You will soon have to pay a TV licence for your phone, tablet and laptop

Thoughts?

It has been reported this morning that the government has agreed to change the way in which we pay for a TV licence. The change will see a replacement of the traditional TV licence fee with a new "device independent broadcasting charge". So what exactly does that mean? Basically, it's a fee designed to take into account the fact that more and more people are watching content on devices such as tablets and mobile phones. In short, you'll be paying a fee to watch certain things on your phone. The whole concept comes from Minister for Communications Richard Bruton, who is seeking to massively change the TV licence system. This change is as a result of around 12% of people evading paying their TV licence fee. To help solve the issue, the government is announcing a five-year contract for the collection of the licence fee, which will be put out to public tender later this year. Minister Bruton said that "it is clear that due to the nature of technological change and the movement towards digital devices, the design of the TV licence fee will have to change". He also added: "This is a fundamental reform that will take time to develop, but it will future proof the funding model, taking account of changes in technology and in how content is now consumed." What are your thoughts on this reform?