Has not Ofcom made provision for the development of local TV in its Digital Dividend Review?
4.1. No. ULTV strongly opposes the proposals made by Ofcom to auction spectrum “suitable but not reserved for local television” to the highest bidder with no obligations to fulfill PSB purposes (and with the remainder of the interleaved spectrum gifted to a monopoly Band Manager with no obligations to local TV). This will almost certainly lead to one single monopoly holder of the spectrum suitable for local TV in any given area. Any third party seeking to deliver a local service would be forced to negotiate with a monopoly controller of the local spectrum who would be under no obligation to release capacity in a manner that is fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. 4.2. Rather than charge its true market value (probably close to nothing at many small relay sites where there is expected to be a surplus of interleaved frequencies), a Band Manager would be incentivised to refuse to release capacity until a monopoly rent is paid, forcing a service provider to seek additional funding. It
