# List of oldest radio stations

It is generally recognised that the first radio transmission was made from a temporary station set up by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895. This followed on from pioneering work in the field by a number of people including Alessandro Volta, André-Marie Ampère, Georg Ohm and James Clerk Maxwell.
The several potential contenders for the title of "oldest radio station" are listed below, organized by sign-on date. These are not restricted to radio broadcasting, i.e., the transmissions were not necessarily intended to reach a wide audience.

## Stations
### AM on mediumwave and longwave

Experimental and early radio stations (AM on mediumwave and longwave) :
| Station call-sign (original) | Station call-sign (current) | City/location | On air | Transmission frequency (AM radio / FM radio) | Broadcast class |
| Roberto Landell de Moura | n/a | São Paulo (between Paulista Avenue and Alto de Santana) | 1893 | | |
| Guglielmo Marconi | n/a | Broadcast across his garden in Pontecchio, Italy. | 1895 | | Experimental |
| Although Australia's first officially recognised broadcast was made in 1906, some sources claim that there were transmissions in Australia in 1897, either conducted solely by Professor William Henry Bragg of the University of Adelaide or by Prof. Bragg in conjunction with G.W. Selby of Melbourne. | n/a | | 1897 | | Experimental. Disputed in some sources. |
| Guglielmo Marconi, first trans-Atlantic transmission. | n/a | from Poldhu, Cornwall to Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland. | December 1901 | | Experimental |
| (First official Morse Code transmission in Australia) | n/a | from Queenscliff, Victoria to Devonport, Tasmania | 1906 | | Experimental |
| (Reginald Fessenden experimental alternator station) | BO | Brant Rock, Massachusetts, United States | 21 December 1906 (Audio tests from various locations from as early as 1900) | AM 50 kHz (approximately) | ? W |
| Lee de Forest (laboratory in the Parker Building) | [?] | New York City, New York, United States | 1907 | AM ? kHz (approximately) | ? W |
| (Beloit College Professor Dr. Charles Aaron Culver) | [WBCR, WBNB, WEBW] | Beloit, Wisconsin, United States | 1907 | AM ? kHz (approximately) now airs on 90.3 FM. | ? W |
| FN/SJN/6XF/6XE/KQW/"San Jose" | KCBS | San Jose, California/San Francisco, California | 1909, 1921 (officially granted experimental license as KQW, become commercial in 1921, and KCBS in 1949) | AM 740 kHz (Originally used 15 watts modulated with Carbon microphone) | Class-B |
| XWA | CINW | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | August 1914 – 1 December 1919 – May 1922 – 29 January 2010 | AM 940 kHz (Not original frequency). Considered by many Canadians to be "First scheduled broadcast station;" prior call sign CFCF stood for Canada's First, Canada's Finest. | Class-A (Clear channel); XWA Experimental and W/T School station licence starting end of 1914, regular broadcasting test emissions starting 1 December 1919 with XWA being replaced in May 1922 by private commercial broadcasting licence CFCF; AM station CINW ceased operations on 29 January 2010. |
| 2YU | WRUC | Union College, Schenectady, New York | 1915 | Various Frequencies AM, switched in 1975 to 90.9 FM, & moved in 1983 to 89.7 FM | Original: Technical & Training School License, Current: Class-A |
| 2XI | WGY | Schenectady, New York | 20 February 1922 | AM 810 kHz | Class-A |
