National Communications Authority (NCA)
The National Communications Authority (NCA) has shut down a private radio station said to be operating illegally at Sahara, a suburb of Dansoman in Accra.
Officers of the NCA, accompanied by police personnel, stormed the premises of Radio Dam, which was operating on 104.9FM – an unapproved frequency – and took it off air.
The illegal radio station, according to a press statement by the NCA, was being operated from the living room of the owners without authorisation, contrary to Section 3 (1) of the Electronics Communications Act 2008 (Act 775).
The station was discovered in a routine spectrum monitoring exercise conducted by the NCA.
According to the statement, the operators of the station had denied running an FM station, insisting that they only operated an online station.
But the NCA insists it has recordings of the station operating on the illegal frequency of 104.9FM.
It stated, “Upon checks on the premises, it was discovered that the transmitter, which was subsequently confiscated, had been hidden under the station’s banner.”
The NCA has therefore cautioned the operators of the station to cease operating the frequency.
It further warned, “if they do not desist from broadcasting the illegal broadcasting service, the NCA will cause their arrest and subsequent prosecution” in pursuance to Section 73(1)(b)(c) of Act 775 which provides that a person who knowingly fails to comply with prescribed standards and requirements for the use of radio spectrum…commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine or to a term of imprisonment.
Sanctions
The National Communications Authority has in recent times been on the necks of radio operators who had flouted the regulations of the Authority.
In September this year, the NCA revoked the licences of 34 radio stations across the country for failing to renew their operation licences, among other offences.
Some 131 FM Authorisation Holders were also found to have committed various infractions pertaining to their authorisations to operate as contained in Section 13 of the Electronics Communications Act 2009 (Act 775).
The sanctions followed the completion of a nationwide FM Spectrum Audit conducted by the NCA to determine compliance of Authorisation Holders with their Authorisation conditions.
The Ministry of Communications later last month – after a consultation with the NCA – offered conditional reprieves to the radio stations by slashing their fines by 50%.
By Gibril Abdul Razak