Sat Nov 25, 2017 6:50 pm
#1573978
The discounting period started several years ago and has now finished, so, depending on DOC - effectively the volume of space the service covers - 25kHz stations are paying between £2000 and £9000 PA already. 8.33kHz channels are one third of the price for the same DOC. This is nothing to do with the CAA, it is an OfCom thing, supposedly to encourage users to be more efficient in their spectrum use so that spectrum can be freed up for other users. The fact that this is not possible in the international air band didn't seem to bother them - they went ahead anyway.
It is wrong to conflate licensing costs with the arrival of 8.33kHz. Licensing is an OfCom thing and they, uniquely in the entire world, have decided to impose these high charges on the aviation spectrum. Europe has decided, again uniquely in the entire world, to go for 8.33kHz. The two things are completely unrelated but happen to have come together at more or less the same time to create the perfect storm for us here in the UK.
It is wrong to conflate licensing costs with the arrival of 8.33kHz. Licensing is an OfCom thing and they, uniquely in the entire world, have decided to impose these high charges on the aviation spectrum. Europe has decided, again uniquely in the entire world, to go for 8.33kHz. The two things are completely unrelated but happen to have come together at more or less the same time to create the perfect storm for us here in the UK.
johnm liked this
John