Czech Republic, no more limits on licenses

Radio Czech Republic

Czech Republic, no more license limits.
End of radio license limits. A single company can have more than two national programs.

On Friday, the Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the Law on Broadcasting and Television, which was submitted by Deputy Stan Ondřej Lochman.

Radio operators will be able to obtain an unlimited number of nationwide digital terrestrial radio licenses once dedicated DAB+ digital radio networks for private radio are established. The Chamber of Deputies approved a proposal by Deputy Ondřej Lochman Stan to abolish the limitation on the number of nationwide terrestrial broadcasting licenses issued by an operator. This regulation applied to analog broadcasting and was determined by the limitation of the frequency band. In digital broadcasting, however, there will be room for a number of new national programs, including thematic stations created by existing operators.

The abolition of the regulation of the number of licenses for national broadcasting was one of the key conditions for commercial radio stations to participate in digital broadcasting. The Czech Telecommunications Office (CTO) is preparing an auction of frequencies for two national and 27 regional DAB+ networks this year, and if the limitation on the number of licenses was maintained, there was a risk that operators of new broadcast networks would have nothing to fill the planned multiplexes. 

The government's amendment to the Electronic Communications Act, to which a parliamentary amendment to the Broadcasting Act was attached, was passed by the Chamber of Deputies in third reading on Friday. 143 of the 145 deputies present voted for Ondřej Lochman's proposal. The amendment will now be considered by the Senate and must then be signed by the President.

Source: Televizníweb.cz

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