I was talking of before she was 75 when she was told she had to pay the full rate because other people could watch her TV so she just paid up. I think that rules have been relaxed since then as I am over 75 and get a free licence at the moment although I read that the BBC want to scrap that...
My mother was registered blind so we suggested that she buy a black and white tv rather than a colour one bercause of the licence fee but had trouble finding a reasonably decent one.