AWARD-WINNING University radio station Fuse FM will now be returning to FM radio after it's broadcasting licence was renewed.
The station had previously been denied the chance to boardcast on FM for the Spring session in favour of local start-up station, RockTalk.
The new community-run station was given priority over the established Fuse FM - which broadcasts for a month per semester - earlier in the year when licences were dished out.
DJ's had been facing up to the prospect of only broadcasting over the Internet for the second semester at Manchester – but earlier in the year Fuse won their licence back!
The new start-up no longer needed the broadcasting spot so the Students' Union appealed to Ofcom, the government's media regulation body, and was granted permission to go on as before.
University of Manchester station Fuse is one of only a limited number of student stations able to broadcast on FM.
Sarah Vale, Station Manager at Fuse FM said: "This is brilliant news for the station; we were really down-hearted about the loss of the FM licence.
"This will mean that we can go from strength to strength... It really means a lot to be on FM, as we will be much more widely available.
"We broadcast over approximately a ten-mile radius. Last broadcast people were able to listen to us at the Trafford Centre, which is quite a distance away.
"We're also launching a new website and people will be able to listen on there. It is really good news for us."
She also confirmed to Student Direct that the station's new website would launch in time for its next broadcast and thanked all the people at the Students' Union who worked hard to get the licence back for Fuse FM.
The station has won two awards at the national Student Radio Awards in the past two years. Andrew Jackson scooped Male Presenter of the Year in 2006, while Minnie Stephenson claimed the Female Presenter of the Year award in 2005.
It also received recognition this year when Becca Day-Preston won the Bronze Prize for Female Presenter of the Year.
Fuse FM will go on air on February 10, 2008 for it's 16th broadcast.
Source: Student Direct
