Ofcom declines changes to Freeview licence

The communications regulator Ofcom has declined an initial request by the BBC to amend its Multiplex B licence. The BBC sought these changes to limit the illegal copying of HD TV shows on its new DTT HD service planned to start on the 1st December, but issues raised by organisations including the Open Rights Group have but a road block in its way..
Web site Advanced television.com reports that Ofcom has received about 200 submissions about the Freeview HD proposals and admitted that a number of issues had been raised, such as the impact on competition in the market and “fair use” of content interpretations, which the BBC must now address.
Jim Killock, the executive director of the Open Rights Group, called the proposal a clear attempt to “enact a form of encryption through the backdoor. Such action would permit the BBC to dictate who may provide equipment which accesses the channels it broadcasts a clear violation of the free-to-air principle and an improper interference in the market by the BBC,” he said in a letter to Ofcom.
Source: advanced-television.com and Ofcom website
Item added: 16th November 2009