The regulator for broadcasting and telecommunications has said all existing cable TV and MMDS licences will be reviewed and that some illegal deflector systems should be given licences.
Ms Etain Doyle may provoke legal action from the cable and MMDS industry, where operators will now have to reapply for licences. The industry has already filed a statement of claim against the Government for a figure believed to be over £100 million, claiming it never ensured that licence-holders had exclusivity in their franchise areas because of the deflectors.
In a paper, The Future of Transmission in Ireland, the Way For- ward, published as new broadcasting proposals are before the Cabinet, il in the Autumn. Ms Doyle says moving into the digital era, consumers should be given a choice of service and that cable or MMDS operators should not have a monopoly in their own areas. While MMDS licences have a few years to run, it was assumed by the industry that cable TV licences were held by the operators, unless a review was necessary for non-compliance or other offences.
Ms Doyle, however, is saying she wants to invoke a review and grant licences again. She has asked the cable and MMDS operators - which include companies like Cablelink, Cable Management and Princes Holdings - to forward their business plans and says she will decide whether to renew their licences on this basis.
On illegal deflector operators, which provide a service to 100,000 to 150,000 people, she says she is in favour of short-term licensing of some existing operators, though issuing such licences "would be subject to ministerial consent." There was no comment from the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ms de Valera, last night.