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In response to a request from a prospective applicant, Ofcom has offered clarification of certain aspects of the advertisement of the national radio multiplex licence, which was published on 1 December 2006.

At paragraph 2.6, it is stated that section 47(1) of the 1996 Act requires Ofcom, in deciding the award of a national radio multiplex licence, to have regard to the extent to which applicants' proposals would be calculated to promote the development of digital sound broadcasting in the United Kingdom other than by satellite ("the general promotion of DAB"), taking into account any representations made in respect of the licence applications and the matters set out in section 47(2). For the purposes of clarification, the representations referred to in this section are those of third parties on the applications rather than the proposals made by the applicants themselves. As a result, Ofcom does not seek applicants' proposals on the general promotion of DAB.

At paragraph 2.8, Ofcom states that it will attribute greater importance to [an applicant's proposals for] indoor coverage and will weight its analysis accordingly. The weighting calculation for each applicant will be carried out as follows:

(Indoor population * 70%) + (Outdoor population * 30%)

The calculation is only expected to be invoked if two (or more) applicants were ranked differently by the indoor then the outdoor criteria.

At paragraph 2.10, Ofcom states that "coverage of 82% of the adult population of Great Britain together with coverage of the Belfast area, within three years of the commencement of the service, is reasonable". The 82% figure refers to Great Britain only, i.e. no percentage is provided in respect of the Belfast area.

At paragraph 2.22, the "nature of the digital sound programme services, digital additional services and television licensable content services proposed" refers to the characteristics of such services (e.g. the type of music they play and/or the type of speech content they provide, as appropriate, the composition of the target audience, etc.).

At paragraph 2.23, it is stated that "the form and nature of [negotiations with prospective service providers], and therefore the records of them, will vary, and thus there will be no standard documentation that applicants will be expected to submit". At questions 15, 16 and 17 of the application form, the information that Ofcom requires in respect of section 47(2)(f) is described. It is for applicants to decide what documentation should be submitted as part of their responses to these questions. Ofcom however reserves the right to ask for additional information to that submitted in an application if this is considered appropriate.

At paragraph 4.7, Ofcom states that applicants must submit two technical plans; the first should incorporate the requirement to protect from interference analogue television transmissions in some neighbouring countries, while the second should reflect the position in which such protection is no longer required. Ofcom further stated that it will weight the population coverage proposed by an applicant in its second technical plan by a factor of approximately 87% against that proposed in the first technical plan, to take account of later implementation.

This weighting is designed to reflect Ofcom's belief that coverage has a greater value if it is realised sooner rather than later. Specifically, an applicant's predicted coverage when analogue TV in neighbouring countries is required to be protected (i.e. at launch, or assumed to be prior to the fourth year of the licence) will be given greater weight than an applicant's predicted coverage when analogue TV in neighbouring countries no longer is required to be protected (i.e. from an assumed year five of the licence onwards). Thus, for example, if applicant A offers 70% population coverage at launch, increasing to 85% when analogue TV is switched off, and applicant B offers 77% population coverage at launch, increasing to 80% when analogue TV is switched off, then the weighting calculation would be carried out as follows:

applicant A: 70% + (85-70) *0.87 = 83.05
applicant B: 77% + (80-77) *0.87 = 79.61

In respect of question 6(c)(i) of the application, Ofcom confirms that it is willing to accept photographic evidence of mast aperture along with a description of the proposed installation instead of sketch diagrams, provided that the position and size of the aerial is clearly shown on the photographs submitted.

In respect of question 6(c)(ii) of the application, a statement of the location of the building in which the transmission equipment is to be housed will be acceptable. This statement should confirm that space is available for all of the equipment required, or describe what modifications to buildings and infrastructure will be required. Drawings will not be required.

In respect of question 6(c)(iii) of the application, Ofcom is aware that the level of detail required in response to this question may require an applicant to request information from a competitor. However, in accordance with its statutory duties, Ofcom needs to be able to assess whether an applicant will be able to implement its proposed technical plan. For example, Ofcom will need to be able to assess mast aperture and other infrastructure proposals. This is especially important where there is no realistic alternative site, as is the case at many major broadcast sites. If any prospective applicant however wishes to propose ways in which applicants can provide information which would allow Ofcom to assess implementation which would not cause an applicant confidentiality concerns, Ofcom would be happy to consider these.

In respect of question 6(c)(iv), Ofcom accepts that the full programme of digital switchover in television has not yet been finalised, and expects applicants to provide detailed information where this is possible and to identify risks in other cases.

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