| 9ZP, 9CLS | KGFX | Pierre, South Dakota | The station's roots date back to 1912 when Dana McNeil, was first licensed as 9ZP. In 1916, he was licensed as 9CLS. According to the FCC's card file for the station, the broadcast license for KGFX was first issued on 15 August 1927, with the licensee listed as Dana McNeil, The station was originally at 1180 kHz, moving to 580 kHz in 1928. In 1932, it moved to 630 kHz, where it remained until 1967.As of 2018 KGFX 1060AM continues to broadcast local content at 10 kW power in Pierre, SD. With an FM translator broadcasting at 107.1 | Various frequencies, | |
| 2XG | | New York City | 1916 | Unknown | Unknown (see also Lee de Forest [above].) |
| 8XK, 8ZZ | KDKA | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1916 | AM 1020 kHz | 75 watts (1916), Class-A (1920–present). Began simulcasting on shortwave in 1923 as 8XS. |
| Irish rebel station | none | General Post Office, Sackville Street, Dublin, Ireland | 24 April 1916 | Morse code only (Despite this claimed by some to be "world's first broadcast" as transmission not aimed at specific target) | converted ship transmitter |
| 9XM | WHA | University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin | 4 December 1916 (regular Morse code weather broadcasts; first voice broadcast in February 1919; regular programming January 1921) | AM 970 kHz | Class-B |
| First direct communication Australia to the United Kingdom | n/a | AWA; Ernest Fisk; Sydney | 1918 | AM 21 kHz | |
| 7AC/7XC | KJR | Seattle, WA, USA | 1919 | AM 833 kHz/619 kHz, then various frequencies; currently AM 950 kHz & FM 102.9 MHz | |
| Rádio Clube de Pernambuco | same name as well | Recife, Pernambuco, | 1919 | AM 720 kHz | Made the first radiophonic broadcast in Brazil, but the first radio officially acknowledged was Rádio Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro (actually, Rádio MEC). Also, it is one of the oldest stations in the world. |
| First Australian experiment in the broadcast of music | n/a | AWA; Ernest Fisk; Sydney | 8 August 1919 | AM | |
| Doubleday-Hill radio department station | KQV | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 19 November 1919 | Currently AM 1410 kHz | Currently Class D |
| (Experimental Czech tests) | | Petřínská rozhledna (Petřín Lookout Tower), Prague, Czechoslovakia | 28 October 1919 (Experimental), 20 May 1920 | AM ??? kHz | ?? kW |
| 2MT (Marconi experimental station with a regular news service) | | Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, England | 23 February 1920 | AM 107 kHz | 15 kW |
| LOR Radio Argentina | LOR | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 27 August 1920 Continued daily commercial broadcast up to 1997 | AM 857 kHz | 5 Watts initially, 500 Watts by 1921 |
| 6ADZ | KNX | Los Angeles, California | Summer 1920, granted broadcasting station license 1921 | AM 1070 kHz | Class-A |
| 8MK | WWJ | Detroit, Michigan | 20 August 1920 | AM 950 kHz | Class-B |
| KDKA | same as original. | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 27 October 1920 (Aired as 8ZZ that night) | AM 1020 kHz | Class-A (Clear channel) |
| 9AH | | Toronto, Canada | 18 April 1921 (as 9AH); 18 April 1922 (as CKCE) - closed September 1924 | 450 metres | Licensed to Canadian Independent Telephone Company of Toronto (CITCO), initially as experimental license for wireless telephony. |
| 9YK | WEW | St. Louis, Missouri | 21 April 1921 (as 9YK); 23 March 1922 (as WEW) | AM 770 kHz | Class-D |
| WRR | KTCK | Dallas, Texas | 4 August 1921 (broadcasts date back to 1920) | AM 1310 kHz | |
| WBZ | Same as original. | Boston, Massachusetts | 19 September 1921 | AM 1030 kHz | Class-A (Clear channel) |
| XEH-AM | Same as original. | San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León | 9 October 1921 | AM 1420 kHz | Class-B |
