POSTAL CONGRESS

Evening Star, Issue 21641, 9 February 1934, Page 3

POSTAL CONGRESS

IMPORTANT ISSUE OF BROADCASTING FEES [Pek United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, February 8. After attending the postal congress now being held in Cairo, the directorgeneral of the Post and Telegraph Department (Mr G.. AFNamara) will proceed to England, where lie will investigate a number of matters affecting the department and its welfare. These will include the question of broadcasting in relation to the payment of royalties for the use of certain patent rights. New Zealand radio listeners will be- particularly interested in this phase of Mr M’Namara’s mission. Notice of its intention to terminate the present agreement under which Amalgamated Wireless of Australasia Ltd., receives a royalty on the fees paid by radio listeners was served on the company last year by the New Zealand Government. This notice will terminate on Alay 1 next. Listeners in this country pay an annual license fee of 30s, and of this sum 3s is paid over to Amalgamated 'Wireless as a royalty for the use of certain patents held by the company. Some months before the New Zealand Government notified the company that if intended to terminate the agreement, a similar course was taken by the Federal Government of Australia. In the Commonwealth, the license fee is 24s per annum, and the Australian Government also had an agreement with the company whereby the latter receive 3s out of every license fee. The license fees are collected in New Zealand by the Post and Telegraph Department, which retains 2s out of every 30s paid by listeners as a commission to cover the cost of collection. This leaves the Broadcasting Board with 25s out of every 30s to provide the broadcasting service.