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Executive Summary

1.1 In the statement on Radio - Licensing Policy for VHF Band III, Sub-band 3, published on 21 December 2005, Ofcom announced its decision, subject to the outcome of the Regional Radio Conference (RRC) on international spectrum usage in May/June 2006 and the vacating of the spectrum by existing users, to allocate this spectrum for further national and local DAB radio multiplexes.

1.2 In the accompanying consultation document, The Future Licensing of DAB Digital Radio, Ofcom set out proposals regarding how it would apply the various statutory criteria to which it is required to have regard when assessing applications for radio multiplex licences, the proposed licensing process to be followed, the areas that would be covered by each licence, and a proposed timetable for the advertisement of the local and national radio multiplex licences.

1.3 Ofcom received 36 responses to this consultation document, of which five were confidential. The non-confidential responses can be viewed at: www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/dab/responses/

1.4 This statement sets out Ofcom's conclusions following the consultation.

Licensing process and criteria

1.5 In the consultation document, Ofcom proposed to focus on the proposed extent of population, rather than geographical, coverage in evaluating applications with regard to the coverage area criterion for awarding national and local radio multiplex licences. Having considered all of the responses on this issue, Ofcom has concluded that, as originally proposed, it will focus on population, rather than geographical, coverage.

1.6 Ofcom noted in the consultation document that the total achievable coverage area of the second national radio multiplex may be affected by the outcome of the RRC, for example in relation to the extent of coverage that is possible on the south and south east coasts of England. The RRC has now confirmed that some restrictions will indeed apply to the coverage that realistically can be achieved by the further national radio multiplex in the coastal areas of Suffolk, Essex and Sussex, and in much of the county of Kent – the exact nature of the restrictions will be determined by Ofcom and set out in the notice of advertisement for the licence. It has also been confirmed that the second national radio multiplex licence will not be able to cover Northern Ireland or western parts of Wales until analogue TV services in the Republic of Ireland are switched off, as these services currently use the frequencies required for DAB in Northern Ireland and western Wales.

1.7 In the consultation document, Ofcom proposed that a national radio multiplex licensee should provide coverage which is at least equivalent to that committed to by the holder of the existing national radio multiplex licence (i.e. coverage of 85% of the adult population of Great Britain within three years of launch). In light of the coverage restrictions in Great Britain that will apply to the further national radio multiplex licence, as indicated above, there will need to be some scaling of the 85% to reflect the maximum potential coverage of Great Britain for the further national radio multiplex. Full details of this will be included in the guidance provided as part of the notice of advertisement of the licence. When spectrum becomes available in Northern Ireland, Ofcom believes that coverage which is at least equivalent to that committed to by the holder of the existing local radio multiplex licence for Northern Ireland, SCORE Digital, is a reasonable minimum expectation for the second national radio multiplex licence. SCORE Digital committed to providing coverage of approximately 89% of the adult population of the 'primary protected area' (PPA) of the Northern Ireland local radio multiplex licence.

1.8 For the consideration of the applications for the second national radio multiplex licence, Ofcom will consider its duties under section 47 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 ("the 1996 Act") in the light of its general duties set out in section 3 of the Communications Act 2003 ("the CA 2003"). Accordingly, in applying the criteria included within section 47, Ofcom will have regard to the capacity of the proposed programme services to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests. This will be taken to mean that the proposed line-up of services on the second national radio multiplex should appeal to tastes and interests that are distinct from those catered for by services on the existing national radio multiplex. Only the existing national digital sound programme services (i.e. those provided on the existing national radio multiplex) will be taken into account when assessing applications in this respect. Ofcom's decision on the licensing of a further national radio multiplex necessarily will be based on a consideration of all the relevant criteria as set out in section 47, as required by the statute.

1.9 Any change to the legislation regarding radio multiplex licence renewals is a matter for Government rather than Ofcom, but Ofcom does not believe that to date a compelling case has been made for the legislation to be changed.

1.10 While recognising that the provision of local content on non-simulcast digital programme services can represent a significant cost, Ofcom continues to believe that, as catering for local tastes and interests is one of the criteria to which it must have regard when awarding a local radio multiplex licence, and in light of the importance placed upon localness by listeners, the amount of local material provided on a local radio multiplex properly should be a matter to which it should have regard when considering a request to vary a local radio multiplex licence.

1.11 Local radio multiplex licensees wishing to apply for a variation to their licence relating to the characteristics of the digital sound programme services will be required to 'write their own' programme service description (where relevant), and to set out the reasons it is considered that the application satisfies one or more of the relevant statutory criteria. A consultation document on how Ofcom might apply these statutory criteria will follow at a later date.

1.12 In considering any future applications for variations to the line-up of digital sound programme services on a national radio multiplex, Ofcom will consider its duties under section 54(6A) of the 1996 Act in the light of its general duties set out in section 3 of the CA 2003. Accordingly, in applying the criterion in section 54(6A), Ofcom will have regard to the capacity of the proposed programme services to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests. This will be taken to mean that a variation is unlikely to be approved unless the line-up of programme services on a national radio multiplex continue to appeal to tastes and interests that are distinct from those catered for by the digital sound programme services on any other national radio multiplex. This approach reflects Ofcom's intention to maintain the integrity of the licence award process, and to ensure as far as possible that the digital sound programme services carried on (all) national radio multiplex licences continue to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests throughout the period for which the multiplex licences are in force.

1.13 The current order specifying that no percentage of multiplex revenue shall be payable by the holder of a national radio multiplex licence advertised during its period in force does not expire until 31 December 2006. Accordingly, it is likely that no percentage of multiplex revenue will be payable by the holder of the second national radio multiplex licence, as Ofcom intends to advertise the licence before the end of 2006. However, if the second national radio multiplex licence is not advertised until after the order has expired, and a new order specifying that no percentage shall be payable is not passed, Ofcom will be required to set a percentage, which may be zero, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Licence areas and licensing timetable

1.14 The second national radio multiplex licence will be advertised as soon as possible – Ofcom intends that this will be before the end of 2006. The spectrum which will be used for the second national radio multiplex licence will be vacated by the end of 2007, thus enabling the service to launch any time from the beginning of 2008.

1.15 The new local radio multiplex licences will be advertised in descending order of population coverage, with a few exceptions to reflect the level of interest expressed by prospective applicants in their responses to the consultation document, so as to bring the maximum benefit to the largest number of people as soon as possible.

1.16 The first twelve local radio multiplex licences to be advertised, from late 2006 onwards, will be those designed to cover: Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire; Derbyshire; Wrexham & Chester; Herefordshire & Worcestershire; Northamptonshire; Oxfordshire; Gloucestershire; York & Scarborough; Pembrokeshire & Carmarthenshire; Guildford; Reigate & Crawley, and; Lincolnshire. While Ofcom would like to be able to include licences for North Wales and in Northern Ireland in this first tranche, given the demand expressed by consultation respondents, the frequencies which would need to be used by these licences are currently used for analogue television in the Republic of Ireland and so will not become available for use in the UK until analogue TV switch-off in Ireland. In the meantime, Ofcom will investigate possible alternative frequencies for these areas, and will also look for a frequency for a local radio multiplex licence for Suffolk (for which spectrum in VHF Band III presently allocated for T-DAB is not available).

1.17 Additional local and regional multiplexes in areas already served by local digital radio may be able to be licensed in a few areas after the programme of local fill-in has been completed.

The full document is available below:

• Statement - The Future Licensing of DAB Digital Radio [pdf]
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