APPLYING FOR A LICENCE

Anyone, anywhere, who has serious intentions of starting a community radio should ascertain what existing legislation is in force, beginning with licence require- ments. Some countries apply quite severe sanctions to punish illegal broadcasters; heavy fines and/or confiscation of the equipment are the commonest.

The procedures for applying for a licence vary between countries, but in any event, entities that apply will usually be expected to provide information about the following, with supporting documentation as appropriate:

• The juridical and non-profit sta-

tus of the entity making the application;

• The probity of the individuals

managing the entity; • The community to be served and

the size of the potential audience;

• An explanation of how the community could benefit from a radio service;

• The demand in the community for such a service;

• The technical features of the proposed radio station and the height and location of its antenna;

• The community management structures and the personnel that will be put in place to run the service;

• The type of programming that will be featured, the production arrangements foreseen, and how community participation will be ensured.

Some countries that have recently introduced legislation that covers community radio have drawn up lists of available FM frequencies in each of the smallest administrative areas of the country, such as muni- cipalities, or counties. In some countries, especially in Latin America, periodic announcements of the frequencies that are available for community radio are made by the broadcasting authorities and requests for their use are solicited. If there is an excess of requests for the available frequencies, the win- ners are adjudicated on the basis of the quality of their proposals, the experience of the applicant in

community development work, the radio programming planned, and the size of the community.

Licencees normally pay a one-off fee for the frequency they are allocated and a much smaller annual fee thereafter. For example, in Colombia, which introduced its community broadcasting legislation in 1995, the typical one-off fee for the frequency ranges from the equivalent of about US$900 to US$2,000 depending on the size of the potential audience. The annual fee averages about US$150.

1 Report of Consultation on Media Policy and Community Radio organized by VOICES (Bangalore, India, 1996).

2 Ibid .(Intervention by Hasmukh Baradi). 3 From statement issued by the not-for-profit broadcasting

sector in Argentina demanding new legislation (1999). 4 Independent Radio and Television Commission. IRTC Policy

on Community Radio Broadcasting , IRTC (Dublin, 1998). 5 Personal communication from Alida Becerra, Director

of the Social Development Department, Ministry of Communications (Colombia, 1999).

Community Misconceptions about Costs

“Quite a lot of the applicants who have been granted community radio licences here in Colombia since 1995 could not find the funds to pay for the frequency. Others thought that the Ministry of Communication would provide them with the equipment. These are some of the reasons why of the 560 licences we have granted, only about 150 community radios are actually functioning. Of course, we have had to revoke many of the licences because they were not put to use within the prescribed time period.” 5

Chapter 4

Technical Aspects

APPLYING FOR A LICENCE