Broadcast Coverage Maps

FM Stations - Detail         FM Stations - Printable

AM Stations - Detail         AM Stations - Printable

Main stations in bold followed by associated repeaters and translators
Facilities in italics operated by out‑of‑state broadcasters
Location in ( ) - actual location of transmitting facilities
N - New facility since 1989 study     # - Station now meets study criteria

FM Stations
WFCR		88.5	Amherst		WUMB		91.9	Boston
WBUR		90.9	Boston		WFPB	N	91.9	Falmouth
WCCT1	N	90.3	Harwich		WNEF	N	91.7	Newburyport
WSDH2	N	91.5	Sandwich		WBPR	N	91.9	Worcester
WERS		88.9	Boston		WAMC3		90.3	Albany, NY
WGBH		89.7	Boston					(North Adams, MA) )
WCAI	N	90.1	Woods Hole		WAMQ3	N	105.1	Great Barrington
WNAN	N	91.1	Nantucket		WOMR		91.1	Provincetown
W242AA	N	96.3	Beacon Hill		WTCC		90.7	Springfield
					WCUW		91.3	Worcester
					WICN		90.5	Worcester
AM Stations
WPNI	N	1430	Amherst		WBUR	N	1240	W. Yarmouth
WFPB	N	1190	Orleans

¹ Licensed to Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, Harwich, MA. Operated by WBUR, Boston, MA.
² Licensed to Sandwich Massachusetts Public Schools, Sandwich, MA. Operated by WBUR, Boston, MA.
³Operated by WAMC, Albany, NY.

General Comments

Public radio in Massachusetts is provided by both educational institutions and community licensees.  Public broadcasters have made significant progress extending coverage to areas within the state identified as lacking coverage in the 1989 study.  Boston, Worcester and numerous communities in the Cape Cod area receive program services from several public broadcasters.  Three of the four public radio stations in Boston are also distributed via repeaters throughout the eastern portion of the state.  In addition to FM service, the state is also served by three AM stations which are operated in conjunction with FM stations.   

FM Service  

The number of FM public stations in Massachusetts has doubled since the 1989 PTFP study.  Nine stations were included in that study.  Since then, eight stations and one translator have been added to the roster of public radio stations in Massachusetts.   In 1989, the south end of Massachusetts from the Rhode Island border east over much of Cape Cod plus Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket did not receive a quality public radio signal.  Today five new repeater stations in Falmouth, Harwich, Nantucket, Sandwich and Woods Hole provide service to this area.  WCCT Harwich and WSDH Sandwich are high school stations that repeat the signal of WBUR Boston. WNEF is a new repeater station serving the northeast corner of the state. WAMQ is a new station in southwestern Berkshire County which re-broadcasts the signal of WAMC Albany, New York. 

The percentage of population receiving a public FM signal in the state has increased from 94% in 1989 to 98.9% currently, and the number of residents not receiving a single public radio signal decreased from 348,000 in 1989 to 72,384 currently.  

AM Service

Massachusetts is covered by three AM public radio stations that were established since the 1989 PTFP study.  In 1996, WBUR Boston acquired what is now WBUR(AM) 1240 kHz in West Yarmouth, which operates at 1 kW, unlimited. In 1998, WUMB was donated an AM station, WFPB(AM) 1190 kHz Orleans, which rebroadcasts WUMB and operates at 1 kW daytime only.  Since 1997, WFCR has broadcast programming on WPNI(AM) 1430 kHz Amherst under a Local Management Agreement at 5 kW daytime only.  

Service from Adjacent States

WAMC and WAMQ transmit from Berkshire County in western Massachusetts.  WAMQ is licensed to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, while WAMC is licensed to Albany, New York, and located near North Adams, Massachusetts.  Both stations are operated by WAMC from Albany.  AM Service from WRNI Providence, Rhode Island, is received in much of southeast Massachusetts.  Portions of Cape Cod receive AM Service from WNYC New York, New York.

Unserved Areas    

Regions A and B

There remain areas with spotty coverage in Massachusetts, including along its northern border with New Hampshire in Worcester, Middlesex and Essex counties, and along its southern border with Connecticut in Worcester County. Over 59,000 residents, or 82% of the population who are not receiving a quality public radio signal, reside in these two areas.  Worcester County in particular is dotted with lakes, reservoirs, state parks and forests.