CFET-FM

On Labour Day weekend, Tagish YT local radio buff Robert (Rob) Hopkins launched community radio station CFET 106.7FM, for the benefit of communities in Tagish, Johnson’s Crossing and Marsh Lake, YT. It was a one-man operation, but local volunteers could record material for sending to the station via the internet for broadcast. The same system could be used for the community’s local emergency public alerting system for instantaneous relay, eg. Yukon Forestry Service alerts re wildfire situations.

On September 5th, the CRTC granted Robert G. Hopkins a licence for a low-power English-language FM radio station in Tagish, Yukon Territory. Hopkins would be the sole owner and operator of the station, which would broadcast on 106.7 MHz with an effective radiated power of 50 watts. The licence was for a seven-year term, to expire on August 31st 2009

The station would operate 24 hours a day. There would be an average of six hours a day of local programming, including local news and weather, and programs featuring the First Nations peoples and the history of the area. The remainder of the station’s programming would consist of content rebroadcast from CFMI-FM Vancouver.

Given that the population of Tagish was in the region of 400, CFET-FM would be operating in a single-station market, and as such would not be subject to any restrictions on the solicitation of local advertising. 

CFET began using Version 1 OpenBroadcaster, User Generated Radio.

In January, CFET-FM began scheduling a weekly two-hour program of Estonian music and news, to target members of the Estonian community in the area. Part of Environment Canada pilot program using OpenBroadcaster for short fuse delivery of emergency messages.

On May 31, the CRTC renewed the broadcasting licence for the low-power, English-language commercial radio station CFET-FM Tagish from 1 June 2010 to 31 August 2011. This short-term renewal would enable the Commission to review at an earlier date the licensee’s compliance with the Radio Regulations, 1986 and its conditions of licence, as well as with its commitment relating to local programming.

On July 1, OpenBroadcaster Version 4 was deployed to server and remote device CFET.

CFET-FM applied to put in a remote transmitter in community of Haines Junction using OpenBroadcaster in order to optimize User Generated Radio programming, engage the audience, provide community access programming and encourage localized promotion opportunities. 

On August 30, the CRTC approved the application by Robert G. Hopkins to amend the broadcasting licence for the English-language, low-power commercial radio station CFET-FM Tagish in order to operate a low-power transmitter in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory. The applicant also proposed to broadcast a minimum of 44 hours of local programming in order to serve the community of Haines Junction. The transmitter would operate at 99.9 MHz (channel 260LP) with an effective radiated power of 25 watts (directional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 413.2 metres). This transmitter would permit the licensee to rebroadcast the programming of CFET-FM to the community of Haines Junction. Given that the technical parameters approved in this decision were for a low-power unprotected FM service, the Commission also reminded the licensee that it will have to select another frequency if the Department of Industry so required.

The Haines Junction transmitter – CJHJ 99.9 – began broadcasting on June 28.

On October 4, the CRTC approved CFET’s applications to add transmitters at Carcross (YT) and Inuvik (NT). Both transmitters would operate on 99.9 MHz with ERP of 25 watts (non-directional).