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Russian Radio Station in Svalbard Halt Broadcasts Over Missing Norwegian Licence
The Russian radio station Maya in Barentsburg had to halt its FM broadcasts after Norwegian authorities discovered that it lacked the necessary licences. The company has since applied for authorisation, but the application remains on hold.
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Radio Maya was launched on April 17 by the Russian state-owned mining company Trust Arktikugol. The company described the station as the first local Russian radio station in Barentsburg in modern history.
The station was intended to provide residents with news and information about local events, as well as broadcast its own programmes. It was also to “alert” listeners about police, customs and polar bear visits, Svalbardposten wrote earlier this year.
Between its own broadcasts, the channel also relayed content from Russian radio stations, including Europa Plus and Radio Gordost. The latter was launched in 2024 with support from the Russian Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and presents itself as a patriotic radio channel.
However, the radio station lacked the necessary permission from Norwegian authorities to broadcast on the FM band.
“Technical error”
As early as March, one month before the launch, Trust Arktikugol’s general director, Ildar Neverov, notified the Governor of Svalbard of the company's plans to begin radio broadcasts.
Nkom has been informed that the broadcasts have been stopped
The Governor replied that the company had to contact the Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom), which is the responsible authority in this area.
Little then happened in the matter.
It was not until four months later, in July, that the Governor contacted the company again to follow up on whether it had received approval from Nkom.
According to Svalbardposten, Trust Arktikugol claimed that it never received the email from March.
According to the company, the reason was a technical error, as the email was sent to the company’s official address in Moscow rather than to its Gmail address.
Yet the official address is listed in the letterhead of the letter the general director himself signed in March.
Immediate halt requested
Documents obtained by High North News show that Neverov then contacted Nkom on July 23.
In the letter, he referred to Norwegian regulations and argued that the radio broadcasts did not require a licence because they used "equipment for ordinary commercial use".
Nkom rejected this interpretation in its response, dated July 29:
"Nkom cannot see that the provisions referred to in the letter concerning receiving equipment, terminal equipment or satellite earth stations provide grounds for establishing or operating radio broadcasts in the FM band without the necessary frequency licence," the letter stated.
Nkom has not itself observed radio broadcasts on the frequency
At the same time, Nkom said that it was not aware of any frequency licence for FM broadcasts on 95.0 MHz in Barentsburg.
If the broadcasts were taking place without a valid licence, Nkom asked that they be halted with immediate effect until the necessary licences were in place.
Application on hold
"Nkom has been informed that the broadcasts have been stopped," wrote Sebastian Nordli, senior adviser at Nkom, in an email to HNN.
He emphasised that it was the Governor who brought the radio broadcasts to the authority's attention.
"Nkom has not itself observed radio broadcasts on the frequency in question from Barentsburg, but has relied on information provided by the Governor of Svalbard and Trust Arktikugol".
According to the Norwegian Local Radio Association, Radio Maya's most recent FM broadcast was on August 2th. Two days later, Trust Arktikugol submitted an application for a frequency licence to Nkom.
"However, the processing of the application has been put on hold while we await the applicant’s clarification of the necessary matters with the Media Authority," Nordli writes.
As the radio service is also covered by broadcasting regulations, Trust Arktikugol must first clarify the necessary licences with the Norwegian Media Authority before Nkom can process the application.
More than two months after the application was submitted, the company is still awaiting the necessary permits.
“As of today, we are waiting for approval from Nkom and the Media Authority. We do not wish to comment further on the matter,” wrote Darya Slyunyaeva, assistent to the managing director, in a message to HNN.
