**We apologise for any cross-posting - The following is being forwarded
exactly as received**

To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), [email protected]

Friday, June 20, 2003

Action alert (bulletin)

Community Media Policy Research Unit lobbies communications regulator Icasa
to allow community-based low power radio broadcasting

Yesterday, the Community Media Policy Research Unit lobbied the
communications regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South
Africa (Icasa), to allow low power radio broadcasting to broaden access to
the airwaves.

The Policy Research Unit is a joint initiative of the National Community
Radio Forum and the Freedom of Expression Institute, and represented the
views of both organisations at an Icasa public hearing on the matter
yesterday.

Icasa is currently considering the introduction of low power radio for the
country (for more see the discussion document at http://www.icasa.org.za).
The Broadcasting Act of 1999 and the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act
of 1993 require the Authority to examine the feasibility of low power radio.

Low power broadcasting has been used in other countries by community
activists, banned political organisations or even religious and other groups
whose interests are not usually catered for by 'mainstream' broadcasters.
Given the potential that such broadcasting holds, low power broadcasting has
been described by Free Speech TV in the United States as '..stations [that]
are little islands of individuality and localism in a vast sea of
predicatable corporate swill'.

However, South Africa has not even begun to tap into low power
broadcasting's potential. Current legislative provisions on Low Power Radio
are vague and inadequate to give direction on the form that such services
should take. If Icasa decides to introduce this class of broadcasting, a
legislative amendment to correct this vagueness may be necessary. The Unit
argued that, if carefully defined, the introduction of low power
broadcasting can enhance the basic rights of freedom of expression and
access to information.

A major concern raised by the Unit is that whereas the introduction of Low
Power Radio has the potential of further giving access to the airwaves for
many communities there are, on the other hand, some potential dangers. One
of the potential dangers is that an ill-defined introduction of Low Power
Radio can lead to the ghettoisation of community radio. If this class of
broadcasting is introduced in a manner that advances commercial interests,
rather than local community voices, Icasa may be lobbied to use its time and
the country's frequencies to prioritise it rather than community radio.
Hence, the Unit argued, low power broadcasting should be used to complement
rather than marginalise community radio, by providing broadcasting services
in communities where very few, if any, media services exist. The
organisations also pointed out that the delays in the licencing of community
radio had led to many frustrations; if these frustrations are not addressed,
then communities may be pushed to start up unlicenced pirate radio as has
been the case in the United States, where the Federal Communications
Commission has been locked in running battles with pirate radio stations.

The Unit further argued that in order to obviate this potential danger, low
power radio should be introduced only in those communities where it can be
proven that fully fledged community radio might not be sustainable for now.
Furthermore, low power radio should be introduced in cases where it can be
used as some form of piloting for fully fledged community radio. Lastly, low
power radio should strictly be awarded to communities and not commercial
concerns.

For the Community Media Policy Unit's submission, see
http://ww.fxi.org.za/whats.htm.

**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole responsibility
of FXI**