“WE
were totally blocked out by Trinibashment,” stated Solomon
Gabriel, Chief Executive Officer and owner of Sidewalk Radio 92.1FM.
Solomon who claims that Trinibashment 91.9FM, owned by Soca mogul
Neil “Iwer” George, has been interfering with Sidewalk’s
frequency from the time they launched and started transmission on
December 31, 2005.
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“We have been strangled from the start,” he claimed,
“they have been using Sidewalk Radio frequency before we were
even operational at our Curepe office,” he said.
Solomon explained to TnT Mirror: “Trinibashment was granted
a community radio operators licence that was supposed to be only
meeting the parameters of Point Fortin.”
He alleged: “The management of Trinibashment have taken disregard
for the licence and went on to broadcast like they have a major
territory radio operators licence.”
He added: “With complaints from other organisations about
the unscrupulous thinking of Trinibashment thinking they were warned
by the Telecommunication Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT)
which oversees the operations of radio licence operators.”
Solomon stated: “The letter dated on January 13, 2006, stated
clearly that through TATT investigations they have determined that
Trinibashment FM Radio Station broadcasting on 91.9MHz is causing
harmful interference to Sidewalk Radio 92.1FM.”
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SOLOMON
GABRIEL,
CEO and
owner of
Sidewalk
Radio.
NEIL “Iwer”
GEORGE
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He
further stated: “The TATT stated that this interference is
being experienced within the coverage area of the community licence
held by Sidewalk Radio and outside of your Trinibashment authorised
coverage area as stipulated in current licence.”
“Although the TATT have tried to resolve the matter by re-assigning
Sidewalk Radio to another broadcast frequency, 92.3FM the issue
of compensation for the harmful interference caused is still to
be hammered out,” he explained.
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Solomon added: “They are claiming
damages from the time that Trinibashment Limited was issued
its first compliance letter from the TATT in 2005 to February
28, 2006, which is the date that both stations were given
major territorial licence to expand their parameters.”
He continued: “This matter has been heard in the High
Court before Honourable Justice Judith Jones on September
20, 2006.”
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The
warning letter sent to Trinibashment.
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He explained: “This
transformation from Community to Major Territorial is going to
be quite a difficult feat since the radio in its present state
never got its fair chance in the market due to the interference
and the impending legal battle.” Solomon stated: “Tambrin
Radio 92.1FM in Tobago has the same frequency as Sidewalk Radio
and there is no interference because they have stayed in their
boundaries according to the TATT act.”
In frustration, Solomon said, “that advertising agency were
not interested with Sidewalk because no one in Port of Spain could
hear the station because of Trinibashment interference when Sidewalk
was licence to broadcast in Port of Spain.”
“The whole market share they have taken from us,”
Solomon stated. Mirror tried to contact “Iwer” George
manager of Trinibashment but was unable to get a response from
him up to Press time.
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