Comments on: ACMA cancels Access 31 licence http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/09/acma-cancels-access-31-licence.html Australia's leading TV blog Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:29:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: James http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/09/acma-cancels-access-31-licence.html/comment-page-1#comment-28690 James Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:12:18 +0000 http://www.tvtonight.com.au/?p=13118#comment-28690 ACMA is just the legislative regulator of the industry - it's not the policy driver... That would be the Department of Broadcasting, Communications and the Digital Economy. DBCDE would (and the previous Government) be in charge of coming up with the policy to switch over to Digital. ACMA would simply make sure that the broadcasters meet the legislated regulatory requirements. At the end of the day, the cancellation was a mere formality. If ACMA kept the license open, they wouldn't have been able to reissue it (it's the law)... So cancelling this now opens up the opportunity for another Community tv operator to come in.... But a sad time none the less.. ACMA is just the legislative regulator of the industry – it’s not the policy driver… That would be the Department of Broadcasting, Communications and the Digital Economy. DBCDE would (and the previous Government) be in charge of coming up with the policy to switch over to Digital. ACMA would simply make sure that the broadcasters meet the legislated regulatory requirements.

At the end of the day, the cancellation was a mere formality. If ACMA kept the license open, they wouldn’t have been able to reissue it (it’s the law)… So cancelling this now opens up the opportunity for another Community tv operator to come in….

But a sad time none the less..

]]> By: Doug from Perth http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/09/acma-cancels-access-31-licence.html/comment-page-1#comment-28677 Doug from Perth Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:04:47 +0000 http://www.tvtonight.com.au/?p=13118#comment-28677 Considering it was ACMA's own rules; being the requirement to convert to digital broadcasting, and associated new equipment costs, plus ACMA's refusal to provide short term Federal funding assistance to achieve that conversion, it seems very ironic that ACMA snatches the licence back for breaching its conditions. Does ACMA exist to help or to hinder? I would hope that ACMA in due course reissues the licence without re-collecting the big establishment fees that it probably costs to acquire the licence in the first place. Considering it was ACMA’s own rules; being the requirement to convert to digital broadcasting, and associated new equipment costs, plus ACMA’s refusal to provide short term Federal funding assistance to achieve that conversion, it seems very ironic that ACMA snatches the licence back for breaching its conditions. Does ACMA exist to help or to hinder?

I would hope that ACMA in due course reissues the licence without re-collecting the big establishment fees that it probably costs to acquire the licence in the first place.

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