Regulatory authorities dragging their feet over extension of radio licenses

With just a few months left until the licenses for private radio stations begin to expire, various regulatory bodies are having a great deal of difficulty agreeing to terms for prolonging the licenses. For example the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiT) and the Telecoms Ministry have spent the past four months unsuccessfully trying to decide which frequencies the new licenses would cover. The Ministry, meanwhile, has said that it will begin renewing licenses when the Telecommunications Institute and the Military Technical Academy (WAT) prepare "technical" analyses of radio networks. The analyses were meant to optimize the use of available frequencies. However, both institutions deny having been asked to prepare them. The first licenses to expire, in May and June 2001, are those of Radio Zet and RMF FM, the two largest private radio stations in Poland. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p 38)