HC Deb 07 June 1990 vol 173 cc668-70W
Mr. Patrick Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements he proposes to make for licensing under the Telecommunications Act 1984 existing cable television relay systems which do not at present require to be licensed under the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984, should the proposals in the Broadcasting Bill receive parliamentary approval.

Mr. Forth

Relay systems of any size carrying only the four terrestrial TV channels will be covered by a class licence under the Telecommunications Act. Other relay systems, not requiring a licence under the Cable and Broadcasting Act at the date the new proposals come into force and not at that date carrying all four terrestrial TV channels and all five DBS channels will be allowed to continue to carry those channels that they carried on that date also under the terms of a class licence. Any subsequent upgrading will be treated for licensing purposes as a new system and the right of first refusal for existing broadband cable licensees or local delivery operators will apply where appropriate.

Relay systems of any size which carry all four terrestrial TV channels and all five DBS channels on the date that the new proposals come into force will thereafter be authorised to carry any TV or radio services other than those proscribed under provisions contained in clause 165 of the Broadcasting Bill. Those restricted to a single building or to adjacent dwelling houses will be covered by another class licence. Larger systems will, however, require an individual Telecommunications Act licence for which they will need to apply in advance of the new regime.

Such licences granted in respect of systems covering fewer than 1,000 homes will be on the same terms as those for new systems of the same size. Unlike licences for new systems, the award of these licences will not be subject to the right of first refusal procedure. Multiple licence applications will not, however, be accepted in respect of systems that had previously been connected to form a larger system of over 1,000 homes. Further details about the licensing arrangements will be given later this year.

Systems of the type described in the previous paragraph, covering 1,000 homes or more and lying within a cable franchise area will, under the terms of the Bill, be deemed to have a Cable and Broadcasting Act diffusion service licence with an initial life of five years. Each such system will also receive a concurrent Telecommunications Act licence.

Systems covering 1,000 homes or more and lying outside any cable franchise area will, under the provisions of the Bill, be deemed to have a local delivery licence, with an initial term of five years. These will also receive individual Telecommunications Act licences, similar to those in the previous category and, in particular, not granting the licensee powers under the telecommunications code.

Mr. Patrick Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements he proposes to make for licensing cable television systems covering fewer than 1,000 homes under the Telecommunications Act 1984.

Mr. Forth

My hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, Home Office confirmed on 2 March 1990 at column351 that subject to parliamentary approval of our proposals, cable TV systems covering fewer than 1,000 homes will not require to be licensed by the Independent Television Commission. All such cable systems will, however, continue to require licensing under section 7 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

Systems restricted to single buildings or to two adjacent dwelling houses will be covered by a class licence which will authorise them to carry any TV or radio service not specifically proscribed under provisions contained in clause 165 of the Broadcasting Bill. We would be prepared to consider extending this class licence to cover groups of up to, say, five terraced houses if there proved to be a significant demand for such systems from groups of neighbours. Individual licences will be granted in respect of other systems passing fewer than 1,000 homes subject, in areas where a licence has been granted to a broadband cable or local delivery operator, to the right of first refusal being given to that licence holder. These individual licences will contain similar authorisations to those in the class licence and run for 10 years. They will be renewable.

The first refusal procedure will operate only if the system lies wholly or partly within a cable franchise area licensed under the Cable and Broadcasting Act by the Cable Authority before its abolition, or within that part of a local delivery operator's area for which the operator has undertaken to provide a service. The cable or local delivery operator will be given the right to provide an alternative service to that proposed unless he is in default of his build timetable or has failed to honour a previous commitment to provide an alternative service elsewhere in the cable/LDO area. Any operator that qualifies for this right will be given 20 working days in which to offer to provide an alternative service. We would expect the service to be fully operational within four months from the date my Department offers the operator first refusal. The service must provide a similar or superior service to that proposed by the SMATV applicant, at a reasonable price, and, in particular, include at least the same major satellite and terrestrial channels and a similar range of alternative channels. In the case of cable franchise areas, the alternative system should be capable of being upgraded to a broadband service without further internal rewiring.

If the cable operator/LDO waives the right of first refusal or fails to honour his commitment to provide an alternative service, the SMATV operator will be granted an individual Telecommunications Act licence of 10 years' duration and renewable. The licence, would, however, be liable to revocation if the promised service was not provided within four months of the licence being issued.