WESTERN bureau – Ahead of its May launch, Montego Bay’s newest radio station, MELLO FM, began test transmission on Wednesday afternoon.

“Test transmission for the new station. is expected to be carried out for eight hours on a daily basis until January 30,” public relations officer at Cornwall Broadcasting Company Ltd, Alfred Robinson, told the Observer Tuesday.

Robinson refused to divulge the principals of the new station, saying only that it consists of local business persons and a further announcement would be made at a news conference within a month.

He added, however, that the businessmen have already invested more than $6 million in the venture. They are confident, he added, that the station will be financially viable as the company would be offering very competitive advertising rates and will have a very sucessful marketing campaign.

The station, Robinson said, will be heard on 96.7MHZ in digital stereo, using the latest broadcast transmitter technology. It will be transmitted 24 hours a day in the western end of the island.

“One of the objectives of the new station is to provide western Jamaica’s diverse and rapidly-changing audience with programming that caters to the community interests not adequately served by national radio,” Robinson explained.

He told the Observer that while the station will play R&B and soul music, its programming will also include community news, sports, live traffic updates from the streets of Montego Bay, as well as current affairs programmes.