Classic technology becomes redundant: BBC says goodbye to its longwave broadcasts

The BBC has deactivated its Long Wave (LW) service
BBC 4 joins the digital party
Radio stations will probably soon have to support digital to be viable

If you’re still listening to a decades-old retro radio (and you live in the UK), you’ll probably need to head to your local electronics store, because they’re on their way out.

BBC 4, the last radio station in the UK to use long wave (LW) radio, has now been taken off the air. And by that I mean the shows are still broadcast digitally and on analogue FM radio, but it’s the latest station to be removed from the BBC’s Long Wave service – and so the power has been cut there.

This follows a decades-old trend, which began in 1995, when Beeb launched its first ever DAB broadcast. Over time, digital-only stations and the slow demise of aging longwave technology made digital one of the preferred means of listening.

Digital is the future

This discontinuation of the format will reduce the complexity of the BBC’s extensive multi-signal operations. In theory, this will increase accessibility – you can listen to digital signals wherever you are in the world, without needing to be within signal range – but some listeners with limited internet access or technological capabilities could be cut off.

For better or worse, that’s how it goes. The UK government is currently consulting on plans for television to follow suit, with terrestrial television proposed to be phased out by 2034 or, possibly, 2044.

The proposals face the same criticisms of reducing access to programming, even though an eight-year deadline gives people plenty of time to get up to speed. This is especially true given that all the best TVs these days are, let’s face it, smart.

According to the BBC, around a third of a million viewers currently only have access to Freeview, and the company has threatened to shut down the channels if it is forced to support terrestrial television for much longer. This will depend on the consultation process.

However, it is too late for longwave radio which, in the United Kingdom, now joins dinosaurs and the passenger pigeon in the category of “extinct things”.

At least we know that his death is not for nothing: it will allow the BBC to continue functioning for a little while longer.