Could Licences For Radios Be On Their Way Back?

[camtechman]

What with the current debate about the BBC funding free TV licences and the suggestion that their iPlayer should be 'Pay to View'....What next, licences for Home Radios, Car Radios ?

My young nephew is too young to remember or believe me that one had to have a licence for a permanently fitted car radio, until I showed this old Post Office poster.

[emeritus]

The only person I knew who actually did have a licence for his car radio, was one of my fellow students. He was a Post Office apprentice on a thick sandwich course, and thought he had better be squeaky-clean.

What about motorcycle radios?

[Martin Bush]

If there could be a fee that would keep Radio Four on Long Wave I would pay that.

[G8HQP Dave]

You have to remember that a lot of people with power to make decisions are under the false impression that internet bandwidth can expand as necessary, so over-the-air broadcast can eventually be replaced by the net - when charging per program or per channel becomes easy.

However, I read recently that 8% of UK electricity consumption now goes on using and maintaining the net. More bandwidth means more power, even with technology improvements. Even if almost unlimited bandwidth became technically feasible we might not be able to afford the energy to run it.

[camtechman]

If they were to require licences for car radios I suppose the manufacturers would revert to having plug-in types with an internal option battery, just like they did in the past......that would get round the problem.

[camtechman]

I remember when I was a spotty 15 year old yoot and I was out strolling & listening to my pocket transistor radio and some snotty nosed rozzer stopped me and ask me to show him my radio licence.......he got the 'ump when I recited the rules about not needing one, as it was powered by a self contained 9V battery !.....He cycled off in a huff !

[Martin Bush]

They should introduce licences for mobile phones...

[Junk Box Nick]

It's always baffled me why viewing a programme after it has been broadcast has been free. After all, it is far easier to enforce payment for something supplied over the internet, or indeed digitally in any manner, than an analogue service via the ether.

However, as far as the iplayer goes it seems that this is something to do with legislation so I am completely unsurprised that it is now planned.

Given that much radio is still available via analogue, radio licences would be unenforceable, which is probably part of the reason why the radio licence disappeared several decades ago.

[Junk Box Nick]

Originally Posted by camtechman

My young nephew is too young to remember or believe me that one had to have a licence for a permanently fitted car radio, until I showed this old Post Office poster.

That is a very nice piece of period graphic design.

[stevehertz]

You can introduce a licence for whatever you want, but the lowlifes in society simply don't pay. Look at dog licences and TV licences, perhaps the most flouted licences in our history.

[ms660]

Free Iplayer in my view was just to test the water or test the model if you like, services usually have to be paid for in the end, rob one to pay the other or whatever you want to call it judging by the recent announcement regarding the license, that's the way life is.


Lawrence.

[Bazz4CQJ]

One's views on this topic probably depends on whether or not you believe that the BBC is an organisation which wastes lots of money and has lots of fat, e.g. highly paid multilevel management systems. I once helped in the making of a "Horizon" programme and I asked the producer what his budget was. He told me that he didn't have one; it would cost what it would cost.

B

[wireful3]

It might be my imagination or odd memory but I suspect that we actually do pay a license fee for radio. There was a streamlining excercise when separate licenses for car radios were abolished and it was covered by the single wireless licence. People had made it pointless anyway by using self contained portable radios in the car.

I think there was a suggestion at one stage when TV became dominant and radio was declining it would also be cost effective to combine the two. It is a nice thought but I must confess I can't find the energy to read the TV license details to find out.

[G4XWDJim]

People could complicate matters by listening to the radio using a T V.

Jim

[Alan Stepney]

If you have a radio but no tv, then you dont need a license.

(But have to tolerate visits from inspectors who check that you dont have a tv.)

[woodchips]

As Bazz says, does the BBC waste a lot of money? Having been to their BBC TVC auctions I simply cannot understand why they needs so many waveform monitors and vectorscopes. Easily portable, why not carry one around?

Waste of money in my book.

[HamishBoxer]

Just a point while trying to stay close to the topic I understand you do not have to allow anyone on your land for licence inspection.

Very tempted myself to use just I player.

[G6Tanuki]

Personally, I have no problems at all with a 'subscription' model for all content - indeed I have an 'entertainment' subscription to http://www.di.fm for streaming music and business subscriptions for both Bloomberg and Reuters TV.

When the specs for 'freeview' etc [1] were being drawn up the BBC fought like rabid weasels to block any Conditional Access Mechanisms [CAM, a.k.a. a viewing-decryption card] in the standard. They saw this as an 'under the radar' way to possily enable a future subscription-based mechanism that would undermine the ubiquity of the license-fee. [I was on one of the more-obscure technical committees...]

[1] http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archi...ng/condacc.htm

[AC/HL]

Although the BBC is not a State Broadcaster, it's funding and policies have always been subject to political and public pressure, now possibly more so than before.

Everyone has their vision for the future, as they see it from their perspective and/or experience. Whatever model the latest shaking of the bag comes up with, it's not within the remit of a Vintage Radio Forum.