The Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, is considering reform of the licensing regime for local radio.
He hopes to review the system before the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) is re-established next year as the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
The review, most likely by a firm of management consultants, will examine for potential reform the right to appeal licensing decisions, accountability and the costs around applications for licenses.
Recent decisions by the BCI have sparked controversy, with a number of long-established stations losing their licences to new consortiums in a redrawing of franchise boundaries.
The radio business can be very profitable, and a number of stations changed hands in multi-million euro deals last year.
Stations in the Leinster area were particularly unhappy when the franchises for services in Carlow, Kilkenny and Kildare were reviewed last year.
One of the most controversial BCI decisions was its failure last year to award a new licence to Radio Kilkenny, an established community station with 12 years of experience in the Carlow and Kilkenny area.
A separate boundary change last year effectively split the catchment area of Carlow Kildare Radio (CKR).
Mr Ahern said while he did not want the review to imply any criticism of the BCI or the current licensing mechanisms, it was timely to consider the regime.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland will replace the BCI with a wider remit, including responsibility for RTÉ. This was a condition linked to the licence fee increase awarded to the State broadcaster.
