Abstract
In this article I attempt to highlight the main issues and arguments which surround the question of establishing commercial FM broadcasting services in regional areas. I mope to provide a guide to the complex and delicate questions concerning the future of commercial radio, particularly AM/FM conversion in regional areas. It is necessary to consider regional and metropolitan areas separately because of the very different characteristics of the (markets involved. It seems unquestionable that there will not be any wholesale conversion to FM in the metropolitan areas because of a) technical considerations, including frequency availability, and b) successfully established programming which would not benefit from FM broadcast; for example, mainly current affairs/news formats. In regional areas wholesale conversion would not occur primarily because of FM's limited coverage area and also because of the lower penetration rate of FM receivers.
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