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After several decades in which the national broadcaster, RTE, enjoyed a monopoly of the airwaves and up to 80-90 unlicensed "pirate" radio stations played cat-and-mouse with the law, a system for licensed commercial broadcasting was finally introduced in Ireland in 1988 under the Radio and Television Act of that year. The Act established the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC), which was to enter into contracts for the provision of independent private commercial radio and television broadcasting on a national and local level, as well as community and special interest broadcasting...

Reception of UK television stations available by aerial in border areas and the cast of Ireland, was extended to urban areas by cable, under licence, from 1981. In rural areas, cable systems were uneconomic and so the Government decided in 1988 to invite applications for "exclusive licenses" to operate an MMDS system (Microwave Multipoint Distribution System). However, a number of unlicened and much less expensive deflector systems had already begun to operate, and despite repeated calls from Government to desist, continued to operate after the exclusive licences had been allocated to other operators....