Digital radio licences

There are 3 categories of digital radio multiplex transmitter licences:

• category 1 is for commercial and community radio services
• category 2 is for commercial, community and national radio services
• category 3 is for national radio services (ABC and SBS)

Commercial

Each commercial radio broadcasting licensee can access 1/9 of the gross capacity of the digital radio multiplex transmitter. This equates to 128 kbit/s or about 2 FM-quality services. Commercial broadcasters can bid for excess capacity on the multiplex, up to another 1/9 of capacity.

Community

Designated community radio broadcasting licensees can access up to 2/9 of the digital radio multiplex transmitter capacity. This equates to 256 kbit/s or about 4 FM-quality services.

Designated community broadcasting licensees are:

• those with services planned in a licence area that is the same as a commercial radio licence area
• those whose licence area we deem (or the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 deems) to be the same as a commercial radio licence area for digital radio.

Learn about the arrangements for community digital radio.

We can declare that a category 1 or category 2 licence is a ‘foundation’ licence. This allows existing eligible radio broadcasters to form a joint venture company to hold the licence and provide digital radio services under the licence. See digital radio start-up day declarations.

Applying for the foundation licence

An eligible joint venture company can apply for the foundation digital radio multiplex transmitter licence after the ACMA has:

• made a digital radio channel plan for a licence area (see planning digital radio)
• declared a foundation licence
• deemed any community radio licence areas (see community digital radio).

If there are no applications after 120 days (or we refuse applications), we can issue the licence via a price-based system (such as an auction).

Eligible joint venture company

Rules for forming an eligible joint venture company are in sections 102C and 102D of the Radiocommunications Act 1992. 

R058 Application for digital radio multiplex transmitter apparatus licence(s).

Application fee and licence tax

• Application fee: $1,130; – refer to the Radiocommunications (Digital Radio Multiplex Transmitter Licences—Application Fee) Determination 2022.
• Annual apparatus licence tax: $41.86 – refer to the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Determination 2015

The digital radio start-up day is the date you can begin transmitting digital radio.

Start-up day

• Foundation category 1 and 2 digital radio multiplex transmitter licensees: cannot transmit until the ACMA designates their start-up day.
• Foundation category 3 licensees (for ABC and SBS radio services): can begin any time after the licence has been issued.

Licensees must conduct test transmissions for at least 7 days.

After consulting with the licensee, we usually issue category 1 and 2 digital radio multiplex transmitter licences to come into effect 1 to 2 weeks before we declare the digital radio start-up day.

Find out more in the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2017.

Digital radio multiplex transmitter licensees must meet the following conditions:

1. Comply with the Radiocommunications Act 1992, including sections 109B, 109C and 109D.
2. Pay relevant charges and licence tax.
3. Inform each person authorised to operate the multiplex transmitter they must comply with the Radiocommunications Act and conditions of the licence.
4. Operate the multiplex transmitter within licence specifications and those in the digital radio channel plan.
5. A category 1 licence must only provide digital commercial and, if relevant, digital community radio broadcasting services.
6. A category 2 licence must only provide digital national, commercial and, if relevant, community radio broadcasting services.
7. A category 3 licence must only provide a digital national radio broadcasting service.
8. Category 1 and category 2 licensees must start providing a digital radio broadcasting service on the digital radio start-up day and continue to provide the service at all times thereafter.
9. Transmit the service using a digital modulation technique.
10. Not to conduct any activities other than operating the multiplex transmitter and related activities under the licence.
11. Comply with the Broadcasting Services (Technical Planning) Guidelines 2017.
12. Comply with industry standards in section 130V(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

Find out more

• Read our apparatus licensing overview.
• See sections 109B. 109C and 109D of the Radiocommunications Act.

View the digital radio multiplex transmitter licenses on our Register of Radiocommunications Licences:

• select ‘Licences’ and ‘Sub Service’
• select ‘Broadcasting’ and ‘Cat 3 DRMT' or ‘Broadcasting’ and ‘Foundation Cat 1 DRMT’