Save Our Sound

Readers may know that the future of live music, newsgathering, musical theatre, film making, television production, sports events, concerts, conferences and church, school and community events in the UK is at stake when Ofcom sells off the radio frequencies (channels 31–37 and 61–69) used by the Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) sector for digital use (AP207 and AP208). Over 95% of the UK’s stocks operate in these bands, so the impact on the PMSE sector will be severe as equipment owners struggle to cover the cost of replacing their entire equipment to operate on new bandwidths. If they are forced out of business, which is likely under current proposals, then all productions that depend on their equipment and expertise will be under threat. At present, Ofcom is only proposing to compensate equipment that tunes to channel 69, and to only refund the “residual value” rather than what it will cost to replace.

The National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) is a key supporter and member of the Save Our Sound UK campaign (SOS UK) which was launched in November 2009 to campaign for adequate redress for the sector. As indicated above, the PMSE sector is a diverse community, both professional and amateur, which uses parts of the spectrum to relay sound and/or picture data across relatively short distances. The campaign has wide support among the biggest unions and associations within the arts and entertainment industries and also church groups and voluntary organisations.
SOS UK has written to the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, to put forward the moral and business case for fair and adequate compensation. It is not right that the PMSE sector should effectively pay for its own eviction, a process that will generate very significant revenues for the UK Government from the sale of the cleared radio frequencies. We have received a holding reply from Communications Minister, Stephen Timms, who acknowledges the economic contribution made by the sector and states that “You have set out your case for a wider basis for financial support, beyond that proposed by Ofcom and we are currently giving this careful consideration, in consultation with Ofcom.”
In the meantime, MPs and Peers have also been galvanised to act with a number of key supporters championing the cause. Peter Luff MP, Chairman of the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, has been particularly busy on the campaign’s behalf: he has quizzed Ed Richards, Chief Executive of Ofcom, on the compensation issue in an oral evidence session to the Committee. He put forward the PMSE sector’s case that, as it did not stand to benefit from its eviction from the frequencies and indeed had everything to lose, partial compensation was not good enough, and only full-cost compensation, plus additional security of tenure on the new frequencies, was fair. Luff has also tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) on the issue which has attracted some 71 signatures from MPs, including Chairs and members of Select Committees. The NCA has been encouraging its members to write to their MPs exhorting them to sign the EDM: the more signatures it can attract, the more the Government will be forced to listen. Draft letters to MPs, for people to personalise by describing their individual situation, are available to download from the SOS UK website.
In the Lords, Baroness McIntosh made an excellent speech in which she called upon the Government to act: “[I] ask my noble friend whether he can assure me that the Government will act promptly to mitigate the damaging consequences of Ofcom’s interpretation of its current duties under the Communications Act by providing compensation to all those affected, not just to some. This is not a small matter. If it is not resolved, we shall all notice the difference.”
As I write, following on from an exchange of correspondence in the Times between Ed Richards and me, Richards has sought a meeting in January to discuss how we might take things forward. It also appears that the Government is now seriously considering the issue: Stephen Timms, in a response to a Parliamentary Question from Peter Luff said, “The Government [is] in discussion… with those who represent that particular interest. We recognise the importance of it and we are looking to see what we can do to help.”
So, the campaign has been successful in forcing Government and Ofcom to reconsider their initial proposals, but we must continue to apply whatever pressure we can to ensure that our demands are met. If you have not already done so, I would urge you to add your voice to the campaign and to write to your MP and to the Ministers, underlining that the Government has a moral obligation to act. As the sale of frequencies will generate very significant sums for the Government in auction revenues, it must put aside a fraction of those proceeds to fully compensate those forced to move.