Vol. 415 No. 7
90 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if a television company (details supplied) have applied to her Department for a direct signal; if she will grant this request; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
The company concerned represented the cable and MMDS industry on a group chaired by my Department to develop feasible options for the establishment and operation of a national distribution network that would meet the requirements of organisations involved in the provision of broadcasting services to the public. In the case of the cable and MMDS industry such a network would enhance the reliability of UK television signals distributed on their systems which, because they are of the fringe variety, can be subject to unavoidable interference.
In the light of the work of this group my Department have invited representatives of the cable and MMDS industry to assist in the detailed frequency spectrum planning that will be necessary in order to determine the precise frequency spectrum that can be made available for this purpose, before frequencies can be allocated.
