During the week some of the YOTA 2017 participants will be visiting Ofcom’s Spectrum Management Centre in Baldock. With the ever-increasing demand for radio-based services, monitoring of the radio spectrum plays a vital role today in keeping the spectrum clean for authorised users, particularly the emergency services. It is also an essential and integral part of the spectrum management process, producing and evaluating data to aid spectrum managers in their day-to-day work. The radio monitoring station, located near Baldock in Hertfordshire is Ofcom’s “listening ear” on the radio spectrum.