UK Radio Fans Launch Petition to Save BBCs Longwave Service

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Radio fans in the UK are raising their voices - and a petition - to convince the BBC to keep a longstanding favourite radio service.

A petition drive has been launched to press the BBC to reverse its plans to take its longwave service on 198 kHz off the air by 31st March 2024. The BBC made the announcement in May 2022 that it was closing its longwave transmitter, describing it as a dying technology.

“...a historic radio lifeline.”
— Change.org petitioners

According to the petitioners on the Change.org website, the single longwave transmitter at Droitwich is efficient, covering most of the UK and northern Europe. It is viewed as one of the more historic features of the BBC, and its planned shutdown would come a mere six months before it marked its 90 years on the air.

BBC Radio 4 has already begun a public information campaign to convince listeners to make the change from longwave to the broadcaster's other platforms. Those platforms are expected to carry many of the programmes now on Radio 4 Longwave, including Test Match Special, Yesterday in Parliament, Shipping Forecast and the Daily Church Service. The BBC has been following listeners' trend toward favouring digital radio and has acknowledged on its website that a wide range of alternative listening services have become available.

A Satellite Deployed a Drag Sail and Removed Itself from Orbit Five Years Early→

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A Satellite Deployed a Drag Sail and Removed Itself from Orbit Five Years Early

In an age of increasing “stuff” orbiting Earth one big concern is what happens if one satellite hits another. The result could be an explosion, or a chain reaction of collisions, or the closure of an orbit. That would be catastrophic. However, a small satellite called SBUDNIC just sent itself back to Earth earlier than expected. It’s goal: to demonstrate a low-cost way to take care of space debris.

SBUDNIC was the brainchild of a group of students at Brown University who were in a “Design of Space Systems” class taught by engineering Professor Rick Fleeter. It was a 3U CubeSat made of off-the-shelf components (including 48 Energizer batteries), a small camera, and a plastic drag sail. It joins a host of other CubeSats used (or proposed for use) at Earth and throughout the Solar System.

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Switching off 3G and 2G networks: advice for IoT and third-party device suppliers - Ofcom

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The plan is to remove 3G coverage across the UK by the end of 2024 and 2G by 2033.

In Germany, 3G went about 18 months - 2 years ago but the statement is that here 2G stays until the stats says no one is using it any more. Given that automated security devices rely on 2G, the chances are 2G will never go away here. All 3G phone fall back to 2G operation meaning calls and SMS are possible but forget any reasonable Internet data connection.

The 5G Cells equipment supports 4G as well. Indeed to bring in 5G into Germany, the existing 4G equipment was software upgraded from what I understand. Here one reason to close down 3G was to re-use the frequencies for 5G. I suspect there is the same reasoning in the UK.

Ofcom - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/information-for-industry/policy/2g-and-3g-switch-off/advice-for-iot-and-third-party-device-suppliers