§ Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his examination of the possibility of introducing citizens band radio in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Rathboneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether 123W he is yet in a position to announce a start date for legal use of citizens band radio and the level of waveband for it in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WhitelawWe have concluded that we favour in principle the introduction of a facility of this general kind. The scheme which I am considering would, however, differ in certain respects from that advocated by those whose ideas are based on the experience of other countries and we are proposing to call it Open Channel. It would take some time to introduce, because current developments in Europe and elsewhere have to be taken into account, and because further work is necessary, for example, to establish a precise frequency band and an appropriate technical specification.
I therefore think it important that the general public should have the opportunity to consider the implications of the sort of scheme that might be possible, and to express their views. Accordingly I intend to publish a discussion document on Open Channel within the next few weeks, and I shall take the public reaction to this into account in reaching final decisions.