Madam, - Fintan O'Toole's column of February 14th, entitled "Regulator that likes to say yes", contained a number of damaging factual inaccuracies about Phantom FM which should be corrected.
Firstly, the article states that "when the new licence came up, Phantom went off air again". This is incorrect. Phantom ceased FM operations on May 28th 2003, almost a year before the licence was advertised in May 2004.
The article goes on to state that Phantom FM held a "special event" license without specifying a special event. The statutory provision for temporary sound broadcasting contracts is that they are limited purely by duration, and are not limited by use for special events or otherwise. Many stations, from oldies music to ethnic services and traffic information, have used these temporary contracts.
The piece then claims that Phantom FM accepted advertising during its temporary broadcasts, in contravention of Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) rules. This too is incorrect. Phantom did not take advertisements during either temporary contract. Sponsorship is, however allowed; this includes mentions of a sponsor's name, slogan and contact details.
The column then claims that "Phantom was supposed to submit sponsorship messages to BCI for approval". However, there is no requirement for sponsorship messages to be submitted to the BCI for approval in advance.
Possibly the most serious allegation is that Phantom FM broadcast for a period of time without libel insurance. Insurance cover was in place for the entire duration of the broadcasts for both temporary contracts and covered both companies concerned at all times.
Given the above clarifications, allegations of being "rather less than punctilious" about license requirements cannot be justified and could unfairly damage the reputation of Phantom FM. - Yours, etc,
SIMON MAHER, General Manager, Phantom FM, Camden Row Dublin 8.