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

Tue Jul 7 10:41:22 BST 2015

My concern is: why did this take an FoI request to discover? Surely Ofcom
should be shouting about their work here?

Investigations I made a few years ago after a presentation from Ofcom on
pirate radio at TechCon -
http://james.cridland.net/blog/techcon-a-look-back/ - point to an awful lot
of spin by Ofcom:

"Then the man who is in charge of closing pirate radio stations down, Jim
McNally from Ofcom. McNally – who sounded like an ex-policeman – spent all
his time telling us why pirate radio was all linked with drugs and crime,
and why they were all very nasty people. As far as I was concerned, he
completely misread the audience; many of whom saw much of pirate radio as
simply a nuisance who transmitted over their own properly licenced
stations, and wanted to know when Ofcom might take action against them.
Yet, we heard nothing about Ofcom’s attempts to close these stations down:
indeed, he didn’t mention one single successful closure or any statistics
there at all. Instead, we heard a story about London City Airport being “20
minutes from closure” because of a pirate radio service. The story dates
from 2005, and – while apparently on the CAA’s behalf – only appears online
in connection with Ofcom’s attempt to brand all pirate radio stations as
uninterested in music, involved with drugs and crime, and affecting public
safety. There is no independent reporting of this incident, far less
anything to back up the “20 minutes” claim. If it was so shocking, why on
earth wasn’t it covered by any news outlet? I’m afraid I saw this entire
session as a spin exercise, light on facts and covering up Ofcom’s clear
incompetence in actually closing any of these services down. I’d be
delighted to be corrected by Ofcom, and actually hear some evidence of the
authority protecting its licensees."

It's interesting that nobody from Ofcom bothered to correct me. Because if
they really are closing 200 pirate stations a year, they've something to
shout about.

On Tue, Jul 7, 2015 at 10:03 AM Mark Davis <MarkD at in2beats.com> wrote:

>  I don't think they can actually do anything even if they do manage to
> find the studio , most pirates these days call themselves ______.net etc
> they never mention the frequency and always refer to themselves as
> streaming world wide and never say if someone is listening via fm or
> Internet ,and they link via the Internet , so I suppose gathering evidence
> on them from there broadcasts is very hard , unless they catch them on a
> tower block .
> Please correct me if I'm wrong
>
>
>
>  Mark Davis
> www.in2beats.com
> markd at in2beats.com
> www.facebook.com/in2beats
> office:01234352244 ext:22
> Mobile:07887867114
>
>
>
>
> -------- Original message --------
> From: Tony Bailey <ravensound at pilgrimsound.co.uk>
> Date: 07/07/2015 08:36 (GMT+00:00)
> To: cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk
> Subject: Re: [cma-l] Four hundred pirate radio setups shut down in London
> in just two years
>
>  This is full of interesting bits:
>
> "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."
>
> Maybe because in Rome and Paris the FM band is planned for the city - not
> the surrounding countryside as it is in London?
>
> Tony Bailey
>
> On 06/07/15 18:08, Ian Hickling wrote:
>
> "........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
>
>  <http://www.transplanuk.com/>
> *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
> <http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/four-hundred-pirate-radio-stations-shut-down-in-london-in-just-two-years-10362974.html>
> 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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