Home > Consultations > Consultation Documents > Business Radio regulations > Executive summary

Executive summary

1.1 In January 2007 following consultation, Ofcom published statements respectively on the addition or modification of some licence charges , and plans to reform arrangements for Wireless Telegraphy (WT) Act licensing in the Business Radio sector . The statements detailed plans to take forward the implementation of spectrum trading and liberalisation in the sector and also the new arrangements for licence charges. This document gives formal notice of Ofcom’s intention to make WT Act regulations in order to facilitate the implementation of the changes set out in the 2007 statements.

1.2 Specifically, this statutory Notice proposes to put into effect decisions described in the pricing Statement and all decisions relating to the Business Radio Trading and Liberalisation Statement by making the following statutory instruments:

• The Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 (“the proposed pricing regulations”);
• The Wireless Telegraphy (Register) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2008 (“the proposed register regulations”); and
• The Wireless Telegraphy (Spectrum Trading) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2008 (“the proposed trading regulations”).

1.3 The changes will:

• support the reform and rationalisation of Business Radio licences from twenty-one licence products to five broader and more flexible licence types ;
• set out new mechanisms for calculating fees; and
• support further trading and liberalisation in all Business Radio licence classes.

1.4 Section 2 of this document provides general background and the notice of intention to make the proposed pricing, register and trading regulations.

1.5 Sections 3, 4 and 5 of this document set out the extent of application, scope and intended effect of the proposed pricing, register and trading regulations.

1.6 Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) for each of the proposed regulations are included at Annexes 4, 5 and 6. The RIAs sets out the risks, costs and benefits of making the new regulations and the effects that these will have on the costs to business.

1.7 Drafts of the proposed regulations are attached at Annexes 7, 8 and 9.

1.8 Further hard copies of these drafts of the proposed regulations are available from Ofcom at 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA from the contact specified in Annex 1 for responding to this Notice. Comments on the proposed regulations are invited by 10 July 2008. The consultation period for comments on this Notice of the proposed regulations is in addition to and follows the standard 10 week policy consultation periods observed in July 2006. At this time the policy impact of the proposals were fully considered. All respondents should use the online form available at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/busrad/howtorespond/form.

1.9 We invite written views and comments on the proposed regulations by 10 July 2008. Once the consultation has closed, we will consider the responses and issue a statement. We expect the regulations to be in place by the end of August 2008.

• Notice of Ofcom’s proposals to make Wireless Telegraphy Regulations - Business Radio [pdf]
  Full Print Version

Back to top