“Effective radiated power not exceeding 50 nanowatts.” From 1 May 2026, that short line in a new UK order changes the rules for pop‑up radio. The Broadcasting Act 1990 (Independent Radio Services Exception) Order 2026, made on 16 March and laid before Parliament on 17 March, confirms that certain ultra‑low‑power FM feeds and restricted services using non‑AM/FM frequencies won’t need a Broadcasting Act licence. The instrument was signed by DCMS minister Ian Murray following consultation with Ofcom.

What counts as a restricted service is set in law: broadcasts aimed “within a particular establishment… or for the purposes of a particular event”, rather than a whole town or region. That captures the kind of room‑scale radio common at universities, hospitals, stadiums and one‑off festivals across the North. (wipolex-res.wipo.int)

In practice, the change covers two scenarios. First, a restricted service that uses any radio frequency other than AM or FM. Second, a restricted service that does use FM but at a whisper of power-no more than 50 nW ERP. Either way, the Broadcasting Act offence for operating without a radio service licence will no longer bite. Wireless telegraphy rules still apply.

For Northern readers this is a tidy fix for local comms. Think campus open days where organisers want a short in‑building audio loop; a hospital trust piping visitor updates to a waiting area; a festival using a barely‑audible FM cue feed for stewards; or a mass‑participation race keeping volunteers in the start pen on‑message. At these micro‑powers the signal is room‑scale, not city‑wide, and any overspill should be incidental rather than promoted.

This is not a replacement for Ofcom’s Restricted Service Licences (RSLs) when you want to be heard across a town or large site. Ofcom’s guidance sets establishment RSLs with a typical cap of 2 watts ERP on FM, while event RSLs can reach up to 25 watts in rural areas (usually around 10 watts in cities). Those services still need both a Broadcasting Act licence and a Wireless Telegraphy licence. (ofcom.org.uk)

The 50 nW figure isn’t new in spectrum terms; it mirrors Ofcom’s licence‑exempt rules for tiny FM transmitters in the 87.5–108 MHz band set out in IR2030. That’s the same micro‑power class used by short‑range FM audio gadgets, reinforcing that this change is about very localised use. (ofcom.org.uk)

None of this alters the underlying spectrum law. If your equipment isn’t licence‑exempt under IR2030 you’ll still need Wireless Telegraphy authorisation, and Ofcom can step in if you cause interference. The law’s catch‑all term here is “wireless telegraphy apparatus”, defined in section 117(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006. (legislation.gov.uk)

For organisers used to the RSL paperwork treadmill, the administrative saving is the headline. DCMS has filed a de minimis assessment alongside the order, estimating a net impact below £10m a year. For a Northern community team, the real win is time: when the signal is truly micro and truly local, there’s no broadcast‑licence hurdle.

The order also tidies the statute book by revoking two older carve‑outs, including a 2007 exemption created for Community Audio Distribution Systems (CADS)-onward transmissions of live community events over citizen’s band. Back then DCMS described it simply as an exemption from the unlicensed broadcasting offence; the new instrument modernises and consolidates that approach. (legislation.gov.uk)

The change applies UK‑wide from Friday 1 May 2026. If an open day, match day or festival in the North would benefit from a legal micro‑FM information loop, plan early with your engineer: keep FM power at or below 50 nW ERP, keep it genuinely local, and look to Ofcom’s RSL and IR2030 routes for anything bigger. (ofcom.org.uk)