Broadcasting (Hansard, 2 March 1990)

§ Mr. Mellor

My right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) announced our proposals on the future licensing arrangements for local delivery systems, including SMATV systems, on 27 April last year. The transitional arrangements we are envisaging are to be seen against the background of those proposals.

As those proposals made clear, systems covering fewer than 1,000 homes will not need to be licensed by the Independent Television Commission under the new arrangements. This proposal will be implemented, subject to parliamentary approval, by the making of a designation order under the provisions of clause 65(1) of the Broadcasting Bill. Accordingly, any existing SMATV licences for systems covering fewer than 1,000 homes will lapse when the relevant provisions of the Bill are brought into force. Any existing unlicensed systems covering fewer than 1,000 homes will be able to continue in operation. Any system covering fewer than 1,000 homes, whether previously licensed by the Cable Authority or not, will be able to carry BBC services, services regulated by the ITC, S4C and services originating from a Council of Europe or convention country.

SMATV systems licensed to cover 1,000 homes or more, and which fall wholly or partly within a cable franchise area (ie an area covered by a prescribed diffusion 350W service licence issued by the Cable Authority by the time the relevant provisions of the Bill are brought into force), will continue to be able to operate under their existing licences while they remain in force. The ITC will be empowered to extend those licences if necessary until such a time as it is satisfied that the broad band cable operator is able to offer an alternative service to the homes passed by the SMATV system.

SMATV systems licensed to cover more than 1,000 homes, which fall wholly outside any cable franchise area, will be deemed to have a local delivery licence starting from the date on which the relevant provisions of the Bill are brought into force. This licence will last for five years, and will be renewable under the provisions of clause 71 of the Broadcasting Bill after three years. The percentage of qualifying revenue for the purposes of clause 67 will be deemed to be zero. Licensees will not be granted the use of MVDS frequencies.

Systems covering more than 1,000 homes which carry only the four terrestrial channels, and which are in consequence unlicensed at present, will continue to be able to operate without the need for an ITC licence while they carry only those channels.

Other unlicensed systems covering more than 1,000 homes (including systems carrying the IBA's DBS services) which have not previously been licensed as SMATV systems by the Cable Authority will, if they fall wholly or partly within a cable franchise area, be deemed to have a SMATV licence under the terms of the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984. This licence will be deemed to start on the day when the relevant provisions of the Bill are brought into force, and to last for five years. The ITC will be empowered to extend the licence until such a time as it is satisfied that the broad band cable operator is able to offer an alternative service to the homes passed by the system.

Unlicensed systems meeting the same criteria which fall wholly outside cable franchise areas will be deemed to have a local delivery licence starting from the date on which the relevant provisions of the Bill are brought into force. The terms of this licence will be the same as those described outlined above in relation to SMATV systems which will be deemed to have local delivery licences.

The provisions necessary to implement these proposals will be included in the Broadcasting Bill. Subject to parliamentary approval, we are planning that the proposals will come into effect on 1 January 1991.