DAB Mux Licence Conditions Published

The Cush

DAB Licence Mux Conditions published by Comreg today.

08/79 - Licensing Digital Terrestrial Radio - Digital Terrestrial Sound Broadcasting Multiplex Licence Conditions
08/79a - Digital Sound Broadcasting Multiplex Licence - Appendix A Technical Conditions

L1011

Are the BCI going to be involved in deciding content at all, or will it be a case of get a digital radio licence and find capacity off a licenced mux operator? (rather like DTT in the UK). DAB in the UK has content requirements from the very start of the licencing process.

L1011

Read through them quickly there, looks like DABv1 and v2 will both be allowed dependent on what the licensor wants; and that there is an expectation that the BCI may apply for a licence itself - that would be slightly odd, presumably it'd end up something like the current 12A block. Its also putting L-band firmly back in the picture, despite how few receivers support this.

STB

ComReg have published a consultation on the terms under which they will give radio frequency (wireless telegraphy) licences for DAB in accordance with the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007.

ComReg must issue such a licence to RTE if they request it and at least one licence to the BCI if they request one.

Its likely that the BCI will seek multiplex contractors to run the multiplex (similar to Boxer in DTT) and will decide who these will be. They can decide whether to have national, regional or local DAB multiplexes but their approach has not been determined yet.

This is no different from how analogue FM radio is treated.

The BCI enter a sound broadcasting contract with an operator, then ComReg issue the BCI with a wireless telegraphy licence. The benefit of the wireless telegraphy licence issued to the BCI is based onto the contractor, thus legalising their position in wireless telegraphy legislation.

The BCI are the content regulators. ComReg is a spectrum management agency. ComReg may also licence DAB multiplexes itself. However under 2001 legislation, any content originated in Ireland must be provide by the holder of a BCI content contract.

icdg

Indeed.

The situation re licences for commercial broadcasting may surprise anyone who reads regularly in the media about the BCI awarding "licences". The BCI does nothing of the sort, it awards "broadcasting contracts". Legally speaking ComReg is the broadcasting regulator, the BCI is the licenced broadcaster (as indeed, are RTÉ and TG4) and the commercial radio and TV stations are mere contractors of the BCI

Of course this is a legal fiction and the broadcasters are the radio stations who are regulated in different ways by ComReg and the BCI. But it reflects the Radio and Television Act 1988, and is essentially based on the situation in the UK under the Broadcasting Acts 1954-1980 where the IBA was issued a broadcasting licence by the Home Office (later the Radiocommunications Agency) and the ITV/ILR companies were contractors of the IBA. The IRTC was essentially invisaged as a clone of the UK IBA without the whole transmission/engineering side (which is provided by RTÉ).

More Music

Quote: "....The IRTC was essentially invisaged as a clone of the UK IBA without the whole transmission/engineering side (which is provided by RTÉ)."

RTE don't and as far as I can remember never did provide engineering assistance to the IRTC/BCI. They have their own engineering division staffed internally.