GNBA, Telecoms Agency sign agreement to make compliance with Broadcast Act easier

From January 2020, broadcasters will be able to pay both their spectrum and broadcasting fees to the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), making the compliance process easier. However, the fees will have to be paid to facilitate the issuance of their licenses.

The Guyana Telecommunications Agency –previously the National Management Frequency Unit (NMFU) –on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the GNBA to transfer its responsibility of collecting the spectrum fees to the GNBA.

The signing took place during the GNBA’s fourth engagement with owners of broadcasting agencies at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Chairman of the GNBA, Leslie Sobers signed the agreement on behalf of the GNBA while Andre Griffith, Director of the Telecommunications Agency signed on behalf of that body.

Griffith in brief remarks noted that the MoA forms part of the agency’s reform programme.

“We want to do things simpler, faster, better with the intention of making life easy for you the stakeholders out there,” he said.

According to Sobers, several complaints were received from the broadcasters who have noted that the process is burdensome.

Sobers also took the opportunity to highlight operators that are compliant. The companies include E-Networks, Movie Star and North West Television Inc.

Compliant radio stations he listed were Freedom Radio, Little Rock, Radio Guyana Inc, IRadio, Pinnacle Communications Inc., News-Talk Radio Guyana, Two Brothers Corporation and others.

Television stations include Dave TV, Little Rock, Skar TV, SCVS, MTV, NTN, Community broadcasting network and Linden broadcasting network Inc. among others.

The stakeholder engagement on Tuesday saw participation from E-Networks, Kaieteur Radio, CNS Channel 6, HGPTV, TVG, National Communications Network (NCN), News-Talk radio, Skar TV, Maadfm and Freedom radio among others.