- Broadcast license
A broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum licence that grants the
licensee the privilege to use a portion of theradio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area forbroadcasting purposes.Licensing is typically performed by government agencies, providing a mechanism both for managing the
limited resource of radio frequency spectrum and for implementing prevailingpublic policy , such as policies regardingconcentration of media ownership .Management of technical
specification s, such as those implemented inbroadcast television systems , is normally undertaken as a part of broadcast licensing in each country. Variousradio band s carry differentradio signal s, such asvideo and audio, digital and analog,narrowband andbroadband , and different types of content, and are therefore licensed differently.Licensing is also different for
public radio andpublic television , and forcommunity radio andcommunity television , as compared to commercial applicants and licensees.Economics
Originally, broadcast licences were issued for only a nominal payment, but work by economist
Ronald Coase developed aneconomic theory that broadcast licences in a spectrum that was limited had higheconomic value , which could and should be paid for on theopen market . Increasingly, spectrum licences are offered viaspectrum auction s, however this fails to considernon-commercial educational users, which are shut out of the process unless steps to ensure their fair consideration are taken.The sale of licenses, with the
profit s going to the seller instead of the licensor, also implies some sort of ownership of the airwaves by the licensees — when in fact the spectrum, likelight ,air , andwater , are inherentlypublic property as a matter of thelaws of physics , and broadcasters are only paying to rent it.Technical specifications
The broadcast license typically specifies the following information at minimum:
*exactlatitude andlongitude
*carrierfrequency and bandwidth
*modulation type [s]
*effective radiated power
*height above average terrain
*directional antenna radiation pattern Additionally, they often specify the following:
*operating hours formediumwave andshortwave
*transmitter power output
*broadcast auxiliary service s
*radio antenna brand and model
*backup facilities
*additional service authorizations (subcarrier s,digital radio )Some countries also specify
radio format orgenre oftelevision programming , in order to ensure diversity.References
External links
Regulators
*
Australian Communications and Media Authority [http://www.acma.gov.au http://www.acma.gov.au]
* Radio Spectrum Management New Zealand [http://www.rsm.govt.nz/ http://www.rsm.govt.nz/]
*Ofcom "United Kingdom" [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/ http://www.ofcom.org.uk/]
*Federal Communications Commission "United States" [http://www.fcc.gov/ http://www.fcc.gov/]
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