BLAST FROM THE PAST? A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BROADCAST LICENSING IN THE DIGITAL ERA

The advent of new broadcasting technologies has eliminated spectrum scarcity as a constraint on broadcasting, and with it one of the justifications for broadcast licensing. Have nations moved away from licensing as a form of regulation of their broadcasting sectors? And concomitantly, is there less opportunity to use licensing as a means of promoting the public interest in broadcasting? The authors address these questions through a comparative study of licensing requirements for terrestrial broadcasting and other forms of television and radio distribution in 18 Western nations.