanya etc.

 

e) Rural: - The rest of the country.