Phantom FM back on air

A decision by the Supreme Court last week cleared the way for the Dublin Rock Consortium, otherwise known as Phantom FM, to hit the airwaves. Following an appeal by rival radio station Zed FM, the court dismissed all grounds for appeal and upheld a previous High Court decision to award the Dublin-based alternative rock radio station a broadcasting license. The Zed FM consortium, including Bob Geldof, Hot Press owner Niall Stokes and businessman Dermot Hanrahan, was appealing a decision by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to grant Phantom FM a licence, mainly because of the station's previous pirate operations.

The Zed FM Consortium, which failed in its bid to secure a license in 2004 when Phantom FM won theirs, maintained that the Dublin Rock Consortium benefited from the fact that many of its members had been engaged in pirate broadcasting for a number of years up to 18 months prior to the BCI awarding a license. However, the Supreme Court was satisfied that the BCI considered the issue of character in the context of Phantom's previous record of illegal broadcasting, highling the BCI's policy of bringing pirate radios into the legal fold.

CEO of Phantom FM Ger Roe plans to have the station on air as soon as possible.

EMMA SOMMERS