The AM to FM radio migration process in Brazil is underway

The migration process for AM to FM radio was launched in Brazil on February 25th 2016.   There are 1,781 stations that are on the AM dial across the country, and 1,385 have applied for migration.  According to the Ministry of Communications and Anatel, the transition will occur in two stages.  The first stage contains more than 950 stations that requested the change and that have already been allocated in the FM band.  These stations will occupy the “conventional FM”, a nickname given to the range between 88.1 and 107.9 FM. These radio stations have 90 days to send in the required documentation, begin paying the rate of migration and make investments to modernize their infrastructure for transmission.  The second stage has 377 stations with approximately 300 depending on the analog television shutdown in order to utilize channels 5 and 6 of broadcasting spectrum.  The extended range, ranging from 76.1 MHz to 87.5 MHz was created to accommodate the large number of migrating stations in larger cities such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Curitiba.

Palma International and Gates Air are offering the Flexiva transmitter operating at frequencies between 76 and 88.1 MHz, a solution for radios migrating from AM to FM in the extended range. The channel spectrum 5 and 6 is in transition to accomodate the radio service in Brazil and the Gates Air has innovated the Flexiva for a solution up to 80kW for those channels.  This solution will ensure that AM radio stations across the country continue to serve the public with news, entertainment and other programs without incurring high transaction costs.