[cma-l] Ofcom factsheet on pirate radio

Sat Mar 29 15:07:46 GMT 2014

Revised submission:

Naturally my interest was concentrated when I saw this heading because haveing to put up with powerful illegal broadcasters is a continual headache in Community Radio.
I hoped I might see some heartwarming encouragement.
1 - Around 100 illegal operators we're told, 370 complaints and 26 responses in 2013 - but how many successful prosecutions/fines/imprisonments?
2 - Community Radio is a legitimate alternative to pirates?
Yes, one or two ex-pirates are now CR Licensees, but those were the very few who were really trying to do a responsible job but in a way that was shown to be hazardous. Most seem to have no intention of taking that route. There are long-established pirates in London, Birmingham and all the northern conurbations who have not only been going for years but appear to be supported by their local authorities and in some cases by the Police as well.

We've recently helped out two hard-working CR projects in the Birmingham area which have experienced theft and damage by pirates and are simply not supported at all by their respective authorities. Pirate antennas are blatantly obvious on nearby buildings and some Councils seem oblivious to the basic requirements of the very CR stations who are affording them unique assistance in doing their job.
It appears to us working hard to further the cause of CR out here in the sticks that Ofcom needs more motivation from Government, more money and more manpower to get rid of these blatant law-breakers and (in most cases) criminals and to allocate the frequencies thay have been using for years to legitimate broadcasters.

Ian

From: transplanfm at hotmail.com
To: bill.best at commedia.org.uk; domchambers at somervalleyfm.co.uk
Subject: Ofcom factsheet on pirate radio
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 12:54:58 +0000

Bill
I won't argue the details.
Sometimes I really do wonder whose side the CMA is on.
OK - I'll moderate it and resubmit.
Ian

From: bill.best at commedia.org.uk
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 10:27:17 +0000
Subject: Re: Ofcom factsheet on pirate radio
To: transplanfm at hotmail.com
CC: jaqui.devereux at commedia.org.uk; domchambers at somervalleyfm.co.uk; philjgibbons at gmail.com; info at inspirationfm.com

Our consensus view is to reject this post on the grounds of contravening the list guidelines:

Intemperate or other messages that are likely to cause offence, defamatory or damaging material.
Negative comments, unconstructive remarks and criticism.
Negative rants – constructive solutions are encouraged.
Messages containing potentially libellous content.
Unsubstantiated argument and assertion.http://www.commedia.org.uk/get-support/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/

Bill Best
-- 

Technical Operations Manager
Community Media Association
http://www.commedia.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/community_media
http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation

Canstream Internet Radio & Video
http://www.canstream.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/canstream

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ian Hickling <transplanfm at hotmail.com>
To: Andy King <andy.king at commedia.org.uk>, cma-l <cma-l at commedia.org.uk>, "comradio-l at commedia.org.uk" <comradio-l at commedia.org.uk>
Cc: 
Subject: Ofcom factsheet on pirate radio

Naturally my interest was concentrated when I saw this heading because Government Policy (or the lack of it) on dealing with illegal broadcasters is a continual headache in Community Radio.
I hoped I might see some enlightenment but I fear I'm disappointed.
Around 100 illegal operators we're told, 370 complaints and 26 responses in 2013.
How many successful prosecutions/fines/imprisonments?
Community Radio a legitimate alternative to pirates?
>From a cosy political armchair maybe - in practice laughable - sorry.
Yes, one or two ex-pirates are now CR Licensees, but those were the very few who were really trying to do a responsible job but in a way that was shown to be hazardous.
What about the long-established pirates in London, Birmingham and all the northern conurbations who have not only been going for years but are actually supported by their local authorities and in some cases by the Police as well?
The ethnic-run stations that PC local councils won't touch for fear of public disorder?
We've dealt recently with two hard-working CR projects in the Birmingham area which have experienced theft and damage by pirates and are simply not helped at all by their respective authorities. Pirate antennas are blatantly obvious on nearby buildings and caretakers will allow anyone access to the roof for a few quid in the hand.
Indeed I received a letter this morning from a shameful Housing Association which is the Landlord for a CR transmitter totally refusung to accept responsibility for theft from its own property clearly facilitated by its own negligence in leaving a roof key available to anyone who took the trouble to look.
Almost every week we see CR operators castigated for relatively minor infringements while a hundred pirates are untouched and occupy clear frequencies which could be made available to legitimate Licencees.
We have to be very careful not to upset our good hard-working friends at Ofcom who will no doubt be reading this.
But they in turn need more motivation, more money and more manpower to get rid of these blatant law-breakers and (in most cases) criminals.
In the past, I've suggested sending in the Army - no joke - the Terriers would love this and do a proper job.
But I fear we're more likely to see airborne porcine quadrupeds.
Ian

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:48:51 +0000
From: andy.king at commedia.org.uk
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk; comradio-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: [cma-l] Ofcom factsheet on pirate radio updated

Dear all,

For information.
Ofcom have updated their information sheet regarding illegal ‘pirate’ radio broadcasters, including new information on community radio. 
The radio regulator says community radio can offer a legitimate alternative to pirate broadcasting, giving examples of stations which have successfully made the transition to licensed transmissions, including London’s Rinse FM and Kane FM in Guildford. 
Three-quarters of illegal radio stations are based in the London area with the remainder in cities and towns throughout the UK. The broadcasts – often using poor-quality home-made equipment – can cause significant interference to licensed spectrum users, including legal community radio stations, as well as other services such as Air Traffic Control and emergency service communication. 
The Ofcom factsheet on pirate radio can be downloaded from their website here: http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/files/2009/07/factsheet.pdf 
Best regards
Andy

-- 

Andy King
Technical Assistant
Community Media Association
http://www.commedia.org.uk/ 
0114 279 5219

Canstream Internet Radio & Video
http://www.canstream.co.uk/
http://twitter.com/canstream

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20140329/4d984a87/attachment.html>