CBI (AM)

CBI is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One affiliate in Sydney, Nova Scotia, broadcasting at 1140 kHz on the AM dial. The station serves all of Cape Breton Island by operating a network of FM rebroadcasters. 1140 AM is a United States and Mexican clear-channel frequency.

History

CBI was launched on November 1, 1948, at AM 1570. Prior to its launch, CBC Radio programming was aired by private affiliate CJCB 1270 and its shortwave relay CJCX-SW 6010 kHz (in the 49 m band). In 1954, CBI moved to AM 1140.

On July 9, 2007, CBI was given approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to convert the station to the FM band at 97.1 MHz under the calls of CBIT-FM and shut down the AM transmitter. In a license renewal submission to the CRTC in June 2011, CBC stated that it did not have the resources to implement the transmitter before the authorization lapsed.

On October 6, 2015, the CRTC approved the CBC's application for a nested FM transmitter in Sydney at 92.1 MHz with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 6,540 watts (maximum ERP of 10,650 watts) and an effective height above average terrain of 122.8 metres. The CBC stated that the FM transmitter would address increasingly evident reception issues with the 1140 AM signal in downtown Sydney. The new callsign for 92.1 will be CBIS-FM, though CBI-FM is currently used for CBC Radio 2 service at 105.1 FM.