The other AM radio band that’s disappearing

Time is short for longwave.

Here in North America, AM radio occupies a spectrum that runs from 540 kHz up to 1700 KHz with channels separated by 10 kHz, hence stations like Global News Radio AM 640 and 680 News. (There are spots in the Caribbean where the separation is 9 kHz, but it’s the same band cut up in different ways.) AM is sometimes identified on radio displays as “MW,” which stands for “medium wave.”

However, in Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia, some AM radio has occupied a different part of the spectrum: 148.5 to 283.5 kHz, which substantially below the frequencies we use. This is known as “longwave.” This spectrum works well over long distances and can traverse obstacles like mountains. For example, it’s theoretically possible for a LW signal to travel up to 2,000 km using something known as “groundwave propagation.”

There’s currently talk of AM radio in North America (MW) disappearing as the world moves on from this 125+-year-old technology. AM broadcasters have signaled that they won’t go down without a fight.

Meanwhile, Europe is turning off AM (the medium wave version). The BBC is moving to shut down all AM transmitters with programming migrating to other frequencies.

Longwave is also disappearing fast. RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland shut down broadcasting on 252 kHz in April. A network in Denmark will stop their LW signals by the end of the year. BBC Radio 4 will be off LW by next March. Iceland will drop LW from RÚV sometime in 2024.

So which countries are left? Poland, Mongolia, Romania and Morocco.