Radio Spectrum

Licensing Digital Terrestrial Television

On the 31st August 2007 ComReg published a consultation entitled “Licensing Digital Terrestrial Television” (doc 07/65) which consulted on proposed licence conditions for the DTT Multiplex licenses to be issued to RTÉ and the BCI (now the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland - BAI) under the Wireless and Telegraphy Act, 1926, and the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act, 2007. ComReg having carefully reviewed the submissions received issued a response to consultation on 9th November 2007 (doc 07/90). In this Document ComReg set out the terms of the licenses it intended to issue to RTÉ and BAI in respect of DTT multiplexes.

Subsequent to this, on the 9th November 2007, ComReg published doc 07/90a - License for Digital Terrestrial Television and doc 07/90b - Technical conditions for Digital Terrestrial Television, which gives ComReg the means to license Digital Terrestrial Television multiplexes to RTÉ and the BAI. In December 2007, ComReg issued a DTT multiplex licence to RTÉ in respect of a single national multiplex and in May 2011 a licence in respect of a second multiplex.

Licensing Digital Terrestrial Radio

ComReg initiated a consultation on digital terrestrial sound broadcasting multiplex licensing conditions on the 16th September 2008. The initial consultation documents can be found at document 08/79 and document 08/79a

The response to consultation can be viewed at document 08/100 and document 08/100a and the submissions to consultation document 08/79 can be seen here in doc 08/100s. ComReg issued a national licence to RTÉ for digital radio in April 2009.

Award of available UHF spectrum in the urban areas of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford and related licensing options

ComReg initiated a consultation on spectrum suitable for Mobile TV on the 19th June 2008. The initial consultation documents can be found at doc 08/44, doc 08/44a and doc 08/44b.
The response to consultation can be viewed at doc 09/63 and the submissions to consultation 08/44 can be seen here in doc 09/63s.

After careful consideration of relevant submissions in doc 09/63s, and developments in relation to the authorisation of Mobile TV services elsewhere in Europe, ComReg sought clarification on the level of interest from potential operators by way of publication of doc 10/89 entitled “Mobile TV - Call for expressions of Interest”.

Having received only one response to Doc 10/89, and noting that this respondent’s views accorded ComReg’s, ComReg did not proceed further with authorising a Mobile TV service in Ireland, see doc 11/01.

ComReg intends however, to keep under review the potential for the identification of spectrum which would enable the award of dedicated licences for Mobile TV, subject to the appropriate technical conditions.