When was the last time you listened to any radio station on longwave? Right, no, I can't remember either. So why are some of us so sad to see the end of the 100-year-old broadcasting service?
Some readers, I fully acknowledge, will have no idea what I'm talking about. If that's you, well, you probably have heard of FM radio. It's what most people have grown up listening to, before DAB took off. If you've ever wondered what that AM button did on your first car, well, that's the setting you need to receive longwave or medium wave radio. It's what you still need to receive BBC Radio 5 Live if you're in an older car.
The difference between the two is that longwave can reach much further distances, particularly at night. It's said that the BBC's longwave service could occasionally be picked up as far away as North America, and even very rarely New Zealand, under the right conditions.