§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the probable level of interference with aeronautical radio navigation services of high-powered national broadcasting on the 105 to 108 MHz radio frequencies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 3 May 1994]: Broadcasting services in the frequency band 87.5 to 108 MHz have the potential to cause interference to 511W aeronautical radio navigation services. It is the Government's responsibility, however, to ensure that any planned new radio station will not cause unacceptable interference. The assessment of potential interference is a complex task involving not only the power and frequency of a proposed new transmitter, but those of existing transmitters and, in particular, the dispositions of transmitters relative to each other, to airports and to flight paths. These assessments are made by the Radiocommunications Agency, in my Department.
It is not possible to carry out an assessment of the interference potential of radio stations in the band 105 to 108 MHz until the details of all proposed broadcasting transmitters are known. However, in preparation for the opening of that band, some hypothetical studies were made by the Radiocommunications Agency which led it to the opinion that transmitting powers as high as 40KW may be acceptable in locations and at frequencies that are favourable.
The Radio Authority is currently conducting a public consultation exercise about the possible service options in this new band of frequency spectrum, which the Government have made available for independent radio. These options range from the provision of a new national radio service to the provision of numerous low power and highly localised services. Having reached a decision, the Radio Authority will present a detailed transmitter plan for the proposed services to the Radiocommunications Agency for clearance. Until then, it is not possible to comment further, but I am confident that it will be possible to agree a plan which is fully compatible with aeronautical navigation services.