[cma-l] Tackling pirate radio could save Londoners £1 million

[Ian Hickling]

The Summit was part of the same initiative as the research currently being carried out by Dr Angus Nurse of Middlesex University as previously highlighted here.All praise to Ofcom for this initiative and may it be rolled out to all the other areas where illegal broadcasting is a hazard to emergency services and licensed operators.Just two points:
I would be interested to see a breakdown of the £90,000 that Haringey claims it has spent on "enforcement and maintenance costs" and see which are directly attributable to unlicensed broadcasting.I do wish that Ofcom's PR department would not employ work experience students to write their stuff:
Accessible, legal alternatives to get on to the airwavesFor anyone wanting to broadcast a radio station, Ofcom offers accessible, legal alternatives to get on to the airwaves. Since 2005, Ofcom has issued community radio licenses, enabling small stations across the UK to get on-air right and serve their local communities. More than 200 community radio services are now broadcasting.Ofcom is also supporting a new, innovative way for smaller stations to broadcast on digital radio. If tests are successful the system, called ‘small scale DAB’, promises to open up digital radio to smaller broadcasters for a fraction of current costs.
4/10 - Could do much better
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, 2 Nov 2015 14:51:12 +0000
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: [cma-l] Tackling pirate radio could save Londoners £1 million

Pirate radio harms residents, communities and the emergency services
New crackdown could save London £1m each year
Ofcom offers legal access to airwaves for broadcasters
A new approach to tackling pirate radio has eradicated the problem in one London borough, and could save up to £1 million for Londoners by being rolled out across the capital.

Pirate radio harms local communities and the critical communications used by the emergency services. Ofcom, which manages radio frequencies, is hosting a summit on 3 November to explore the new approach to tackling the problem.
Pirate stations typically use high-rise buildings for their broadcasts, with illegal transmitters installed on rooftops or hidden in lift shafts. This damages residential properties owned by local authorities, disrupting residents’ lives and putting people at risk from falling equipment.
Ofcom has been working in north London, one of the UK’s most affected areas, with housing body Homes for Haringey. In 2014, 19 pirate radio stations were illegally broadcasting in Haringey. By quickly removing their transmitters and regularly patrolling and securing rooftops, pirate radio has now been eradicated in the borough.
As a result, Homes for Haringey has saved £90,000 in enforcement and maintenance costs over the past year.
On 3 November, Ofcom is meeting with local authorities from across London to share the success of the Homes for Haringey partnership. If this collaborative and proactive approach is rolled out across the capital, local authorities stand to save an estimated total of £1 million per year.1
Clive Corrie, Head of Ofcom’s Spectrum Enforcement team, said: "Illegal broadcasting harms local communities and risks lives by interfering with vital communications used by the emergency services and air traffic control.
"By working in partnership with local authorities, Ofcom is tackling this problem. We also strongly urge those broadcasting illegally to get involved with internet or community radio, a legitimate route on to the airwaves.”
Astrid Kjellberg-Obst, Executive Director of Operations at Homes for Haringey, said: "Pirate radio stations damage people’s homes and can be extremely distressing to our residents.
"We’ve seen huge success in tackling the problem with the measures that we’ve introduced, removing all pirate radio stations from Haringey and saving the borough tens of thousands of pounds in the process. We will continue to work with Ofcom to keep Haringey pirate-free.”
Source: http://media.ofcom.org.uk/news/2015/pirate-radio-summit
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