The revelation was made in an official document prepared last month by the Malta Communications Authority but published only recently, a copy of which has been obtained by this paper.

The Broadcasting Act stipulates that it is the Broadcasting Authority which assigns the television and radio frequency allocated to it by the government.

However, sources close to the matter said that the process leading to Telever getting the actual licence – thus becoming the fifth terrestrial television station in Malta – was still going on.

Light might be shed on the issue when the Broadcasting Authority holds a press conference tomorrow to announce the results of its long-awaited study to assess whether it is feasible to open new radio and television stations in the already-saturated Maltese media market.

The study was commissioned last year and was scheduled to be completed by April 2004. However, it had been delayed.

The BA had decided that before issuing further television and radio licences, it would first commission this study.

This decision was taken after the BA received seven expressions of interest for a terrestrial television licence by the deadline of 4 July 2003.

These were from Joseph Grima on behalf of International Communications Corporation, Fr John Baptist Farrugia, P. J. Vassallo on behalf of Where’s Everybody?, Dr Anna Mallia on behalf of Front Maltin Inqumu, Tony Mejlaq on behalf of Techinvest Ltd, Dr Harry Vassallo on behalf of Alternattiva Demokratika and Vincent Buhagiar on behalf of Allied Newspapers Ltd.

VER Co. Ltd (the company promoting Telever) had been the sole applicant when the BA issued a call for applications for a terrestrial television licence in February 2001.

The promoter of the application was Qala Archpriest Fr Karm Refalo, who runs the community radio station Radju Lehen il-Qala.