The Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) Regulations 1995

Made: 17th May 1995

Laid before Parliament: 22nd May 1995

Coming into force: 1st July 1995

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the power conferred by section 2(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949[^f00001], and now vested in him[^f00002], the power conferred on him by article 8 of the Department of Trade and Industry (Fees) Order 1988[^f00003], and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby, with the consent of the Treasury, makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) Regulations 1995 and shall come into force on 1st July 1995.

Revocation

2

The Regulations set out in Schedule 1 are hereby revoked.

Interpretation

3

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949;

• “apparatus” means wireless telegraphy apparatus;

• “base station” means a station which facilitates or controls communications between a mobile station and— itself; another mobile station; or a telecommunication system which conveys messages— otherwise than by wireless telegraphy; or by a fixed link, and in this definition, “convey” and “telecommunication system” shall be construed in accordance with section 4 of the Telecommunications Act 1984[^f00004];

• “channel” means a part of the radio frequency spectrum intended to be used for a single transmission of signals, and defined by— two specified frequency limits; or by its centre frequency and the associated bandwidth, or by an indication equivalent to (a) or (b);

• “duplex channel” means a channel by which transmission is possible simultaneously in both directions;

• “fixed link” means a connection by wireless telegraphy designed for use between not more than two fixed points;

• “hub” means a single fixed site connected to more than one fixed out-station via wireless telegraphy links operating in the same frequency bands;

• “licence” means a licence granted under section 1 of the Act;

• “licensee” means the person to whom a licence is issued;

• “list” has the meaning given by regulation 3(5);

• “medium wave broadcasting band” means that part of the radio frequency spectrum between 526.5 kHz and 1606.5 kHz;

• “mobile station” means a station (other than a base station) intended to be used while in motion or during halts at unspecified points;

• “national channel” means a channel which— the licensee is authorised to use throughout England and Wales (whether or not he is also authorised to use it in any other place); and is not, at the time of issue or renewal of the licence, or at the prescribed time, as the case may be, authorised to be used by any person other than the licensee in any part of England and Wales under a licence granted under section 1 of the Act;

• “predecessor licence” means a Band III Private Mobile Radio National Trunked Service Licence, a Band III Private Mobile Radio Regional Trunked Service Licence, a National Public Data Network Service Licence, a National Public Radio-telephone System Licence and a Personal Communications Network Licence;

• “prescribed sum” has the meaning given by regulation 4(1);

• “prescribed time” has the meaning given by regulation 4(2);

• “simplex channel” means a channel by which transmission is possible alternately in each direction;

• “station” means a station for wireless telegraphy; and

• “VHF broadcasting band” means that part of the radio frequency spectrum between 87.5 MHz and 108.0 MHz.

• (2) Where these Regulations provide for the prescribed sum to be calculated by reference to a number of any of the following things, that is to say, channels for which a particular type of use is authorised, national channels, stations, base stations, mobile stations, fixed links, links of a class, the number thereof shall be taken to be the number the use of which is authorised by the licence at the time of the issue or renewal of the licence, or the prescribed time, as the case may be.

• (3) In these Regulations, a reference to a link of a class listed in the table set out in Schedule 2 means a fixed link where the frequency and the bandwidth of the channel designated in the licence for the purposes of the link are within the limits specified in relation to a link of that class in the said table.

• (4) In relation to an Independent Programme Maker’s Seven Day Licence, an Independent Programme Maker’s Six Hour Licence and a Sporting and Other Public Events (Miscellaneous) Licence—

• (a) “premium rate” refers to the fee to be paid in respect of the issue of such licence where both the applicant applies for the licence outside office hours, and the licence is granted outside office hours at the applicant’s request; and

• (b) “ordinary rate” refers to the fee to be paid where the premium rate is not payable,

and in this paragraph, “office hours” means 09.30 to 16.30 hours from Monday to Friday other than on a day which is a bank holiday in England and Wales.

• (5) In relation to a Transmission of National and Local Radio Broadcasting Services Licence, a reference to the licensee’s coverage is a reference to the total population covered by the transmitters which the licensee is authorised to use in the medium wave broadcasting band or the VHF broadcasting band (as the case may be) as specified in the list entitled “Coverage of Independent National and Local Radio Stations” (“the list”) published on 10th April 1995 by the Radiocommunications Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, and “covered” shall be construed accordingly.

