559.This section amends Chapter 2 of Part 3 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (sound broadcasting services) so that OFCOM promotes the provision of simulcast radio services. When OFCOM propose to award a national service licence, they must indicate the amount of digital capacity that national radio multiplex licensees will have available for the broadcasting of simulcast radio services.
*A “national radio multiplex licence” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (digital terrestrial sound broadcasting).
560.An application for a national service licence must contain the applicant’s proposals (if any) for providing a digital simulcast of their national analogue radio services. When determining the recipient of a national service licence, OFCOM may disregard the requirement under section 100 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 to award the licence to the absolute highest bidder and award the licence instead to the highest bidder amongst those applicants who propose to provide simulcast radio services. In the event of a tie between the highest bidders, OFCOM shall also have the power to exclude applicants who do not propose to provide simulcast radio services.
561.Subsection (6) confers on OFCOM the duty to impose conditions in a national service licence requiring a licensee to provide simulcast radio services where his application included proposals to provide such services.