Volunteers' body urges Ofcom spectrum rethink
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Community Services Volunteers (CSV), the UK's largest volunteering organisation and operator of the biggest national network of social action broadcasting, is urging Ofcom to guarantee that money is not the only factor governing the use of broadcast spectrum freed up after switchover.
CSV, which operates its Action Desk network at all BBC radio stations across England, wants to ensure that the freed-up spectrum is not sold off to the highest bidder without considering the potential economic and social loss to local communities.
CSV wants future spectrum users to apply for short term licences that can be regularly reviewed to ensure that a minimum requirement for providing content of social value is met. The CSV call comes ahead of a deadline for consultation by Ofcom on its Digital Dividend Review, closing on March 20.
Damian Radcliffe, CSV's National Broadcast and Development Manager, said: "The release of this spare capacity should benefit communities and not be squandered. The challenge is to ensure that this valuable resource is not simply sold to the highest bidder.
"Rather than auctioning off the airwaves, we would prefer short-term licences to be awarded that include quotas for providing social value."
Public service broadcasters are also campaigning for spectrum to be set aside for high-definition channels on Freeview.
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