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Communications Bill


Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    445

 

              (b)             in paragraphs (a) and (c), for “the holder of a multiplex licence” there

shall be substituted, in each case, “the provider of a television

multiplex service or general multiplex service”,

              (c)             in paragraph (a), for “by means of a multiplex service” there shall be

substituted “by means of that provider’s service”; and

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              (d)             in paragraph (a)(i), for “the identity of the multiplex service” there

shall be substituted “the identity of the service by means of which it

will be broadcast”.

          (3)      Subsections (2) and (4) to (10) of that section shall cease to have effect.

Duration and enforcement of multiplex licenses

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  92      (1)      Section 23 of the 1996 Act (enforcement of digital programme licences) shall

be amended as follows.

          (2)      For “the Commission” and “The Commission”, wherever occurring, there

shall be substituted “OFCOM”.

          (3)      In subsection (4), for the words from “multiplex service” onwards there shall

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be substituted “television multiplex service or general multiplex service,

means the last accounting period of the multiplex provider”.

          (4)      In subsection (5), for “multiplex service, the first accounting period of the

holder of the multiplex licence” there shall be substituted “television

multiplex service or general multiplex service, the first accounting period of

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the multiplex provider”.

          (5)      After that subsection there shall be inserted—

              “(5A)                In subsections (4) and (5) ‘multiplex provider’ has the same meaning

as in section 14.”

          (6)      In subsection (8) for “apology” there shall be substituted “statement of

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findings”.

Digital additional services

  93      (1)      Section 24 of the 1996 Act (digital additional services) shall be amended as

follows.

          (2)      In subsection (1), for paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted—

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                    “(a)                      is provided by a person with a view to its being broadcast in

digital form (whether by him or some other person) so as to

be available for reception by members of the public;

                    (b)                      is so provided with a view either—

                           (i)                          to the broadcasting being by means of a television

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multiplex service or by means of a general multiplex

service; or

                           (ii)                         to the members of the public in question being or

including members of the public in an EEA State

other than the United Kingdom, or in an area of such

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a State;

                                          and

                    (c)                      is not a Channel 3 service, Channel 4, Channel 5, a public

television service of the Welsh Authority, the digital public

teletext service, a digital programme service, a digital sound

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Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    446

 

                    programme service, an ancillary service or a technical

service.”

          (3)      In subsection (2) (meaning of ancillary service)—

              (a)             for “an independent analogue broadcaster” there shall be substituted

“a relevant public service broadcaster”; and

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              (b)             in paragraph (b)(i), after “such programmes” there shall be inserted

“, or to programmes included in digital sound programme services,”.

          (4)      In subsection (3)(a), after “digital programme services” there shall be

inserted “, digital sound programme services”.

          (5)      After subsection (3) there shall be inserted—

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              “(3A)                In this section—

                                      ‘available for reception by members of the public’ shall be

construed in accordance with section 347 of the

Communications Act 2003;

                                      ‘public television service of the Welsh Authority” means—

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                           (a)                          S4C Digital; or

                           (b)                          any television programme service the provision of

which by the Authority is authorised by or under

section 200 and which is provided in digital form;

                                      ‘relevant public service broadcaster’ means any of the

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following—

                           (a)                          a person licensed under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to

provide a Channel 3 service;

                           (b)                          the Channel 4 Corporation;

                           (c)                          a person licensed under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to

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provide Channel 5;

                           (d)                          the BBC;

                           (e)                          the Welsh Authority;

                           (f)                          the public teletext provider.”

Licensing of digital additional services

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  94      (1)      Section 25 of the 1996 Act (licensing of digital additional services) shall be

amended as follows.

          (2)      In subsections (1) to (4), for “the Commission”, wherever occurring, there

shall be substituted “OFCOM”.

          (3)      After subsection (4) there shall be inserted—

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              “(4A)                A digital additional services licence is not required for a service that

is or is comprised in a qualifying service.”

