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02|08|04

Ofcom sets out approach to Community Radio licensing and regulation

Ofcom today publishes its approach to licensing and regulating Community Radio.

Community Radio is a new type of low-cost local radio licence for groups interested in broadcasting to one or more communities on a not-for-profit basis for local social gain.

Ofcom's new policies for Community Radio are designed to make the licensing process clear and straightforward and are derived from:

• The Community Radio Order 2004 which received Parliamentary approval in July and paved the way for Ofcom to make these new kinds of radio licences available.
• Ofcom's public consultation on Community Radio. This began on 17 February and attracted 139 responses. Ofcom's final approach to Community Radio reflects specific points raised by respondents to the consultation.
• Research commissioned by Ofcom into four pilot stations which began broadcasting in 2002.
• Two independent evaluations of the pilot scheme and accompanying recommendations about the future licensing of the sector by Professor Anthony Everitt.

Key points of note include:

Inviting applications

• Applications for Community Radio licences will be invited once a year.
• Ofcom will not specify where a radio service should be. Instead it will invite applicants to identify the community or communities they wish to serve.
• The first opportunity to apply for a new Community Radio licence will be from 1 September 2004. Ofcom will publish a notice on this day inviting applications.
• The closing date for receipt of applications will be 23 November 2004.
• Ofcom has today published the Community Radio application form and accompanying notes of guidance on its website to help prospective applicants to prepare. However, applications for these licences will be not accepted before 1 September 2004.

Funding

• Broadcasting law requires that Community Radio stations must be funded from multiple sources - no more than 50% of its funding can come from a single source.
• The legislation also places restrictions on funding received through on-air advertising and programme sponsorship. Where advertising and programme sponsorship is permitted, there will be an upper limit of 50% of income that may be generated from this one source.
• Other sources of money to run the services might include, for example, funding from local or central Government or other Government agencies, the EU, National Lottery or charities, as well as donations, subscriptions or other community fund-raising activities.

Grants for Community Radio

• The Government has set up a (GBP) £500,000 fund to help Community Radio broadcasters to launch a new radio station in their local community. Ofcom will administer this fund and will publish a detailed structure for its allocation in the autumn.

Spectrum and coverage areas

• Ofcom aims to allocate FM frequencies, which could not support economically viable commercial radio services, to allow for the introduction of Community Radio. AM frequencies will also be available.
• The maximum coverage in urban areas will generally be a 5km radius. However, it may be possible for stations in some rural areas to cover a larger area, particularly if they wish to broadcast on AM.

Community Radio and illegal "pirate" broadcasters

• Ofcom believes that the introduction of Community Radio will provide a low-cost and legal alternative for people otherwise attracted to illegal "pirate" broadcasting, some of whom claim to be meeting a local community need.
• Illegal broadcasters use frequencies which are not planned and their services are not regulated; as a result their transmissions can seriously affect other radio spectrum users, including safety-of-life services.
• Ofcom hopes that the emergence of Community Radio will encourage some members of the community, who might otherwise engage in illegal broadcasting, to seek a Community Radio licence to broadcast instead.
• Ofcom is also considering means by which studio equipment seized from illegal broadcasters and subsequently released by the Courts to Ofcom for destruction could instead be donated to Community Radio stations. Such a scheme would not extend to illegal transmission equipment.

Assessment and award of licences

• Ofcom expects to receive a large number of applications in 2004. It will therefore prioritise the order in which applications are considered.
  • Firstly, it will aim to reach a decision on the frequencies used in the pilot scheme.
  • Secondly, it will look to award licences in areas of low demand and where award decisions will not limit the availability of frequencies in other areas.
  • Thirdly, it shall consider applications in all other areas.
• Licences will be awarded in batches over several months.
• Ofcom expects that groups who are awarded Community Radio licences will begin broadcasting within two years of the award.
• Licences will be awarded for a maximum of five years.

Application fee and licence fees

• There will be a non-refundable application fee of (GBP) £600 payable for each application submitted.
• A Broadcasting Act licence fee and Wireless Telegraphy Act licence fee will be payable by licensees on an annual basis. Typically, these fees are expected to total around (GBP) £1,000 each year.

Regulation

• Each Community Radio licensee will be required to submit an annual report on its progress in achieving the promises it made in its application, along with financial information. Ofcom will aim to make some of this information public.
• Licensees will be required to keep on record all information relating to the delivery of their key commitments.
• Community Radio stations will be required to abide by Ofcom's Programme Code covering news and current affairs, programmes, and sponsorship, and the Advertising Code.
• Ofcom will conduct a review of the Community Radio sector two years after the first stations commence broadcasting.

The full statement being published today along with the Community Radio application form and notes of guidance are available for the Ofcom website at: www.ofcom.org.uk

Ends.

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