137.— (1) The Contract Awards Committee shall, in accordance with this Part, consider every application for a multiplex contract received by it pursuant to a notice under section 136 for the purpose of determining the most suitable applicant, if any, to be awarded a multiplex contract.

(2) In the consideration of applications received by it and in determining the most suitable applicant to be awarded a multiplex contract, the Contract Awards Committee shall have regard to—

(a) the character, expertise and experience of the applicant or, if the applicant is a body corporate, the character, expertise and experience of the body and its directors, manager, secretary or other similar officer and its members and the persons entitled to the beneficial ownership of its shares,

(b) the adequacy of the financial resources that will be available to each applicant and the extent to which the application accords with good business and economic principles,

(c) the range and type of programme material or compilations of programme material proposed to be included in the multiplex by the applicant and how the applicant proposes to secure continued inclusion of such material,

(d) in the case of a television multiplex, the proposals by the applicant for promoting the acquisition by persons in the proposed coverage area of equipment capable of—

(i) receiving, identifying and, subject to the viewer gaining any necessary entitlements for non free-to-air services, decoding and displaying all of the television multiplexes available or expected to be available in that area, including the national television multiplex referred to in section 130 (1) (a), and

(ii) enabling such persons to keep themselves informed of the choice of programme material included in those multiplexes,

(e) the extent of the coverage area proposed to be achieved by the applicant,

(f) the technical proposal, including a timetable for implementation, regarding the establishment, maintenance and operation of the proposed multiplex,

(g) in the case of a sound broadcasting multiplex, the proposals by the applicant for facilitating the inclusion of any listed simulcast services and promoting such services,

(h) any other matters which the Contract Awards Committee considers to be necessary to secure the orderly establishment, maintenance and operation of multiplexes, and

(i) the desirability of allowing any person, or groups of persons, to have control of, or a substantial interest in, an undue amount of communications media in the area specified in the notice under section 136 (3).