National Broadcasting Service

The precursor to the National Broadcasting Service (NBS Radio) was Radio Guardian, established on October 13, 1957, by the Thompson Group, the British owners of the Trinidad Guardian newspaper. On November 1, 1969, the Government under Dr Eric Williams acquired Radio Guardian and Trinidad and Tobago Television (ttt). Radio Guardian was renamed the National Broadcasting Service of Trinidad and Tobago of Trinidad and Tobago (NBS Radio 610). The radio broadcast and production studios continued to be located at 17 Abercromby Street in downtown Port-of-Spain, the capital city.

On October 6, 1972, the National Broadcasting Service became the first media company in Trinidad & Tobago to operate an FM stereo station, Radio 100 FM which remained the sole FM stereo signal available until the privately owned Trinidad Broadcasting Company (Radio Trinidad) opened Radio 95 FM Stereo on March 14, 1976.

Over the days of the attempted coup d'état on July 27, 1990, led by the Jamaat al-Muslimeen, NBS Radio remained on the air around the clock as the only source of information for listeners in the country, up the eastern Caribbean and indeed, overseas via short-wave signal.

In 1995, with the addition of Radio 98.9 FM, catering largely to the urban youth, the National Broadcasting Service (i.e. the radio frequencies) were relocated to the TTT compound at 11A Maraval Road in Port of Spain. Yet a further frequency came on board shortly thereafter - 91.1 FM. This frequency was for a while also used to rebroadcast NBS Radio 610 AM as an FM signal. Under the re-branded International Communications Network (ICN), 91.1 FM eventually changed its format entirely to East Indian programming in 1998. Radio 610 continued to broadcast on the AM dial, but progressively lost its traditional listening audience due to a weakening of the quality of its broadcast signal and a reduction in allocated financial resources to upgrade its equipment and programming.

The state media house would undergo yet another name change in 2001 to become the National Broadcasting Network (NBN). Due to financial losses, both radio and TV broadcast entities of NBN ceased operations at midnight on January 15, 2005. An era in radio broadcasting had come to an end.

Many well-known radio personalities began or established their careers behind the microphones of Radio Guardian/Radio 610/NBS Radio. Among the many can be listed: Canadian-born Larry Heywood, Frank Hughes, Ed Fung, Leo De Leon, Desmond Bourne, Freddie Wharwood, Ashton Chambers, Bobby Thomas, Carl Redhead, Dik Henderson, Barbara Salandy, Desmond Ahyee, Dave Elcock, Phil Simmons, Brenda & Kenny da Silva, Anthony Harford, Anthony Dennison, Sharon Pitt, Dennis McComie, Ian Eligon and Peter de la Bastide.

In early 2007, a newly created State-owned media company began operations under the name of the Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG), aka simply as "C". CNMG operates three radio frequencies: Sweet 100 FM, Talk City 91.1 FM and Next Radio 99.1 FM together with a television station CTV, channels 9 & 14.[1]

• Radio in Trinidad and Tobago