          (4)      Subsections (5) and (6) (application of sections 6 to 12 of the 1990 Act) shall

cease to have effect.

Conditions of digital additional services licence

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  95      (1)      Section 26 of the 1996 Act (conditions of licences for digital additional

services) shall be amended as follows.

          (2)      In subsection (2)—

 

 

Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    447

 

              (a)             for “the Commission”, wherever occurring, there shall be substituted

“OFCOM”;

              (b)             in paragraphs (a) and (c), for “the holder of a multiplex licence” there

shall be substituted, in each case, “the provider of a television

multiplex service or general multiplex service”;

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              (c)             in paragraph (a), for “by means of a multiplex service” there shall be

substituted “by means of that provider’s service”; and

              (d)             in paragraph (a)(i), for “the identity of the multiplex service” there

shall be substituted “the identity of the service by means of which it

will be broadcast”.

10

Enforcement of digital additional television services licences

  96      (1)      Section 27 of the 1996 Act (enforcement of digital additional television

services licences) shall be amended as follows.

          (2)      For “the Commission” and “The Commission”, wherever occurring, there

shall be substituted “OFCOM”.

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          (3)      In subsection (4), for the words from “multiplex service” onwards there shall

be substituted “television multiplex service or general multiplex service,

means the last accounting period of the multiplex provider”.

          (4)      In subsection (5), for “multiplex service, the first accounting period of the

holder of the multiplex licence” there shall be substituted “television

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multiplex service or general multiplex service, the first accounting period of

the multiplex provider”.

          (5)      After that subsection there shall be inserted—

              “(5A)                In subsections (4) and (5) ‘multiplex provider’ has the same meaning

as in section 14.”

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Digital broadcasting of Gaelic programmes

  97      (1)      In section 32 of the 1996 Act (digital broadcasting of Gaelic programmes)

shall be amended as follows.

          (2)      In subsection (1), for “the Commission to include in any multiplex licence

granted in respect of one frequency to which section 28 applies” there shall

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be substituted “OFCOM to include in no more than one relevant multiplex

licence”.

          (3)      In subsection (7), for “Comataidh Craolaidh Gaidhlig” there shall be

substituted “Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig”.

          (4)      For subsection (9) there shall be substituted—

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              “(9)                In this section—

                                      ‘Gaelic’ means the Gaelic language as spoken in Scotland;

                                      ‘relevant multiplex licence’ means a multiplex licence in respect

of which the Secretary of State has made an order under

section 237(3) of the Communications Act 2003;

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                                      ‘television broadcasting service’ has the same meaning as in

Part 3 of the Communications Act 2003.”

 

 

Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    448

 

Review of digital television broadcasting

  98      (1)      Section 33 of the 1996 Act (review of digital television broadcasting) shall be

amended as follows.

          (2)      For “the Commission”, wherever occurring, there shall be substituted

“OFCOM”.

5

          (3)      In subsection (1)(a)(ii), for the words “services specified in section 2(3), S4C

Digital, the qualifying teletext service” there shall be substituted “following

services, namely, Channel 3 services, Channel 4, Channel 5, the public

television services of the Welsh Authority (within the meaning of Part 2 of

Schedule 12 to the Communications Act 2003), the digital public teletext

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service”.

Enforcement of licences held by BBC companies

  99       In section 35 of the 1996 Act (enforcement of licences held by BBC

companies), for “the Commission”, wherever occurring, there shall be

substituted “OFCOM”.

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Interpretation of Part 1

  100      In section 39(1) (interpretation of Part 1)—

              (a)             after the definition of “digital programme service” there shall be

inserted—

                                                   “‘digital public teletext service’ has the same meaning as

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in Part 3 of the Communications Act 2003;

                                                   ‘digital sound programme service’ has the same

meaning as in Part 2 of this Act;

                                                   ‘general multiplex service’ has the same meaning as in

that Part;”.

