"Andrew Oakley" wrote in message
...

[snip]


I used to be able to take a small shortwave whip-antenna radio on
holiday to America and listen to the BBC back home. Now I can't.

Now either I have to carry around thirty metres of random wire and
some very detailed frequency charts, or I have to lug my laptop which
can't stay away from the mains electricty for more than 3 hours and
requires me to subscribe to expensive mobile internet connections (or
worse, expose my security to the prospect of hijacking someone else's
open network).

The World Service is still often heard very well in the US, but, you're
generally correct. The World Service isn't as reliable here as it used to
be.


I can't overstate how ****ed off I am about this. The BBC made their
overseas radio services difficult, expensive and non-portable. I miss
my radio.

And to top it all, my TV licence, paying the BBC, has gone up again!
If it wasn't for Doctor Who I'd be picketting Bush House.

In theory, you could give up TV and avoid the license fee. However, the
World Service is funded by a "government grant".

"BBC World Service is funded by Government grant and not your TV licence.
Profits from separate BBC commercial services help to keep the licence fee
low. "

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/

I take it that "Government grant" is a polite way of saying "You're paying
for it, whether you like it or not".


Frank Dresser