RTM Malaysia completes FM radio upgrade in five states

RTM Malaysia completes FM radio upgrade in five states

Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) has completed the FM Radio Transmitter System Development and Upgrade Project on 25 August 2025. The RM18.75 million initiative was carried out under Phase 2 in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.

The project involved 12 transmitters, four operated by RTM and eight by Telekom Malaysia (TM), with the work completed by Syarikat VME Broadcast Sdn Bhd according to schedule. The handover ceremony took place at the Tuanku Syed Putra Broadcasting Complex.

Deputy Director General of Broadcasting Operations, Ismail Sulaiman, said the upgrades had improved both broadcast quality and coverage, giving RTM stations a stronger presence in the five states.

Source : https://www.abu.org.my/2025/09/24/rtm-malaysia-completes-fm-radio-upgrade-in-five-states/

TRAI releases recommendations on reserve prices for FM radio auctions

TRAI has issued recommendations on reserve prices for FM radio auctions in 21 cities, including remote towns in J&K, Himachal, and Uttarakhand. ₹3.75 lakh is proposed as the price for smaller 'E' category towns to boost private FM expansion.

Access the recommendations here :      https://t.co/ymEe9FHjG8

TRAI Consultation Paper on Issues related to FM Radio Broadcasting

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has issued a Consultation Paper on Issues related to FM Radio Broadcasting on 9th Feb'23.

Consultation paper can be downloaded at :

https://www.trai.gov.in/consultation-paper-issues-related-fm-radio-broadcasting

Summary of issues for Consultation :

Q1. Are provisions related to Annual License Fee prescribed in the extant Policy guidelines for FM Radio broadcasting reasonable? If not, please provide methodology and criteria for arriving at Annual License Fee for private FM Radio channels with detailed justification.

Q2. Is there a need to extend the permission period for existing FM Radio licensees?

a. If yes, what should be the revised permission period? Please prescribe the period with detailed reasoning/ justification. 

b. If not, is there a need to extend any other assistance to private FM Radio broadcasters to overcome the impact of the pandemic? If so, please suggest suitable measures with quantified parameters and justification.

Q3. Is there a need to review the present Policy guidelines as regards the News and current affairs on private FM radio stations? If so, please provide detailed justification, including the additional compliance/ reporting (if any), duration of news and current affair programmes and method of effective monitoring may be suggested.

Q4. Is there a need to mandate that all the Mobile Handset manufactured/sold in India will require to have an in-built FM Radio receiver? Please provide detailed justification for your comments.

Q5. Stakeholders may also provide their comments/ suggestions on any other issue that may be relevant to the present consultation.

Stakeholders must submit their comments by 23rd March 2023.

Jay Allen reviews XHTATA D-808 AM/FM/SW/SSB/Airband Portable Radio

The XHDATA D-808 was born as a result of the sometimes strange state of affairs in Chinese manufacturing today. The story goes that it was derived from the Redsun-designed C. Crane Skywave SSB. 

It is based on the same Silicon labs DSP Chip as the Skywave yet has several differences. It omits the NOAA Weather Band of the Skywave but adds FM RDS. It also is built into a slightly larger cabinet which allows improved sound quality and a larger AM ferrite rod antenna.

Full review at : https://radiojayallen.com/xhtata-d-808-am-fm-sw-ssb-airband-portable-radio/

Sporadic E causing strange phenomena for radio stations

At this time of year, atmospheric effects can give stations interference problems by reflecting radio signals well beyond thier official coverage areas.

In Australia this week, stations have reported interference from signals thousands of kilometres away.

The cause is known as Sporadic E, an atmospheric effect that causes signals in the 30-300MHz range to reflect off the E layer of the Earth's atmosphere, around a hundred kilometers above Earth's surface, instead of flying through into space.

More at :

http://www.asiaradiotoday.com/news/sporadic-e-causing-strange-phenomena-radio-stations

Koraput village gets its community radio station

TNN | Jun 23, 2016, 12.02 PM IST

Koraput: The Dhimsa FM radio station at Chhapar village in Koraput district focusses on rural development issues while offering a platform to the villagers to voice their concern.

More at :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Koraput-village-gets-its-community-radio-station/articleshow/52880730.cms

HT Media launches new FM stations "Radio Nasha" in Delhi & Mumbai

HT Media, which runs its FM radio station "Fever FM" in five cities in India, has launched a new station "Radio Nasha" in Delhi and Mumbai.

After Delhi, HT Media Ltd has launched its second radio station, Radio Nasha, in Mumbai. While in Delhi it is 107.2 FM, in Mumbai it is Radio Nasha on 91.9 FM. These are part of the Phase III radio launches from HT Media. In the Phase III FM radio auctions, HT Media acquired 10 new frequencies in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and seven towns of Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Allahabad).

HT Media already operates FM stations under the Fever FM brand in the five metros ....Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. As part of the differentiated content stratergy, Radio Nasha will play retro music from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Fever FM, on the other hand, will play contemporary Bollywood music.

FM radio shutdown : end of the road for analogue?