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              (b)             for the definition of “public teletext provider” there shall be

substituted—

                                                   “‘public teletext provider’ means the person for the time

being licensed under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to provide

the public teletext service (within the meaning of Part

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3 of the Communications Act 2003);”

              (c)             for the definitions of “S4C” and “on S4C” and of “S4C Digital” and

“on S4C Digital” there shall be substituted—

                                                   “‘S4C’ and ‘S4C Digital’ each has the same meaning as

in Part 3 of the Communications Act 2003;”.

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              (d)             after the definition of “technical service” there shall be inserted—

                                                   “‘television multiplex service’ has the meaning given by

section 235 of the Communications Act 2003.”

Radio multiplex services

  101     (1)      Section 40 of the 1996 Act (radio multiplex services) shall be amended as

40

follows.

          (2)      For subsections (1) to (3) there shall be substituted—

              “(1)                In this Part ‘radio multiplex service’ means a radio multiplex service

within the meaning of Part 3 of the Communications Act 2003.”

 

 

Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    449

 

          (3)      In subsection (4) (local and national multiplex services), the words

“provided on a frequency or frequencies assigned to the Authority under

section 45(1)” shall be omitted.

          (4)      In subsection (5), for “for general reception” there shall be substituted “so as

to be available for reception by members of the public”.

5

          (5)      For subsection (8) of that section there shall be substituted—

              “(8)                In this section—

                                      ‘available for reception by members of the public’ shall be

construed in accordance with section 347 of the

Communications Act 2003;

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                                      ‘broadcast’ means broadcast otherwise than from a satellite.”

Licences under Part 2 of the 1996 Act

  102     (1)      Section 42 of the 1996 Act (licences under Part 2) shall be amended as

follows.

          (2)      In subsection (1), for “the Radio Authority (in this Part referred to as ‘the

15

Authority’)” there shall be substituted “OFCOM”.

          (3)      In subsections (2), (5) and (6), for “The Authority” and “the Authority”,

wherever occurring, there shall be substituted “OFCOM”.

          (4)      For subsection (3) (variation of licences) there shall be substituted—

              “(3)                OFCOM may vary a licence by a notice served on the licence holder.

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              (3A)                OFCOM shall not vary—

                    (a)                   the period for which a licence having effect for a specified

period is to continue in force, or

                    (b)                   increase the total amount of digital capacity specified in a

national radio multiplex licence for the purposes of section

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48(1A),

                              unless the licence holder consents.

              (3B)                OFCOM shall not make any other variation of a licence unless the

licence holder has been given a reasonable opportunity of making

representations to OFCOM about the variation.”

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          (5)      In subsection (4) (exceptions from power to vary licences), for “Paragraph (a)

of subsection (3)” there shall be substituted “Paragraph (a) of subsection

(3A)”.

          (6)      For subsection (7) there shall be substituted—

              “(7)                The holding of a licence by a person shall not relieve him—

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                    (a)                   of any liability in respect of a failure to hold a licence under

section 1 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949; or

                    (b)                   of any obligation to comply with requirements imposed by or

under Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Communications Act 2003

(electronic communications networks and electronic

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communications services).”

 

 

Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    450

 

General licence conditions

  103     (1)      Section 43 of the 1996 Act (general licence conditions) shall be amended as

follows.

          (2)      For “the Authority”, wherever occurring, there shall be substituted

“OFCOM”.

5

          (3)      In subsection (1) (conditions may include conditions to give effect to duties

imposed by or under 1990 Act or 1996 Act)—

              (a)             in paragraph (a), for “the 1990 Act or this Act” there shall be

substituted “this Act, the 1990 Act or the Communications Act 2003”;

and

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              (b)             in paragraph (d), after “this Act” there shall be inserted “, the 1990

Act or the Communications Act 2003”.

          (4)      In subsection (3) (fixing of fees), for the words from “regard as necessary”

onwards there shall be substituted “regard as necessary for the purposes of

paragraph 8(1) of the Schedule to the Office of Communications Act 2002

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(obligation to conduct affairs so as to be able to meet their obligations and

carry out their functions).”

