 Discussions between the government and the Radio Authority in 2002 made it clear that the Government was considering introducing a third tier of broadcasting alongside the BBC and commercial radio.From the 200 applications received by the Radio Authority, 15 were awarded one year licenses with Radio Regen winning two, ALL FM and WFM.All the stations went on air later that year, with the period of the scheme later extended for a further year until 31 December 2004.