Ive been asked to look into Internet community radio through work and was just looking for ideas and suggestions for software and equipment. Initially it will just be streaming pre-recorded local content like unsigned local bands etc (looped) but we will want to look at live broadcasts too.

Is it best to use a dedicated PC and a cable connection? Or what about companies who will give us server space? Is that a better option as Im unsure how much (if any) free bandwidth i will have to play with.

So basically i need opinions on everything!

Thoughts appreciated.

You really should get a server somewhere on a fast connection. Most home connections are asymmetric and have a terrible upstream speed in comparision. ADSL for example is only 256kbps in the UK which means you won't get many listeners off that.

...plus you need to look at the costs of data traffic/month.

ive been running a 128k shoutcast stream to about 3 listeners for about 2 months now. monthly bandwidth usage is about 20-30 gigabytes per month (i think)

Radica Broadcast do a managed system, I've dealt with them before (albeit for FM transmission systems) and can highly recommend them.