Communications Act 2003

243 Powers where frequencies reserved for qualifying services

(1) The Secretary of State may by order provide, in relation to the matters mentioned in subsection (2)—

(a) for any or all of the provisions of sections 7 to 16 and of sections 18 and 19 of the 1996 Act to have effect with the modifications specified in the order; and

(b) for provision made by the order to have effect in place of any or all of those provisions.

(2) Those matters are—

(a) licences under Part 1 of the 1996 Act, and

(b) the awarding and grant of such licences,

in a case in which the licence is, or is to be, a licence to provide a service for broadcasting on any one or more reserved frequencies.

(3) An order under this section may require OFCOM to include conditions falling within subsection (4) in any Broadcasting Act licence to provide a television multiplex service to be broadcast on a reserved frequency.

(4) Conditions falling within this subsection are conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for securing that, in consideration for the making by any relevant public service broadcaster of such payments as are from time to time—

(a) agreed between the broadcaster and the holder of the licence to provide the television multiplex service, or

(b) in default of agreement, determined by OFCOM in accordance with the order,

the holder of that licence will use digital capacity reserved in accordance with conditions imposed under section 12 of the 1996 Act or any order under this section for the broadcasting of services provided by that broadcaster.

(5) Subsection (3) is not to be construed as restricting the provision that may be made under subsection (1).

(6) A frequency is a reserved frequency for the purposes of this section if it is one as respects which OFCOM have made a determination, in exercise of their functions under the enactments relating to the management of the radio spectrum, that the frequency should be reserved for the broadcasting of television multiplex services.

(7) In this section “relevant public service broadcaster” means any of the following—

(a) the holder of a licence to provide a Channel 3 service;

(b) C4C;

(c) the holder of a licence to provide Channel 5;

(d) the Welsh Authority;

(e) the public teletext provider.