[1] The introduction of receiving licences was implemented by the General Post Office (GPO) using powers within the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904.
Section 2 of the act allowed the Postmaster General to charge for the issuing of licenses permitting the "experimental" receipt of radio transmissions.
A return made to Parliament in June 1906 showed that in the first two years of operation only sixty eight receiving licences were issued.
With the forming of the public British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927, the Post Office dedicated nearly the entirety of licence fee income to the funding of the BBC.
[1] The standard broadcast receiving licences covered reception of the BBC's 405-line television service between November 1936 and September 1939 at no additional cost.