• (6) In relation to a Maritime Coastal Station Licence—

• (a) “channels designated for emergency use” means channels 0, 00, 67 and 73 when used solely to assist Her Majesty’s Coastguard, channels 16 and 70, and channel 10 when used solely to assist the Secretary of State with oil pollution control activities; and

• (b) a reference to an international maritime channel means a channel specified in the table in Appendix 18 to the 1990 edition of the Radio Regulations [^f00005].

• (7) In relation to a Ship Radio Licence a vessel which is used solely for pleasure is a vessel—

• (a) which—

• (i)

• (aa) in the case of a vessel wholly owned by an individual or individuals is used only for the sport or pleasure of the owner or the immediate family or friends of the owner; or

• (bb) in the case of a vessel owned by a body corporate is used only for the sport or pleasure of employees and officers of the body corporate or their immediate family or friends; and

• (ii) in respect of any voyage or excursion the owner does not receive money for or in connection with operating the vessel or carrying any person, other than as a contribution to the direct expenses of the operation of the vessel incurred in meeting the cost of the voyage or excursion, and no other payments are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel, other than by the owner; or

• (b) which is wholly owned by or on behalf of a members' club formed for the purpose of sport or pleasure and which is used only for the sport or pleasure of members of that club or their immediate family, and for the use of which any charges levied are paid into club funds and applied for the general use of the club, and no other payments are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel,

and in this paragraph “immediate family” means—

• in relation to an individual, the husband or wife of the individual, and a relative of the individual or the individual’s husband or wife, and “relative” means brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendant.

• (8) In relation to a Public Mobile Operator Licence and a Common Base Station Operator Licence where a fee is specified in relation to a tier it means the relevant fee for the applicable channel width at the tier level specified for the prescribed time in the table set out in Schedule 3.

Licence charges and time of payment

4

• (1) Subject to regulations 5, 7 and 8 the sum which is to be paid to the Secretary of State by the licensee under section 2(1) of the Act—

• (a) on the issue or renewal of the licence; and

• (b) at such times thereafter (if any) as are prescribed times in relation to licences of that class,

shall be, in relation to licences of a class listed in Schedule 4—

• (i) the fixed sum specified; or

• (ii) the variable sum determined in accordance with the criteria specified,

in respect of issue, renewal , or the prescribed time, as the case may be, for licences of that class in the said Schedule (“the prescribed sum”).

• (2) Where an interval of time for payment is specified in Schedule 4 in relation to any class of licence therein listed, the first day after the expiry of each successive such interval of time (the first such interval having begun with the date of issue or renewal as the case may be), shall be the prescribed time (“the prescribed time”) at which the prescribed sum is to be paid to the Secretary of State under section 2(1) of the Act.

Concessionary licence charges

5

• (1) —This regulation applies where a relevant licence is granted to an applicant, or held by a licensee, which—

• (a) is a charity; and

• (b) has as its object the safety of human life in an emergency,

such applicant or licensee being hereinafter referred to as “a qualifying charity”.

• (2) The sum to be paid by a qualifying charity to the Secretary of State under section 2(1) of the Act on the issue or renewal of a relevant licence, and at each of the prescribed times (if any), as the case may be, shall be one half of the prescribed sum.

• (3) In this regulation—

• “charity” means a person who— being subject to the laws of England and Wales, or Scotland, or Northern Ireland, is a charity within the meaning of section 506(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988[^f00006]; being subject to the laws of the Isle of Man, is registered as a charity under the Charities Registration Act 1989[^f00007]; being subject to the laws of Guernsey, is a member for the time being of the Association of Guernsey Charities; or being subject to the laws of Jersey, is a member for the time being of the Association of Jersey Charities; and

• “relevant licence” means a licence of one of the following classes:— Maritime Coastal Station; Private Mobile Radio (Standard); Private Wide Area Paging and; Ship Radio.

Other licence charges

6

• (1) Subject to paragraph (2), there is hereby authorised, in such cases as are not otherwise dealt with by these Regulations or any other regulations for the time being in force under section 2(1) of the Act, the charge by the Secretary of State of such sums, whether on the issue or renewal of the licence or subsequently, as may in the particular case appear to him to be proper.

• (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to licences of any class wholly or mainly intended to meet the needs of persons desiring to use, in a private dwelling house and without making any charge to other persons, apparatus not designed or adapted for emission (as opposed to reception).

Application

7

Nothing in regulation 4 or Schedule 4 shall apply to a Transmission of National and Local Radio Broadcasting Services Licence where the licensee’s coverage is not specified in the list.

