Independent radio 88.1FM shut down in sub-licence dispute [1]
Saturday, December 11, 2010 - 18:43. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
The independent radio station BroadCom FM88.1, shut down on Friday December 3 in a dispute with Taimi Media Network and the government, over sub-licensing and content, will have to wait until Tonga has a new Minister of Communications next year before the future of the new station can be decided.
BroadCom owners Katalina and Maka Tohi, after broadcasting freely in the Nuku'alofa area for 15 months, are upset that the Ministry of Communication and Information notified them on December 3 to go off the air immediately.
Katalina, a radio presenter, and Maka a radio engineer, who previously worked with the Tonga Broadcasting Corporation, launched their new radio station in September 2009 after signing a sub-leasing agreement with Kalafi Moala, whose Lali Network Ltd. holds a licence to operate an FM radio station on the 88.1 frequency
The CEO of the Ministry of Communications and Information, Paula Mau, said that last week on December 2 Kalafi Moala, the owner of the licence that BroadCom was operating under, had informed the Ministry in writing that he had terminated his working relationship with BroadCom.
Moala was responding to a query by the Ministry regarding content on the station.
"On the following day, December 3, BroadCom was still on air, and that was when I hand-delivered a letter to Katalina and ordered them off the air because they were operating illegally," said Paula. He added that the fine for operating a radio station without a licence is up to $15,000 or the fine plus a prison sentence.
Politics
But the BroadCom owners insist that the Ministry of Communication and Information's decision was politically motivated because of the content of some of their Post Election programs.
Kalafi Moala disagreed. "I don't think it is a Media Freedom issue. I am the licence holder and I want my licence back, as we are going to use it to go on air under our own management. This was going to take place by the end of December or after the Uike Lotu, but it has moved up because of the complaints by the Ministry of Information."
Kalafi said that BroadCom had the right to do whatever they wanted to do "but on a radio that is licensed to them, not on my license, as I am accountable to the Laws and ethics of Broadcasting."
He said that the Ministry had alleged that BroadCom was using programs to incite people and had accused broadcaster Katalina of leading and urging them on. "The issue, according to the allegations, is that certain programs were used to incite people. Media Freedom issue? I don't think so."
Licensing
Paula Ma'u said that FM88.1 began broadcasting on September 5 2009, and their understanding was that BroadCom was managing the station for Lali Network Ltd. A year later they were surprised to find out when Katalina turned up to pay for the licensing fees for the FM 88.1 that BroadCom had sub-leased the frequency from the Lali Media, now known as the Taimi Media Network, and they had signed a Memorandum of Understandings.
He said that in September 2010 Kalafi Moala was informed that the sub-leasing arrangement that he had with BroadCom was illegal, because to sub-lease his licence it had to be first approved by the Privy Council. Kalafi was given three days to respond.
Kalafi and Maka Tohi, the husband of Katalina, and the owners of BroadCom requested a three months extension, giving them time to sort themselves out.
"The three months will be up on December 15, but because of public complaints to Kalafi and to us about the program aired by BroadCom, we raised the issue with Kalafi, and he responded on December 2 that he had terminated his working relation with BroadCom," said Paula
"On December 3, BroadCom was still on air and that was when I hand-delivered our letter to Katalina and ordered them off the air," said Paula Ma'u.
BroadCom had relaunched their application for a licence that was first lodged in June 2009, said Paula, "but a decision will be made by the minister responsible under the new government."
Paula said that the problem with Tonga's FM frequency was because ordinary radio operates only between 87 and 90, and that narrow gap is packed at the moment.
"We could issue licences on frequencies beyond 90, but very few will have access to the service," explained Paula.