Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1949 c. 54 |
| Year | 1949 |
Wireless Telegraphy Act , 1949
(12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6) CHAPTER 54
An Act to amend the law relating to wireless telegraphy.
[30th July 1949]
Be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Regulation of Wireless Telegraphy
1 Licensing of wireless telegraphy.
(1) No person shall establish or use any station for wireless telegraphy or instal or use any apparatus for wireless telegraphy except under the authority of a licence in that behalf granted by the Postmaster General, and any person who establishes or uses any station for wireless telegraphy or instals or uses any apparatus for wireless telegraphy except under and in accordance with such a licence shall be guilty of an offence under this Act:
Provided that the Postmaster General may by regulations exempt from the provisions of this subsection the establishment, installation or use of stations for wireless telegraphy or wireless telegraphy apparatus of such classes or descriptions as may be specified in the regulations, either absolutely or subject to such terms, provisions and limitations as may be so specified.
(2) A licence granted under this section (hereafter in this Act referred to as a wireless telegraphy licence) may be issued subject to such terms, provisions and limitations as the Postmaster General may think fit, including in particular in the case of a licence to establish a station, limitations as to the position and nature of the station, the purposes for which, the circumstances in which, and the persons by whom the station may be used, and the apparatus which may be installed or used therein, and, in the case of any other licence, limitations as to the apparatus which may be installed or used, and the places where, the purposes for which, the circumstances in which and the persons by whom the apparatus may be used.
(3) A wireless telegraphy licence shall, unless previously revoked by the Postmaster General, continue in force for such period as may be specified in the licence.
(4) A wireless telegraphy licence may be revoked, or the terms, provisions or limitations thereof varied, by a notice in writing of the Postmaster General served on the holder of the licence or by a general notice applicable to licences of the class to which the licence in question belongs published in such manner as may be specified in the licence.
(5) Where a wireless telegraphy licence has expired or has been revoked, it shall be the duty of the person to whom the licence was issued, and of every other person in whose possession or under whose control the licence may be, to cause the licence to be surrendered to the Postmaster General if required by the Postmaster General so to do, and any person who without reasonable excuse fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence under this Act:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to a licence relating solely to apparatus not designed or adapted for emission (as opposed to reception).
(6) Nothing in this section shall authorise the inclusion, in any wireless telegraphy licence relating solely to apparatus not designed or adapted for emission (as opposed to reception), of any term or provision requiring any person to concede any form of right of entry into any private dwellinghouse.
2 Fees and charges for wireless telegraphy licences.
(1) On the issue or renewal of a wireless telegraphy licence, and, where the regulations under this section so provide, at such times thereafter as may be prescribed by the regulations, there shall be paid to the Postmaster General by the person to whom the licence is issued such sums as may be prescribed by regulations to be made by the Postmaster General with the consent of the Treasury, and different provision may be made in relation to different licences, according to the nature, terms, provisions, limitations and duration thereof:
Provided that the regulations made may contain provisions authorising, in such cases as are not otherwise dealt with by the regulations, the charge by the Postmaster General of such sums, whether on the issue or renewal of the licence or subsequently, as may in the particular case appear to him to be proper, but this proviso shall not apply to licences of any type wholly or mainly intended to meet the needs of persons desiring to use, in a private dwelling-house and without making any charge to other persons, apparatus not designed or adapted for emission (as opposed to reception).
(2) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding subsection, where, upon an application make by a person ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for the issue or renewal of a wireless telegraphy licence to instal or use apparatus not designed or adapted for emission (as opposed to reception), the Postmaster General is satisfied, by means of a certificate issued by the local authority and produced to him by the applicant, that the applicant is a blind person not resident in a public or charitable institution or in a school, the Postmaster General may dispense with the payment of any sum which would otherwise be payable on the issue or renewal of the licence.
In this subsection, the expression ‘blind person’ means a person so blind as to be unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential, and the expression ‘the local authority’ means—
(a ) in relation to any person ordinarily resident in England and Wales, the council of the county or county borough in which he is ordinarily resident;
(b ) in relation to a person ordinarily resident in a large burgh in Scotland, the town council of that burgh;
(c ) in relation to a person ordinarily resident elsewhere in Scotland, the council of the county in which he is ordinarily resident;
(d ) in relation to a person ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland, the welfare authority established under the Public Health and Local Government (Administrative Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland), 1946, for the area in which he is ordinarily resident.
(3) Where sums will or may become payable under subsection (1) of this section subsequently to the issue or renewal of a licence, the Postmaster General may, on the issue or renewal thereof, require such security to be given, by way of deposit or otherwise, for the payment of the sums which will or may become payable as he thinks fit.
3 Regulations as to wireless telegraphy.
(1) The Postmaster General may make regulations—
(a ) prescribing the things which are to be done or are not to be done in connection with the use of any station for wireless telegraphy or wireless telegraphy apparatus, and, in particular, requiring the use of any such station or apparatus to cease on the demand in that behalf of any such persons as may be prescribed by or under the regulations;
(b ) imposing on the person to whom a wireless telegraphy licence is issued with respect to any station for wireless telegraphy or wireless telegraphy apparatus, or who is in possession or control of any station for wireless telegraphy or wireless telegraphy apparatus, obligations as to permitting and facilitating the inspection of the station and apparatus, as to the condition in which the station and apparatus are to be kept and, in the case of a station or apparatus for the establishment, installation or use of which a wireless telegraphy licence is necessary, as to the production of the licence, or of such other evidence of the licensing of the station or apparatus as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(c ) where sums are or may become due from the person to whom a wireless telegraphy licence is issued after the issue or renewal thereof, requiring...
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