| KYW | same as original | Chicago, Illinois (1921) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1934) Cleveland, Ohio (1956) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1965) | 11 November 1921 | AM 560 kHz, 570 kHz, 1020 kHz (Chicago) AM 1020 kHz (Philadelphia) AM 1100 kHz (Cleveland)) AM 1060 kHz (Philadelphia) | Class-A (Clear channel) |
| Experimental broadcasts by Professor Robert Jack of Otago University | 4XD | Dunedin, New Zealand | 17 November 1921 | experimental | New Zealand's first regular broadcasts of voice and music |
| 2CM | | Charles Maclurcan; Sydney | 1921 | AM 214 kHz | Australia's first experimental station |
| Radio Journal de la Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower Newsreel) | France Inter | Paris, France | 1921 | "Long wave" 115 kHz (2600 m) | N/A |
| WCAT | | Rapid City, South Dakota | 1922 | AM 618 kHz (1922–?) AM 1200 kHz 1928–1941 AM 1230 kHz 1941–1952 | |
| 9-BC, 9-XR, 9-BY, WOC | WOC | Davenport, Iowa | 1922 | 1420 kHz (1942–present) | Class-B |
| WLB | KUOM | Saint Paul, Minnesota | 13 January 1922 | AM 770 kHz | Class-D |
| WHN | WEPN | Ridgewood, New York | February 1922, some sources cite 18 March 1922 | AM 833 kHz | Class-A |
| KLZ | same as original | Denver, Colorado | 10 March 1922 | AM 560 kHZ | www.KLZradio.com, Colorado's First Station, Class-B |
| WSB | Same as original | Atlanta, Georgia | 15 March 1922 | Originally on 360 meters (AM 833 kHz), moved across the dial and eventually assigned to AM 750 kHz following the NARBA treaties | Class-A (Clear channel) |
| WIP | WTEL | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 17 March 1922 | AM 610 kHz | Class-B |
| WLW | WLW | Cincinnati, Ohio | 23 March 1922 | AM 700 kHz | Class-A (Clear channel) |
| WWL | same as original | New Orleans, Louisiana | 31 March 1922 | AM 870 kHz | Class A |
| WGU | WSCR | Chicago, Illinois | 13 April 1922 | Originally AM 833 kHz, became WMAQ at 750 kHz on 2 October 1922, moved to 670 kHz on 2 July 1923 | Class-A |
| KHJ | KHJ | Los Angeles, California | 13 April 1922 | AM 720 kHz, founded by C.R. Kierulff & Co., sold to Times-Mirror Company in late 1922 | Class-A |
| KFI | KFI | Los Angeles, California | 16 April 1922 | AM 640 kHz, founded by Earle C. Anthony | Class-A |
| 4XD | WBT | Charlotte, North Carolina | 18 December 1920, License granted 10 April 1922 | AM 1110 kHz | Class-A |
| CKOC | CKOC | Hamilton, Ontario | 1 May 1922 | 410 metres (1922–1925) AM 880 kHz (1925–1930) AM 1120 kHz (1930–1931) AM 630 kHz (1931–1933) AM 1120 kHz (1933–1941) AM 1150 kHz (1941—present) | Class B |
| KZN | KSL | Salt Lake City, Utah and vicinity | 6 May 1922 | AM 1160 kHz(1941–present) | Class A (Clear channel) |
| 2LO | 2LO | London, United Kingdom | 11 May 1922 | 1 hour daily tests on 350 metres (857 kHz) AM. Full service opened: 14 November 1922 | |
| 2ZY | 2ZY | Manchester, United Kingdom | 17 May 1922 | Test TXs: 350 metres (857 kHz) AM. Full service opened 15 November 1922: 375 meters | |
| CFCA | none | Toronto, Canada | 22 June 1922 — 1 September 1933 | Began testing on 450 metres on 10 April 1922, licensed for 400 metres beginning 22 June 2022. Moved to 770 kHz in 1928. | |
| KFBL | KRKO | Everett, Washington, USA | 26 August 1922 | AM 1380 kHz (1958–present) | Class B (Regional) |
| CKAC | same as original | Montreal, Quebec/Montreal, Québec, Canada | 12 September 1922 | AM 730 kHz | Class-A |
| DN | 4XD | Dunedin, New Zealand | 4 October 1922 | originally AM 1431 kHz, now AM 1305 kHz and FM 99.8 MHz | |
| 9BT | CFRC-FM | Kingston, Ontario, Canada | 7 October 1922 | 450 metres (666 kHz) (ca.1923–1925), AM 1120 kHz (1925–1930), AM 930 kHz (1930–1933), AM 915 kHz (c. 1933), AM 1510 kHz (1933–1941), AM 1490 kHz (1941–1990) concurrently FM 91.9 MHz (1954–1990) (now FM 101.9 MHz) | Class-A |
