GNBA will seek to have illegal cable operators charged criminally

Oct 15, 2017 News

The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) will be stern in its dealings with illegal cable operators. Chairman of the Authority’s Board of Directors, Leslie Sobers, said as much during an interview with this newspaper.

Chairman of GNBA, Leslie Sobers

Sobers said that the illegal operators are being given a very long rope as the Authority is currently taken up in its handling of legal broadcasters. The Authority is now hustling to get all legal broadcasters to pay their fees.
Also, GNBA has to examine the applications that have been submitted to it for licences under the regulations stipulated in the Broadcasting Amendment Bill of 2017. Further, the GNBA has its hands full monitoring broadcasters who had grown accustomed to a free ride.
Sobers said that the illegal cable operators are therefore being given a long enough time to get their act together.
“We understand that there are cable operators who have been illegally running cables. They have no licences or application on file and they are just doing what they like. We will deal with those,” said Sobers.
He opted to send those operators a message. “Let them put themselves in order because when we turn our attentions to them we will deal with them condignly. When we are finished dealing with bonafide broadcasters and our new applicants, we will turn our attention to those who are illegal and deal with them condignly.”
Sobers continued, “They will not be able to say that they have not got an opportunity to put themselves in order. You should not be broadcasting in the first instance without a licence. Further, you should not be transmitting information by cable without a licence.
“So once we accumulate the necessary information to move in on the illegal ones we will do so and put them before the court.”
Sobers told Kaieteur News that all legal cable operators are in compliance with the regulations of the Broadcasting Industry and have been paying their fees.

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