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but reading this just makes me picture smirking slimey jobsworths rubbing their hands with glee. Amazed that ministers at the start of the last century had the fore-sight to include laws on viewing live TV broadcasts via your 3G mobile phone in the 1904 Wireless Telegraphy Act.

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Mobile phone users get licence warning

Dominic Timms
Monday February 13, 2006

Mobile phone users excited at the prospect of watching television on their Nokias and Sony Ericssons without a TV licence face the same fines as those caught without one at home.
As the mobile industry debates the future of television on phones and other portable devices at its convention in Barcelona, there's a warning closer to home that the new technology will still be subject to licensing regulations laid down in the 1904 Wireless Telegraphy Act.

TV Licensing, the body charged with collecting the ?126.50 fee (rising to ?131.50 on April 1), said that it doesn't matter whether you are watching television on a PC, mobile phone or old fashioned cathode ray tube, you must be covered by a TV licence or face a fine of up to ?1000.

"There is no difference between a mobile phone or a television or any other piece of electronic equipment used to watch live or as-live programming. You will need to be covered by a TV licence," a spokesman for the body confirmed.

But students who watch on their phones will be covered by their home licence, if it has one, but will still be required to obtain a separate licence if they chose to watch on their PCs.

"Those watching PCTVs or TVs either in halls of residence or shared accommodation do require TV licences for that address. However, those who only ever use a mobile phone (powered by its own internal batteries) to watch live TV will be covered by their parents' licence," said the spokesman.

The authorities make no exception to how the signal is received, whether it is broadcast in the traditional sense or streamed. If you want to watch "live or near live TV" you will need to have a licence.

"We have been talking to mobile phone networks to make clear that users who watch television on their mobiles will need a valid TV licence," the spokesman added.

However, he declined to comment on what criteria the licensing body used to define "as live", saying only that even delayed broadcasts such as the "plus one hour" services run by some digital channels would still count.

The requirement will even stretch to overseas visitors who will need to either stump up the ?126.50 fee or make sure they live somewhere that covers them.

"Most people will be staying in hotels or at friends' houses where, if there is a TV licence, they will be covered," the spokesman said.

With 98% of the population already covered by a licence, most people will already be able to watch on devices other than their TVs, irrespective of the number of mobile phones or other devices they have.

Posted By: Jim Nasium, Feb 13, 12:12:01