Limited time left to register for PMSE 700MHz clearance Ofcom funding scheme
- Details
UK - With the UK Government intending to clear the 700MHz band by 1 May 2020, the registration phase of Ofcom’s 700MHz Clearance Compensation Scheme has opened for a limited time. To take advantage of the scheme, affected parties (including wireless microphone and IEM users) must register themselves and their equipment before 26 April 2019.
A statement from Ranelagh Political Communications reads: “If you held a licence for spectrum in 700MHz between 17 October 2014 and 23 August 2018 you will have received a letter containing a link and unique login code to access the website. This letter is important, but may not have gone to your technical or purchase departments, so you need to track it down. If you do not think you received the letter, but believe you are still eligible, you can call their dedicated help line on 0121 415 0283.
“The online system is easy to follow: you need to fill in details about your company, your preferred point of contact, and the details of all the equipment you are surrendering.”
Those affected need to nominate when they will surrender their equipment between July 2019 and May 2020. “Depending on when you surrender your equipment, you may receive more than the 60% value shown on the rate card,” says Ranelagh. “This is because compensation has been calculated on the loss of usable service life, so if you choose to surrender it early you have lost more life, and therefore get a slightly higher amount. If your equipment is younger than six years old you will get more, as you have lost a higher proportion of its usable life. The online system will reflect all this automatically, but it is important you put in accurate purchase dates when you detail your equipment so it can be calculated correctly.”
An additional 10% will automatically be added to the claim by Equiniti to compensate for the time and logistical cost of the process.
To be eligible, equipment must have some of its tuning range in 700Mhz, it must also have been purchased before 23 August 2018. "At least 60% of the estimated replacement cost will be covered. Some ancillary equipment like antenna distribution is included. If you have equipment that you believe is eligible but not on the rate card, you are advised to contact Equiniti without delay."
RF Health Check
To help users understand if and how they are affected by the clearance of the 700MHz band, Sennheiser has produced a document explaining the situation. The company is also offering a free RF health check to customers via its Stay Heard campaign.