| 5IT | 5IT | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 15 November 1922 | Not known | |
| WNAX | same as original | Yankton, South Dakota | 25 November 1922 | AM 570 kHz | |
| WKAQ | same as original | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 3 December 1922 | AM 580 kHz | Class-B |
| Radio Ceylon | Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 1923 (experimental), 1925 (official launch) – present | "Long wave" 375 kHz | 1500 W |
| WKBV William Knox BrookVille | Same as is | Richmond, Indiana Whitewater Broadcasting | 1923 | AM 1000 kHz 24/7 | Class B |
| Radio Chilena (Chile Radio Company) | CB66 | Santiago, Chile | October 1922 (experimental), 26 March 1923 (official launch) – 2005 | AM 660 kHz | |
| PKX (Malabar Radio) | n/a | Bandung, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) | 5 May 1923 | Long wave | |
| Radiojournal | Český rozhlas Radiožurnál | Prague-Kbely, Czechoslovakia | 18 May 1923 | "Long wave" 292 kHz (1025 m) | |
| CYB "El Buen Tono" | XEB-AM (Instituto Mexicano de la Radio) | Mexico City, Mexico | 23 September 1923 | AM 1220 kHz | N/A |
| Finland's first private public broadcasting station. 3NB | 3NB, Tampere | Tampere, Tavastia | 1 November 1923 | AM kHz | |
| Australia's first official station. 2SB; 2BL as from 1 March 1924 | ABC Radio Sydney | Sydney | 23 November 1923. One of six Sealed Set system stations; | AM 855 kHz | |
| XRO | n/a | Shanghai, China | November 1923 | AM 1500 kHz | 50 Watts (1923). First radio station in China. |
| 2FC | 2RN, Radio National | Sydney | 12 December 1923. One of six Sealed Set system stations; | AM 273 kHz | |
| Radio Ibérica | N/A | Madrid, Spain | 22 December 1923.; | AM 729 kHz | N/A |
| 19 September 1924 | Radio Belgrade | Belgrade, Serbia | 19 September 1924.; | AM 684 kHz | N/A |
| 3AR | 3RN, Radio National | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 26 January 1924. One of six Sealed Set system stations; | AM 625 kHz | |
| WES | WLS | Chicago, Illinois | Owned by Sears Roebuck, WLS would come to stand for the World's Largest Store. Sears ran broadcasts from WMAQ studios as WBBX in March 1924. WES tests were conducted 9 to 11 April 1924. WLS would begin on 12 April and became one of 25 original 50,000 watt "Clear Channel" system stations; | Originally AM 870 kHz, AM 890 kHz | Class-A |
| 6WF | 720 ABC Perth | Perth, Western Australia | 4 June 1924. One of six Sealed Set system stations; | AM 240 kHz | |
| N/A | Radio Bloemendaal | Bloemendaal, Netherlands | 15 June 1924 | originally AM 1500 kHz (200m) later AM 1223 kHz (245 m) currently AM 1116 kHz (269 m) | various |
| VOWR/8WMC | 800 AM | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | 24 July 1924 | 800 AM | VOWR - Wikipedia |
| URI (Unione Radiofonica Italiana), 1-RO | Rai Radio 1 | Rome, Italy | 6 October 1924 | AM 705 (425m) kHz |
| KFUO | Same as original | St. Louis, Missouri | 14 December 1924 | AM 850 kHz | Class-B |
| KOA | same as original | Denver, Colorado, United States | 15 December 1924 One of 25 original 50,000 watt "Clear Channel" system stations | AM850 kHz | |
| Statsradiofonien | DR P1 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 1 April 1925 (experimental), license granted April 1926, Regular broadcast from April 1926 | "Long wave" | N/A |
| WCSH | WZAN | Portland, Maine | 1925 | "Long wave" | |
| N/A | Radio Poland | Warsaw, Poland | 1 February 1925 (experimental), Regular broadcast from 18 April 1926 | "Medium wave" | N/A |
| N/A | Radio Romania | Bucharest, Romania | Summer 1925 – 1927 (experimental), license granted March 1928, Regular broadcast from 1 November 1928 | "Long wave" | N/A |
