[cma-l] Four hundred pirate radio setups shut down in London in just two years

[Ian Hickling]

"........internet radio and the introduction of community broadcasting licences have taken away some of the incentive for pirates to broadcast........"?
Sorry -  on which planet is this?

Ian Hickling
Partner

Office: 01635 578435  (7am-11pm UK time)Carphone: 07530 980115 (only responds when driving)6 Horn Street, Compton, NEWBURY, RG20 6QS

From: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2015 11:40:18 +0100
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: [cma-l] Four hundred pirate radio setups shut down in London in	just two years



Regulators have raided nearly 400 suspected pirate radio setups in London over the last two years, the Standard can reveal.





Figures released by Ofcom in response to a Freedom of Information 
request show nearly a quarter of the raids took place in Haringey, north
 London, while 90 resulted in equipment being seized.
Lambeth, 
south London, was the next biggest offender, with more than 50 raids on 
suspected pirates between April 2013 and March this year.
The 
communications regulator says internet radio and the introduction of 
community broadcasting licences have taken away some of the incentive 
for pirates to broadcast.
But pirate stations remain a problem because they can interfere with vital comms channels used by the emergency services.
"It's not about raising revenue," Clive Corrie, Ofcom's head of 
spectrum enforcement, told the Standard. "It's about protecting the 
spectrum from harmful interference.
"Last year Ofcom received 53 
complaints of interference to aviation services - ground-to-air radio 
location and radio navigation systems."
Of the 53 complaints, 48 related to the London area.
Mr Corrie added the problem was largely confined to the capital, though the reason for this has experts at something of a loss.
"It's
 a big problem, especially in London," he said. "There are about 70 
active stations in the London area. In the whole of the UK we've got 
something like just over 100.
"From the enquiries we've carried out, this problem doesn't exist in New York or Rome or Paris - it's a London phenomenon."
The true figures are likely to be even higher - councils don't have to tell Ofcom when they raid pirate radio setups.
Hackney
 Council revealed last month it had dismantled 29 masts and transmitters
 being used by pirate broadcasters in 12 months - only five of which are
 recorded in the FOI disclosure given to the Standard.
Aviation 
doesn't use the same bandwidth as FM radio but because the home-made 
transmitters are typically a dozen times stronger than community radio 
equipment - sometimes up to 300 Watts - and are often poorly installed, 
they can inadvertently take over higher frequencies.
Corrie added 
pirates typically chose tower blocks on high ground, and often hide 
equipment in lift shafts and air vents - not just to stop authorities 
from getting to it, but also to protect it from other pirate groups. 
"It's a bit of a Wild West situation," he said.
Among the council raids in Hackney this year was one on the Summit Estate, Upper Clapton.
Hackney's
 housing chief Cllr Philip Glanville said: "Surprisingly, this type of 
activity is still quite common, and can have an impact on the lives of 
our residents."
Three years ago, the Army inadvertently raided an illegal dance music station in north-east London.
Soldiers
 stumbled upon a group of "young men" broadcasting from Highfield Towers
 in Collier Row as they set up surveillance equipment ahead of the 
Olympics.

Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/four-hundred-pirate-radio-stations-shut-down-in-london-in-just-two-years-10362974.html

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