Following a recent decision by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), CBC Radio One has been approved to expand its programming to the FM dial in the St. John's area.

CBN St. John's, currently broadcasting on 640 kHz (AM), will also be rebroadcast by a new transmitter operating at 88.5 MHz (FM).

The new transmitter will improve the quality of the Radio One signal in St. John's and surrounding areas.

Local programming like the St. John's Morning Show, Crosstalk, On the Go, and The Broadcast, as well as national English-language network programs like As It Happens, The Current, q and more will all be available on the FM band.

"The programming will be the same as 640 AM but clearer, cleaner and better able to be picked up in apartment and office buildings," said Larry Wartman, CBC's supervisor of transmission operations Atlantic.

"We expect this service will be available to 80 per cent of the population of current 640 AM listeners."

CBC Radio One will also continue to be broadcast at 640 AM.

Wartman said CBC is awaiting approval from Innovation Science and Economic Development (ISED) before beginning on air testing.

The CRTC requires the transmitter to be operational before August 2018, however it is expected to be up and running before the end of 2016.