The BBC called time on Radio 4 Long Wave broadcasts and, unlike the waves of hot weather sweeping across Europe, the service is unlikely to make a comeback any time soon. This is the UK's last long wave radio station in the UK, and the station permanently terminated broadcasts on the service at 0100 BST on June 27. The Long Wave platform is set to close on June 30. It has been a while coming – the BBC first announced it expected Long Wave to close in 2022, and in March 2024, the corporation called a halt to separate scheduling on Radio 4 Long Wave. Radio 4 itself will, of course, continue broadcasting on other infrastructure, as it has over the years. Imagine the outcry if the long-running drama The Archers was to come to an abrupt end. According to the Beeb, "The Long Wave infrastructure is owned and operated by a third party who have advised us the platform is now coming to the end of its life as a technology. "Continuing would require significant investment to replace ageing equipment and sustain a platform now used by a very small proportion of listeners." Since Long Wave is not considered Critical National Infrastructure, keeping the service going is not a requirement, and so the ax has fallen. FM, DAB, and internet services might reach the vast majority of the UK's population, yet Long Wave has endured for remote or rural communities, or the maritime world. For the latter, the BBC stated: "The Shipping Forecast does not constitute part of the UK's mandatory Maritime Safety Information (MSI) service; it has always been a UK-specific, complementary broadcast. MSI is considered of vital concern to all vessels, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency encourage all seafarers to make every effort to receive it." As for the former, "We also work closely with organizations that support vulnerable audiences around platform closures, to ensure listeners are helped in a timely and sensitive way. "FM remains the main fallback option and is available to 99.5 percent of UK households." The Long Wave service is historically associated with a set of masts at Droitwich transmitting station in the Worcestershire countryside. A pair of additional stations were constructed in Scotland, in Westerglen and Burghead. All three are more than 90 years old, and transmission from Droitwich began in 1934. A campaign has begun to list the structures in historic preservation on the recognized heritage register. This process would recognize the Droitwich masts as having historic interest and therefore make altering or demolishing them considerably more difficult. This hack well remembers being huddled under the blankets with a wireless set, listening to crackly Long Wave transmissions. Long Wave also played an important role in the Second World War, and, more recently, the 198kHz signal was used to control off-peak energy meters. However, considering the age of the infrastructure and the expense of keeping it going in the face of alternatives, the end was inevitable. The Shipping Forecast, which is deeply ingrained in the psyche of Brits of a certain age, will continue on other platforms, and mariners can access information by satellite. ®
