LICENSING CRITERIA

The Broadcasting Act stipulates that the right to distribute radio and TV programmes is vested in public radio and television entities and persons that were granted a licence to pursue such activities (Art.2 Par. 1). The power to grant such licences has been vested in Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT).

The basic and most important act of law which regulates the licensing rules is the Broadcasting Act of December 29, 1992 (Official Journal of 2004, No. 253, Item 2531 as amended). Its provisions have been supplemented by a regulation adopted by the National Broadcasting Council on the contents of an application and a special procedure to be followed when granting and revoking licences to distribute radio and TV programmes (Official Journal of 1993, no. 52, Item 244 as amended).

An application for a licence for terrestrial distribution of radio and television programmes may be filed after an Announcement about the licensing process is published by the Chairman of the National Council in the „Monitor Polski," the Official Journal of the Republic of Poland, in consultation with the President of the Office of Electronic Communication. The texts of such announcements are also published on the Council's website. Within 14 days after the announcement is published by the „Monitor Polski", the Council's Chairman also publishes an information about the Announcement in two nationwide dailies (the Rzeczpospolita and the Gazeta Wyborcza dailies).

All interested parties interested should file for a licence by the date specified in the Announcement in the forms available at the Council's Office and on its Internet site. Then a list of applicants is published on the Council's website by the Council's Chairman and also displayed to the public at the Council's Office.

The applications for licences to distribute radio and TV programmes by satellite or cable may be filed any time (as the licensing process does not require any competition because licence granting does not involve the reservation of terrestrial frequencies which are „in short supply"). The application forms are available in the Council's Office and on the Council's website.

A decision to grant a licence is taken by the National Broadcasting Council in the form of a resolution which is then sent to the President of the Office of Electronic Communication who approves its technical aspects by way of a decision. The final stage of the licensing procedure consists in that a decision is issued by the Council's Chairman.

A fee is charged for the licence on top of other charges for the use of radio and telecommunication equipment and frequency defined by the Telecommunications Act. Fee calculation has been defined in detail by the Council's regulation on fees for licences to distribute radio and TV programmes (Official Journal of 2000 No. 12 Item 153 as amended; Official Journal of 2000 No. 90 Item 1007 as amended).