Fee scales

8

Where—

• (a) a predecessor licence or a Public Mobile Operator Licence (the “old licence”) has been issued to a licensee (the “old licensee”) in respect of a station or stations; and

• (b) a Public Mobile Operator Licence (the “new licence”) is then issued to a person, whether or not he is the old licensee, in respect of that station or those stations; and

• (c) the prescribed sum for each of the old licence and the new licence is calculated by reference to a position on a fee scale,

the prescribed sum on the issue of the new licence shall be calculated as if the position on the fee scale applicable to the new licence were the same as the last position on the fee scale applicable to the old licence.

SCHEDULE 1 — REVOCATIONS

SCHEDULE 2 — FIXED LINKS

SCHEDULE 3 — Fee Scale for Public Mobile Operator and Common Base Station Operator Licences

SCHEDULE 4

Signed

Ian Taylor — Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,Department of Trade and Industry — 15th May 1995

We consent to these Regulations

Timothy Wood — Andrew Mitchell — Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury — 17th May 1995

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for fees to be paid in relation to wireless telegraphy licences granted under section 1 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 (c. 54).

The Regulations revoke and replace the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/542) as amended by the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/362), the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (S.I. 1994/659) and the Wireless Telegraphy Licence Charges (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/244).

The Regulations change the level and structure of some of the fees prescribed for certain licence classes to update those fees. Fees are now prescribed for 48 classes of licence.

Major changes are that the Land Mobile and Paging sectors have been reorganised into sectors called Public Mobile Radio and Private Mobile Radio. The Broadcasting Services and Programme Making and Special Events sectors have been merged into a sector called Broadcasting and Ancillary Services.

Some licence classes have been merged together and some classes have been renamed. A new Public Mobile Operator licence class replaces six previous Land Mobile Radio classes (National Wide Area Paging, Band III Private Mobile Radio National Trunked Service, Band III Private Mobile Radio Regional Trunked Service, National Public Data Network Service, National Public Radio-telephone System and Personal Communications Network). A new Maritime Coastal Station licence class replaces three previous Maritime classes (Maritime Business Radio, Maritime Business Radio (Base Station only) and Port Operations Radio).

In addition three new licence classes have been created (Independent Programme Maker’s Six Hour, Point to Multi-Point Services 31.00—31.80 GHz and Sporting and Other Public Events (Miscellaneous)). The Radiating Cable licence class has been merged with the Private Mobile Radio (Standard) licence class. The Amateur Radio and Amateur Radio Novice A and B licence classes have been merged into single Amateur Radio and Amateur Radio Novice licence classes. The 58GHz Band Radio Relay Link licence class has been renamed Un-coordinated Links and the Local Wide Area Paging licence class has been renamed Private Wide Area Paging. The Temporary Fixed Link licence class has been merged with the Fixed Link (previously Point to Point Relay Link) licence class. The Long Range Alarms and Telemetry, Telecommand and Teleapproach Radio licence classes have been withdrawn.

The Regulations refer to the “Coverage of Independent National and Local Radio Stations” list in connection with Transmission of National and Local Radio Broadcasting Services Licences and also to the table of international maritime channels in Appendix 18 to the 1990 Edition of the Radio Regulations in connection with Maritime Coastal Station Licences. Copies of the list and the table may be obtained, free of charge, from the Librarian, Radiocommunications Agency at Waterloo Bridge House, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UA, until the end of August 1995 and thereafter at South Quay Three, 189 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SX (regulation 3).

The Regulations extend the range of licences for which qualifying charities can claim a fee discount. In providing for concessionary fees for charities the Regulations refer to the Association of Guernsey Charities and the Association of Jersey Charities. The addresses of these Associations are c/o Guernsey Chamber of Commerce, States Arcade, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, and c/o Dover House, Domaine des Vaux, St. Lawrence, Jersey, respectively (regulation 5).

The Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/436) as amended provide for the fees to be paid in respect of television licences.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1949 c. 54; section 2 was extended to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, respectively, by S.I. 1952/1900, amended by S.I. 1967/1279, 1969/1396 and S.I. 1952/1899; there are amendments to section 2 not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00002]: 1969 c. 48, section 3; S.I. 1969/1369, article 3, 1371, article 2, and 1974/691, article 2.

[^f00003]: S.I. 1988/93, which was made under section 102 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1987 (c. 51).

[^f00004]: 1984 c. 12.

[^f00005]: The Radio Regulations are published under the authority of the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union.

[^f00006]: 1988 c. 1.

[^f00007]: An Act of Tynwald.