Last year, AMPS were invited to meet Paul Gill of the Joint Frequency Management Group (JFMG) Ltd to discuss Spectrum Pricing Stage 3 , where it affects freelance users of radio mics. On 23rd October, we attended a very useful and positive meeting. It appears that the ‘lobbying’ we have attempted over the last few years has landed on the sympathetic ears of Paul Gill. Things are changing for the better! But we must all be aware of the extraordinary money that the Radiocommunications Agency raised for the Treasury in its recent Cellular Phone Licence Auction. Using Government figures, Paul Gill presented a very interesting calculation on what our radio mic channels are worth. It came out at a staggering £80,000 per channel per year! Thus our 14 channel UHF block, for example, would probably realise £1,120,000 per year for the Government, or more if it were auctioned to the cell phone companies. In no way are these figures reflected in the take-up of radiomic licences. Paul estimated, unofficially, that only 15% of radiomic users are licensed, producing very little revenue. Don’t get this wrong, it is recognised that our industry needs radio mics and could never compete with cell phones as a revenue generator. JFMG Ltd is not the ogre that some may perceive them to be. For certain, they are a client of the Radiocommunications Agency, but they do understand that our industry has a need to preserve the frequencies that we currently use. If there is no proof of use, then they WILL go - there are companies with a hell of a lot more money to spend who will snap them up! And the word is, “Use it or lose it”. If not enough evidence of use is available to the authorities, reflected in licence numbers, obviously there is a temptation to use the bands more profitably. It is AMPS’ position that we should play our part in maintaining the bands for our sole use by promoting licensing it is the only way. Yes, you can get away with operating radio mics without a licence and the chances of detection are infinitesimal, but what happens when a high-powered cell phone transmitter parks itself in the middle of a radio mics band? Your expensive equipment is now useless and even your livelihood is threatened. This is what JFMG Ltd is trying to prevent. For all those who were startled at the seemingly high licence fees for ‘newsgathering’ frequencies that appeared in the last Spectrum Pricing Study, it is necessary to explain the thinking behind the allocation criteria: - A Frequency Specific Licence in this category would be exclusive to the licence holder for use anywhere in the UK, essential for broadcast companies going live to transmission, mainly for news gathering. | - Coordinated Frequencies are controlled by JFMG Ltd on a temporary licence to reduce interference problems between users at a congested location, such as major sporting or national events. - Shared Frequencies means that many users may be on the same frequency, but given the low power and restricted range of most radio mics, interference is probably only encountered between adjacent studios, or round the corner if two units happen to be working within a short distance of each other. These are OUR freelance frequencies. The licence fees therefore reflect the degree of protection from interference. It is perfectly legal to use your licensed Shared Frequencies for news gathering or at sporting events but you will not have the exclusive protection offered by JFMG Ltd from interference caused by another user. AMPS have been talking to JFMG Ltd for some years now and tried to make sense of the various changes and regulations. We have explained our concerns to them on many occasions, mainly about the cost of licences and the allocation of frequencies. As a result of our efforts, we have been told that there is to be a radical change of strategy to encourage more users to take up the licence. What is proposed by JFMG to the RA is a simplified low cost, flat rate licence per Shared Frequency Block, with the two existing VHF blocks combined to make one 15 channel VHF Block. If you were to license all VHF and UHF Blocks, it will cost you considerably less than the present £160 per single block per year! Also, there are no current plans to change the frequencies. All very good news, indeed. As a result of JFMG lobbying at the RA, it is now legal to use 10 mW Radio Mics on the deregulated and licence-free 173.7- 175.1 MHz band, but don’t rush in here. Everybody (including Sandy’s wife!) is using this band for PA, churches, conferences and similar public events, thus the chances of interference are very high and professionally unacceptable. We discussed the need to make people aware of the regulations, particularly the Producers. We even suggested making the Production Companies responsible for the licensing of equipment, taking into account the penalties that could be incurred if unlicensed use is detected. Under the law, this extends to confiscation of the equipment in use, also any equipment attached; this could include the camera and even the lights! Is it worth the risk? The idea may be considered but it doesn’t solve the whole problem. We hope to hear fairly soon what the final proposals will be on Licensing Fees. It will certainly be good news but, please, play your part, get licensed at the new reduced rates when they are announced. |
