Guardian Media Group (GMG) has announced it will extend its Real Radio (South Wales) station to North and Mid-Wales, providing local breakfast and drivetime programming on weekdays.

OFCOM has awarded the group the final analogue licence for radio transmission in the UK.

Although a spokeswoman for GMG said no decision had yet been taken on where to site the station, Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths says she believes it is good news for the local area.

"I am a firm believer that plurality and competitiveness should drive our media – including broadcasting. So, the award of this licence is very good news for North Wales," she said.

"In applying for their licence, GMG stated they want their new station to be based in Wrexham and this will be great endorsement for the town."

The station will provide "a full-service adult contemporary music station for North and mid-Wales, targeting primarily 25-54 year-olds, including speech, regional information and listener interactivity along with 24-hour news".

OFCOM estimates that this licence could achieve coverage of around 600,000 adults (aged 15-plus). However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission sites and other technical issues.

A spokeswoman for GMG said: "GMG Radio already operates Real Radio across South and West Wales and the extension of the brand to the middle and north of the country will provide Wales with its own national commercial radio service for the very first time at certain times of the day."

GMG Radio chief executive John Myers said: "This is a fantastic moment for our group. We started in Wales nearly 10 years ago after winning our first licence for the south.

"Now we are Britain's third largest radio group and have replicated the success of Real Radio across the country.

"Listeners in North and mid-Wales can look forward to a fantastic new radio service that will provide them with great music and entertaining, compelling speech."

It is expected that Real Radio will begin broadcasting within the next two years.