Just been looking round the OFCOM website and there is an online response form to the “clearing the 800 MHz band” consultation document.

If you are a licensed user of channel 69 it’s in your interests to respond – especially to questions 14 and 15 – which are:

Question 14: Do you agree with our approach to determining eligibility for, and our assessment of the level of, funding to move PMSE from channel 69?
Question 15: Do you agree that three years is long enough for PMSE to move from channel 69?

The response form can be reached at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/800mhz/howtorespond/

The Consultation document is downloadable from http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/800mhz/

It’s a long document and it’s not all relevant but page 44 sections 5.68 and 5.69 detail the criteria they are using for assigning “funding” basically if your mics are nearly ten years old you won’t get much. If they are older, you won’t get anything. Never mind the fact that the kind of expensive radio mics we buy will be perfectly good for longer than that and there’s no point in replacing perfectly good mics until technology advances. Never mind that we might not normally replace all our mics at once as the move to channel 38 will force many of us to do.

Paragraph 5.70 should also be contested. As it stands, anyone getting a license after 2nd Feb 2009 won’t be get funding even though there is no other UK wide, two year licensed channel yet available.

On the length of time available, I personally think that is only enough time if both channel 38 and 69 are available all over the country for the entire 3 years, which they won’t be will they?

OFCOM are publishing the responses on the website, there are not many there at the moment. I think we should give them something to think about.

The British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG) are campaigning to “maintain access to a sufficient quantity and quality of radio frequencies to ensure the continued production of material currently used and respected worldwide.” As an individual you can join BEIRG for £35