Ofcom plans private radio licence shake-up

Ofcom wants to make it easier for businesses to apply for private radio licences

Ofcom is planning to streamline the licensing of private radio communications to reduce their complexity and make them more flexible. 

Private radio licences are used by businesses to run their operations and include everything from taxi and courier firms to the major utilities and supermarket chains.

Under the new plans, the 21 existing types of licence will be replaced by three simple categories that reflect the basic characteristics of spectrum use.

The current restrictions on use within each category will also be removed to free up the use of the spectrum as long as minimum technical conditions are met to protect against harmful interference.

Ofcom will also make it easier for businesses to apply for licences, and 15,000 will be sold online at a flat fee of £75 for a five-year licence. Previously licences cost a variety of fees and had to be renewed annually.

However, since the licences will run for five years, the firms that buy them will be able to sell or lease them to other companies in the future.

Ofcom's plans have been put forward to the business world, and the comms watchdog has set a deadline for responses of 15 September 2006.