| 2BE. Australia's first commercial station. Burgin Electric Company. | n/a | Sydney | 7 November 1924 to 6 November 1929 | AM 870 kHz. (Wavelength later taken by 2GB.) | B Class, commercial |
| WEBK | WOOD | Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States | 16 September 1924 | AM 1130 kHz, presently on 1300 kHz, | Class-B |
| 3LO | 774 ABC Melbourne | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 13 October 1924. One of six Sealed Set system stations; | AM 175 kHz | |
| 5MA | n/a | Adelaide, South Australia | April 1924 to early 1925. One of six Sealed Set system stations. | Does not appear to have actually broadcast | see Arthur William Jarrett |
| 2UE. Australia's third commercial station, and the oldest commercial station still operating. | 2UE | Sydney | 26 January 1925 | AM 1025 kHz | B Class, commercial. Was originally going to broadcast as 2EU, but the callsign was reversed prior to the licence being issued on 7 November 1924. |
| JOAK | same as is | Tokyo, Japan | 22 March 1925 | AM 594 kHz | |
| Bataviase Radio Vereniging | RRI Jakarta stations (part of RRI) | Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia) | 16 June 1925 | | |
| CHRC | CHRC | Quebec City, Quebec/Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | 1 April 1926 | AM 800 kHz | Class-B. Final broadcast in 2012. |
| Lietuvos Radijas | LRT Radijas | Kaunas, Lithuania | 26 June 1926 | AM 1961 kHz | |
| XOH, later COHB | n/a | Harbin, China | 1 October 1926 | AM 1071 kHz | 100 Watts, 1928 1 kW. First radio station founded by Chinese. |
| CFCO | same as is | Chatham, Ontario/Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada | September 1927 | AM 630 kHz | Class-B |
| JODK | HLKA | Seoul, South Korea | 1927 | AM 711 kHz | |
| GOW, ZBW | RTHK | Hong Kong | 30 June 1928 (GOW, now RTHK 3) | | |
| 1XE | became WGI February 1922 (and WARC March 1925) | Medford, Massachusetts | 1916 sporadically, then 1919–1920 till April 1925 | ? – later on 833 kHz | |
| 2XN | | City College of New York, New York City | 1913; 1920 | | |
| 2ZK | | New Rochelle, New York | 1916 | | |
| NSF/HDO, later ANDO and AVRO | NPO | Huizen (transmitter), Hilversum (studio), Netherlands | 21 July 1923, from 1930 part of Dutch Public Radio | AM 279 kHz, 1927 also 1004 kHz, today FM network | 500 W, 1927 5 kW |
| 2RN (Irish Free State radio) | RTÉ (Irish national radio & television) | General Post Office (O'Connell Street), Dublin, Ireland | 1 January 1926 | AM 380 kHz, and from Cork AM612 kHz, | |
| NDO, 50% time KRO, 50% NCRV | NPO | Huizen (transmitter), Hilversum (studio), Netherlands | 1927, from 1930 part of Dutch Public radio | AM 160 kHz,1935 transmitter moved to Kootwijk, 1938 also Jaarsveld 722 kHz, today FM network and 747/1251 kHz | Huizen 15 kW, Kootwijk day 15 kW, evening 120 kW, Jaarsveld 20 kW |
| 2TM | 2TM | Tamworth, Australia | 27 February 1935 | 1287 kHz | |

### FM or shortwave

Experimental or early radio stations (FM and shortwave) :
| Station call-sign (original) | Station call-sign (current) | City/location | On air | Transmission frequency (AM radio / FM radio) | Broadcast class |
| PCGG | N/A | The Hague, Netherlands | 6 November 1919 – 11 November 1924 | Narrow-band FM, 570 m | N/A |
| WWV US Government Time Service | WWV | Fort Collins, Colorado | "6 months before KDKA" (May 1920) | 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz and 20 MHz | HF (Shortwave) |
