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

Mon Nov 2 20:44:53 GMT 2015

Well said Donald, I support everything that you've written, if it were not for a pirate station here in Gloucester, Gloucester FM would not be celebrating 15 years of legal broadcasting

Derrick FrancisChairpersonGloucester FM 96.6 (GFM 96.6) www.gloucesterfm.com & Android & IphoneThe Trust CentreConduit StreetGloucesterGL1 4UX

Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2015 16:59:42 +0000
From: donald at donaldmack.co.uk
To: cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Tackling pirate radio could save Londoners £1 million

 Quite frankly I'm fed up and I'm feeling disgusted about some of the negative comments on here about pirate radio. Make no mistake, without Pirate radio there would be no licensed Community Radio. Yes things have changed and we have more options nowadays and yet things still remain the same. Most Black stations in London are either Pirates or on the Internet. There is nowhere near enough licensed Black owned community stations in London and as a result it is the Black communities which miss out on both the non-broadcasting and the broadcasting opportunities upon which radio can have an impact. 

The struggle for survival that faces the majority of current, licensed Community stations is a good indicator as to why many people within the Black communities cannot consider it as a viable option. Additionally, in London there will probably be only one, possibly two more FM licenses to come in the next (much delayed) round of London licenses and that will be it for new Community-based FM stations in London. 

What is required is a strong (nationally supported) CMA that negotiates with the BBC, Ofcom and central Government (on radio, internet and TV matters as it impacts upon licensed and unlicensed broadcasters) is required, unfortunately I fear that the CMA (and in particular this Forum) is now dominated by former commercial radio people whose main aim seems to be to replicate the commercial model across our sector with a slice of the BBC way on the side. Congratulations you are now part of the Establishment!, with all that entails 

Donald 

On 02 November 2015 at 14:51 CMA-L <cma-l at commedia.org.uk> wrote:

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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