Undersecretariat of Telecommunications extinguishes 33 community radio concessions

The Undersecretariat of Telecommunications certified the extinction of 33 community citizen broadcasting concessions, active in communes ranging from Antofagasta to Magallanes, due to their failure to be renewed in the public competitions called during 2024. The decision is contained in exempt resolution No. 951, dated August 28, 2026, from the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,541, dated September 3, 2026, section II (Particular Norms), with reference CVE 2864267.

The measure is issued under the protection of Law No. 18,168, General Telecommunications Law, and Law No. 20,433, of 2010, which creates Community Citizen Broadcasting Services, along with the Sound Broadcasting Regulations (supreme decree No. 126, of 1997). The act was signed by order of the President of the Republic by the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Louis de Grange Concha.

A double call for applications without bidders

The affected concessions were to be renewed in the competition of the Second Four-Month Period of 2024, in accordance with Article 13 of the law and Article 10 of the Regulations. After that call was declared void in the indicated communes, the Undersecretariat made a new and final call in the Third Four-Month Period of 2024, which also remained void.

In both processes, the Regional Governments informed the concessionaires of the renewal procedure through official letters, and the opening minutes of the competitions confirmed that no applications were submitted. The resolutions declaring the calls void were published in summary on the Undersecretariat’s website and received no claims.

From Antofagasta to Magallanes: the affected communes

The 33 extinguished concessions are spread across nine regions, with the highest concentration in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago (16 signals) and in Biobío (6). The rest are distributed among Antofagasta (2), Atacama (2), Valparaíso (2), Magallanes (2), and one each in Coquimbo, Ñuble, and O’Higgins.

Among the affected concessionaires are community, cultural, and religious organizations, such as:

• Asamblea Cristiana de Antofagasta Reunida al Nombre del Señor Jesús (Antofagasta, 107.9 MHz)
• Centro Cultural y Radialista Amanecer de Caldera (Caldera, 107.9 MHz)
• Club de Amigos Radio Virgo (Valparaíso, 107.5 MHz)
• Parroquia El Buen Pastor (Macul, 107.7 MHz)
• Centro Cultural Imagen Carol Urzúa (Puente Alto, 106.5 MHz)
• Comunidad Indígena Juanico Antinao (Cañete, 107.5 MHz)
• Agrupación Socio Cultural Sendero de Luz (Natales, 107.3 MHz)

The termination dates of the concessions extend between June and September 2025, depending on the signal and the commune.

Impact on local audiences

The extinction leaves dozens of localities without community broadcasting services—mostly of a neighborhood, cultural, or religious nature—that operated on the 107 MHz band. Since no applications were submitted during the two calls for bids, the frequencies remain available for future assignments by the Regional Governments, which exercise the transferred competencies in telecommunications matters.

For residents of communes such as Tocopilla, Caldera, Quirihue, Arauco, or Punta Arenas, the measure implies the loss of a local proximity communication medium, in a context where citizen community broadcasting constitutes a channel for participation and the dissemination of territorial identity.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,541, Thursday, September 3, 2026, section II (Particular Norms), pp. 1-5 (official reference: CVE 2864267; exempt resolution No. 951, of August 28, 2026).