As Norway prepares to shut down FM radio in 2017, will the UK follow suit?

 

http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2015/07/fm-radio-shutdown.cfm

BlackBerry Update Adds FM Radio

Great news for the dozens of remaining BlackBerry fans. The latest platform update adds a bunch of little tweaks to your Z30, Q10, and Q5 including an FM radio. Why wasn't the FM radio enabled from the start, you ask?

More at :

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/28/blackberry-update-adds-fm-radio-because-why-not/

Related :

BlackBerry's latest software update turns smartphones into radios

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/blackberry-10-os-10-2-1-update/?ncid=rss_truncated

BlackBerry launches FM radio on Z30, Q10, Q5 phones

http://www2.macleans.ca/2014/01/28/blackberry-launches-fm-radio-on-z30-q10-q5-phones/

Rejoice ! Switch from FM signals to digital has been delayed to 2015

The future has been postponed — and thank goodness. The announcement by communications minister Ed Vaizey this week that the long-threatened switch from FM radio to digital signals will be delayed must come as a great relief to millions, from a Gaelic crofter in the Western Isles to the Queen at Windsor Castle.

 

Read more at :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2526215/Rejoice-FM-radio-fans-seen-digital-dictators-Switch-FM-signals-digital-delayed-2015.html

The coming radio wave

When will we hear a different tune on radio? Within the next one year, if Uday Varma, secretary at the ministry of information and broadcasting, is to be believed. He says that the request for proposals for the auctioneer for FM radio's third phase, which will see 839 stations being auctioned, is ready. He reckons that the auction itself should take place in the next couple of months and the new stations should be operational
 

More at :
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-coming-radio-wave-113042200795_1.html

Samsung explains why Galaxy S4 doesn't come with FM radio

Samsung Galaxy S4 was unveiled by the company on 14 March. While the phone boasts high-end specs like a 5-inch full-HD screen with 441 pixels per inch, a 1.6GHz Exynos octa-core processor in some regions and a 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor in others, and 2GB of RAM, it received criticism in some quarters for missing out on a rather basic feature : FM radio.

Read the NDTV report here ......
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/samsung-explains-why-galaxy-s4-doesnt-come-with-fm-radio-355456

Related :

Samsung confirms Galaxy S4 India launch on April 26
http://tech2.in.com/news/smartphones/samsung-confirms-galaxy-s4-india-launch-on-april-26/871150

Radio broadcasters group pushes for analog FM chips in digital smartphones

Radio’s relevance may come down to smartphones. Last week, at a House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing about the “Future of Audio,” industry heads faced off about industry standards, evolving technologies and whether FM analog chips should be placed in smartphones, an issue that has brought accusations against radio’s “refusal to innovate” since 2010.

More at this link

Happy 71st birthday to FM radio

Say happy 71st birthday to FM radio. The very first commercial FM radio station was W47NV in Nashville, and it began broadcasting on March 1, 1941

More at :
http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2012/03/05/happy-71st-birthday-to-fm-radio

Proposal to add more channels within existing bandwidth opposed by FM operators

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) proposal to introduce more radio stations in metros within the existing FM radio bandwidth by reducing the channel spacing between two stations did not get any support from the FM operators except from Radio Mirchi.

More at
http://www.mediamughals.com/News/1/3/Article/8901/Proposal_to_add_more_channels_within_existing_bandwidth_opposed_by_FM_operators.htm

FM Radio Comes to Two Blackberry models

'Research in motion' announced at the 'Consumer Electronics Show' in Las Vegas today (9th Jan 2012) , that two models of their Blackberry phones will offer the ability to listen to FM radio.

Read more at foll URL

Stay tuned in

Radio is one of the most powerful mediums today and has revolutionised mass communication in many ways. Apart from serving undiluted entertainment, it brings forth many job opportunities too. SANGEETA YADAV tells you more

More at :
http://www.dailypioneer.com/avenues/7815-stay-tuned-in.html

I&B asks 19 states to allot free land for AIR FM Stations

Indiantelevision.com Team
(05 September 2011 9:35 pm)
NEW DELHI: Denying it was attempting to augment its All India Radio’s FM channels before the auction of the Phase III for private FM Radio, the Government today said an amount of Rs 1.42 billion had been sanctioned for AIR FM expansion under the Eleventh Plan. New transmitters of various capacities were being installed in 130 places throughout the country, including 100 relay transmitters of 100 Watt. In addition, the old transmitters at 34 places were being replaced by new FM transmitters.

Full story at : http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k11/sep/sep32.php

FM Radio in India - an overview

Overview of FM Radio in India by R. Sowmya Sri ...

http://www.indiabiznews.com/?q=node/1711

Radio’s decadal shift

Sudipta Datta
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011 at 0317 hrs IST
The announcement of FM phase III and auctions this month, though long overdue, have come as a perfect anniversary gift in the tenth year of private FM radio. While the opening of private FM radio a decade ago in the four metros "breathed life into a dead medium", phase II and now phase III will lead to further expansion in the country to tier-II and tier-III towns.

Full story at :
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/radios-decadal-shift/819645/0