| XS (1921-1929), W8XK (1929-1939), WPIT (1939-1940) | | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | November 1920 – December 1939 Owned and operated by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Used to relay KDKA signal to AM rebroadcasters in other cities. Broadcast programming from KDKA, and also broadcast Northern Messenger to the Arctic. Merged with WBOS (1940) and became a VOA transmitter (1942). | 15,210 kHz, 11,880 kHz, 6,140 kHz | 40 kW (1937) |
| PCJJ | Radio Netherlands Worldwide | Philips Laboratories at Eindhoven, Netherlands, moved to Hilversum in 1933. | The first shortwave station in Europe. 25 June 1926 (test transmissions began), and the first shortwave station in the world with its own dedicated programming rather than being a simulcast of an AM/MW or LW station such as KDKA. Regular broadcast from 30 May 1927 to May 1940 when the station went dark due to the German occupation of Holland; resumed after liberation October 1945 – 1946 when Philips and other shortwave radio stations taken over by Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Sister station PHI broadcast in Dutch to the Dutch East and West Indies from 1928 to 1930 and 1934 to 1949. | 30.2 metres shortwave | |
| G2NM | | Caterham, Surrey, England | 11 September 1927. | 23 and 33 metres | 1 kW |
| CKUA | CKUA Radio Network | Edmonton, Alberta (broadcast province-wide) | 27 November 1927 | 500-watt (Original) AM 580 kHz (Edmonton) Various FM frequencies province-wide | B |
| VE9GW | CRCX | Bowmanville, Ontario | April 1930 – 1938 – used to relay CRCT (later CBL) to northern Ontario, northern Manitoba and the Canadian Arctic | 6.095 MHz (primarily), 11.810 MHz, 24.380 MHz | 25 watt (initially), 200 watts (1031), 500 watts (1932) |
| HVJ | Vatican Radio | Vatican City | 12 February 1931 | | 10 kW (originally) |
| HCJB | HCJB | Quito, Ecuador | 25 December 1931 | 50.26 metres, later 6050 kHz, 9745 kHz, 11775 kHz and 15155 kHz. | 200 watts (initially), 1,000 watt (1937), 10,000 watt (1940), 100,000 (1967), 500,000 (1981) |
| W8XH | | Buffalo, New York | 18 March 1934 – July 1939. Replaced in 1944 with an FM station, now known as WTSS. | 51.4 & 41.0 MHz | Apex (ultra-shortwave) |
| W1XOJ | | Paxton, Massachusetts/Boston, Massachusetts | 1937 | | Unknown |
| W1XPW, briefly W65H | WHCN | Hartford, Connecticut | 1939 | 102.9 FM | |
| W2XMN | | Alpine, New Jersey | 1939 – 1946 | 42.8 MHz, later 44.1 MHz | |
| W2XDA (Schenectady)/W2XOY (New Scotland), later WGFM | WRVE | Schenectady, New York | 1939, 20 November 1940 as W2XOY | Originally on FM 48.5 MHz, now FM 99.5 | Unknown |
| W47NV | N/A | Nashville, Tennessee | 1941 to 1951 | | Unknown |

### Networks

Early radio networks :
| Name | Full name | Location | On air | Notes |
| British Broadcasting Company | | United Kingdom | 1922–1926 | Private commercial company made up of 26 stations by 1926. Nationalised to become the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Radio) in 1927. |
| CNR Radio | Canadian National Railway Radio Department | Canada | 1923–1933 | First national radio network in North America. Developed by the Canadian National Railway to provide en route entertainment for train passengers but also available to anyone within signal range. Consisted of 27 stations (3 owned and operated and up to 24 "phantom stations" – time leased on affiliated radio stations. |
| WEAF chain | Broadcasting Company of America | Northeast and Midwest United States | 1923–1926 | Regional network of AT&T-owned radio stations with New York City radio station WEAF as its hub. Grew to 27 stations (WEAF and 26 affiliates) stretching from Boston to Kansas City by the end of 1925 under the name Broadcasting Company of America, Sold to RCA in 1926 and merged with RCA's WJZ chain to form the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) |