Uganda - Renewal of Radio Commercial Broadcasting License-FM

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Procedure

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is mandated to license all broadcasting service providers in accordance with Section 5 of the Uganda Communications Act 2013.

1. The application for a renewal of radio commercial Broadcasting license is done on the prescribed application form for renewal of broadcasting Licence and in line with the guidelines for application of commercial broadcasting services issued by the commission.This application form and guidelines are available on the commission’s website for free download.
2. After downloading the Application form, fill it and submit to the commission the completed application form and requisite supporting documents as stipulated on the application form.And must be accompanied by the following documents.
   • Income tax clearance from Uganda revenue Authority.
   • A Copy of the previous Broadcasting Licence certificate and a receipt.
3. The receiving officer shall check for completeness of the form to ensure it meets the renewal licensing requirements and register your application as received.
4. The receiving officer will then issue you with a Payment Instruction Form, which the cashier will use to receive payment of the requisite application fees.Once payment is done, the Register of details of the application shall be updated on your application.
5. The receiving officer will forward the application and supporting documents to the next level for further scrutiny and confirmation that the application complies with all the requirements.
6. The Evaluation team will prepare a report of their evaluation and present a summary to the UCC Communications Licensing Committee (CLC) for further consideration.
7. If an application is found satisfactory by UCC based on the evaluation report and recommendations or /not recommend the application for a renewal of a Licence, the Commission shall in accordance with the CLC decision perform the following tasks:
   • Where the application is not recommended for Renewal of a licence, official communication shall be prepared informing the Applicant of the reasons the application was not successful and the requirements for the applications to be processed further, if applicable; and
   • where the application is recommended for renewal of a licence, the process of gazetting the application shall be initiated
   • where CLC(communication Licensing Committee directs that the application be subjected for further processes prior to being recommended for licence award, the applicant shall be accordingly updated if necessary.
8. For an approved renewal application, the commission shall accept such a renewal of the application if the applicant of FM station satisfies all the following:
   • Has been having a valid broadcasting license issued by UCC before renewal.
   • Has been compliant with the frequency authorization terms and conditions.
   • Has expressed interest to renew in writing in accordance to section 8(i) of the telecommunication (radio) regulation 2005
9. The commission shall issue a renewable radio broadcasting license following successful inspection by the Commission after clearance of all outstanding fees/dues to UCC.

This is subject that there is no change in Government Policy, the National Table of Frequency Allocation or the respective frequency band plan in respect of the broadcasting services/operations.

Note:
Application form for renewal of Radio Commercial broadcast Licence FM must be completed by a proprietor of radio.

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Required Documents

The following documents shall be maintained and made readily available and accessible at the station’s premises for inspection and verification by UCC.

• Copy of expired license certificate issued by UCC;
• previous instruction service manuals to enable technical personnel carry out the necessary re-installation, operation and maintenance of transmitter and other equipment;
• previous Operational and maintenance log book that includes operational performance, maintenance works and changes made to the transmission equipment during maintenance or re-installations in the past period;
• Copy of Type approval certificates issued by UCC for FM broadcast transmitter, STL equipment (as applicable) and band pass filter; and
• Copy of an electrical installation clearance certificate from UMEME Ltd/ other electricity distribution licensed by Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) for the station premises and transmission facility.
  

Business Plan

• Business objectives.
• Business concept (business and service/product description, customer and geographical coverage etc).
• Economic, market and financial analysis (with proposed initial prices and cash flow statement for previous period).
• Evidence of capital (bank deposits, credit facilities and audited accounts for the past financial year(s)).
• Operations arrangements (human resource plan, customer service plan, support arrangements).

Company profile

• Nature and structure of the applicant (a subsidiary, associated companies, joint ventures, etc).
• Certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of the company in Uganda.
• Certified copy of the Certificate of registration (if not incorporated in Uganda).
• Certified copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Technical application

• Detailed description of planned infrastructure facilities, indicating technology to be used, capacities to be installed (in switching and transmission facilities) and illustrated with network diagram if different from the previous one.
• Facilities/infrastructure sharing initiatives taken or planned leasing from other licensed providers.
• Roll out plan.
• Essential resource/ facilities requirements.
• Interconnection interface arrangements/requirements.
• Disaster recovery plan.
• Demonstration of technical experience.

Office Locations & Contacts

Uganda Communications Commission - Head Office,
Plot 42 - 44, Spring road, Bugolobi
Kampala, Uganda
P.O. Box 7376
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: + 256 414 339000/ 312 339000
Fax: + 256 414 348832
E-mail: ucc@ucc.co.ug
Website: Link

Eligibility

Any person(s) or company, society, and partnerships registered in Uganda can apply for a renewal Radio Broadcasting License. However, political parties, movements and human right activists are not eligible for a broadcasting License.

Fees

• Application Fee (UShs.) (payable when submitting renewal application form), Ugsh. 500,000.
• Initial Licence Fee (UShs.) (payable after approval and before issuance of licence), Ugsh. 9,400,000 (Commercial Radio Stations)

Validity

Validity: 2 Years

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Renewal application form

Processing Time

Maximum Processing Time: 30 Working days.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
e.g. The state office holds birth records since january 1908.

Required Information

• Name of Station
• Name of Applicant
• Frequency
• Maximum power output of transmitter
• Transmitter Location
• Studio Location
• District of operation
• Postal Address
• Number of years in operation
• Date of expiry of broadcast License.
• Name(s) and Nationalities of Directors
• Applying entity’s contacts
• phone number
• postal address
• email address
• physical address
• Licence details
• Type of Licence.
• Provide the name of the area(s) you wish to provide the broadcasting service if different from the previous.
• Language of broadcast service.
• Station identity of broadcasting service.
• Status of previous application. (Approved or rejected or suspended)
• whether any of the partners/ directors/ shareholders have a beneficial interest in any other business licensed to provide or operate telecommunication and or broadcasting services.
• If any previous license granted to you under the act been cancelled, suspended or modified.
• Referees details

Need for the Document

Please provide the need for the procedure. e.g. Birth Certificate - why do we need to have a birth certificate? 
 

Information which might help

In accordance with provisions of statutory instrument of the Uganda Communications Act, it is illegal to provide any form of broadcasting service in Uganda without a license. Contravention of this law attracts a fine not exceeding Ugshs. 10, 000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

link1
link2
link3

Others

More information which might help people.