Gregoire Kretz
You are getting confused. Television isn't a public service. The BBC is a public service, because it is paid for with public money.
If your argument is that the BBC shouldn't be paid for by public money, then the licence should be scrapped and the BBC should be cut adrift to survive as either a subcription or advert funded service. But we live in a democracy and most people disagree with you, so there you go.
If the BBC is a public funded service then those funds should be collected fairly. The current system is getting progressively more unfair in singling out TV owners. Firstly, there are ever increasing numbers of TV owners who have no desire to watch the BBC - why should they be required to pay more than someone who doesn't own a TV? In addition, the BBC produce mbuttive amounts of web content which is available to everyone, everywhere.
Eg, my place of work would require a TV licence before I would be allowed to watch TV there in my break (even though I have a licence myself). But I can access the BBC website, no problem. That website was paid for by people who can't even afford a computer and an internet conecction, but it is accessed in locations which don't have a TV licence. How do you square that?