Restrictions on holding licences

  104     (1)      Section 44 of the 1996 Act (restrictions on the holding of licences) shall be

amended as follows.

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          (2)      For “The Authority” and “the Authority”, wherever occurring, there shall be

substituted “OFCOM”.

          (3)      In subsection (2) (incidental requirements to provide information), after

paragraph (d) there shall be inserted—

                    “(da)                      impose conditions in a licence requiring the licence holder, if

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a body corporate, to give OFCOM notice, after they have

occurred and irrespective of whether proposals for them

have fallen to be notified, of changes, transactions or events

affecting—

                           (i)                          shareholdings in the body; or

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                           (ii)                         the directors of the body;

                    (db)                      impose conditions in a licence enabling OFCOM to require

the licence holder to provide them with such information as

they may reasonably require for determining—

                           (i)                          whether the licence holder is a disqualified person in

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relation to that licence by virtue of Part 2 of Schedule

2 to the 1990 Act; or

                           (ii)                         whether any such requirements as are mentioned in

subsection (1)(b) have been and are being complied

with by or in relation to the licence holder;”.

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          (4)      In subsection (6)—

              (a)             in paragraph (a), for “complained of” there shall be substituted

“constituting their grounds for revoking the licence”; and

              (b)             in paragraph (b)(i), for “Parts III and IV of Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act”

there shall be substituted “the requirements imposed by or under

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Schedule 14 to the Communications Act 2003”.

          (5)      In subsection (7)—

 

 

Communications Bill
Schedule 15 — Amendments of Broadcasting Acts
Part 2 — Amendments of the 1996 Act

    451

 

              (a)             paragraph (a) shall cease to have effect; and

              (b)             in paragraph (b), for “Part IV of that Schedule” there shall be

substituted “Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Communications Act 2003”.

          (6)      In subsection (8), for the words from “a failure” to the end of paragraph (c)

there shall be substituted “a disqualification under Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the

5

1990 Act or a contravention of a requirement imposed by or under Schedule

14 to the Communications Act 2003,”.

National radio multiplex licences

  105     (1)      Section 46 of the 1996 Act (national radio multiplex licences) shall be

amended as follows.

10

          (2)      For “the Authority” and “The Authority”, wherever occurring, there shall be

substituted “OFCOM”.

          (3)      In subsection (1)(d), for “a direction” there shall be substituted “a condition”.

Award of national radio multiplex licences

  106      In section 47 of the 1996 Act (award of national radio multiplex licences), for

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“the Authority”, wherever occurring, there shall be substituted “OFCOM”.

Reservation of capacity for independent national broadcasters

  107     (1)      Section 48 of the 1996 Act (reservation of digital capacity for independent

broadcasters) shall be amended as follows.

          (2)      For subsections (1) to (3) there shall be substituted—

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              “(1A)                OFCOM must ensure that the conditions included in national radio

multiplex licences (taken together) secure that an amount of digital

capacity on the multiplex frequencies is reserved for every

independent national broadcaster for the broadcasting of a simulcast

radio service provided by that broadcaster.

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              (1B)                Where the conditions of a licence for a national radio multiplex

service reserve capacity on the frequency made available for that

service for the broadcasting of a simulcast radio service provided by

an independent national broadcaster, those conditions must also

include the condition specified in subsection (1C).

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              (1C)                That condition is the condition that OFCOM consider appropriate

for securing that, in consideration of the making by the independent

national broadcaster of the payments which —

                    (a)                   are agreed from time to time between him and the licence

holder, or

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                    (b)                   in default of agreement, are determined under this section,

                              the licence holder uses, for the broadcasting of a simulcast radio

service provided by that broadcaster, such of the reserved digital

capacity as may be requested, from time to time, by that broadcaster.

              (1C)                Where conditions are included under this section in a national radio

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multiplex licence reserving capacity for an independent national

broadcaster, OFCOM may include conditions relating to the

 

 

 
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