WIRELESS LICENSE FEES

Taranaki Daily News, 9 February 1934, Page 9

WIRELESS LICENSE FEES

PATENT RIGHTS PAYMENTS NOTICE TO END THE AGREEMENT. INVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICER. FINANCING OF BROADCASTING. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. After attending the postal congress now being held at Cairo the DirectorGeneral of the Post and Telegraph De-' partment, Mr. G. McNamara, will proceed to England, where he 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. McNamara’s mission. Notice of its intention to terminate the present agreement under which Amalgamated Wireless of Australasia Ltd. receives royalty on fees paid by radio listeners was served on the company last year by the New Zealand Government. This notice terminates on May 1 next. Listeners in New Zealand pay an annual license fee of 30s, and of this sum 3s is paid to Amalgamated Wireless Ltd. as royalty for the use of certain patents held by the company.

Some months before the New Zealand Government notified the company that it 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 has an agreement with the company whereby it receives 3s out of every license fee.

License fees are collected in New Zealand by the Post and Telegraph Department, which retains 2s out of every 30s fee paid by listeners as commission to cover the cost of collection. This leaves the Broadcasting Board with 25s out of every 30s to provide the broadcasting service.