NZ On Air will make one-off capital funding available to assist with the establishment of a community radio service in areas with a population of 500 or more, that are not already served by a primary strength radio signal.
Community radio services are required to broadcast for 24 hours per day. Programming is to include local news, weather and community information, and the service must be capable of carrying local civil defence information in an emergency.
In some small communities (with fewer than 10,000 people) National Radio coverage may be provided through the community self-help ("Tiny Towns") scheme, which is administered by Radio New Zealand.
Where NZ On Air subsidises transmission coverage, broadcasters will make available to the agreed number of potential viewers/listeners in the coverage area a signal suitable to provide (a) a received picture quality that conforms to the IRCC recommended standard of R500-4 of PQ3 or better, in the case of television, or (b) a field strength of at least 54dBu per metre for FM or 60dBu per metre for AM, in the case of radio.
