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Section 3

National Issues dealt with through industry liaison

Ofcom will liaise on a number of key issues with the fixed wireless service industry. Section 4 details the new structure which Ofcom is intending to use to network on these areas. While impossible to give an exhaustive list of things to be discussed the following gives a flavour of the main treads which are periodically discussed.

3.1 Wireless Telegraphy (WT) Act 1949 - Fixed Wireless Service Licensing

The bands allocated for fixed wireless service assignment are shown in information sheet number OfW48 (formerly RA 164). In most bands no link may be installed or operated except where a licence has been granted by Ofcom (or previously by the Secretary of State) under the WT Act. Where additional links are added or links are changed then a variation to the licence must be sought in advance.

3.2 Wireless Telegraphy (WT) Act 1998 - Spectrum Pricing and licence charges

The WT Act 1998 provided spectrum management legislation to manage spectrum more effectively and promote its optimal use. Licence fees are set out in regulations made under the WT Act 1998. The licence fee for fixed wireless services will reflect whether or not the bands are congested and whether or not the link site(s) are located in predetermined congested geographical areas. Current licence charges are set under the WT (Licence Charges) Regulation 2002 (SI 2002 no. 1700). The WT (Licence Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 no. 2983) prescribes the licence charge for 65 GHz links. A separate Regulation made 58 GHz uncoordinated links a licence exempt band. A summary of licence fees can be obtained from the Ofcom web site

3.3 Communications Act 2003

The Communications Act
(ref: www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20031900.htm) came into force in July 2003. This established the new framework for Ofcom to manage spectrum as well as to update the WT Acts and implement changes arising from new European Directives. One key change, which Ofcom is separately consulting, is the new provisions to implement spectrum trading. Please see Related Items.

3.4 R&TTE Directive (Directive 99/5/EC)

The Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (R&TTED) is European legislation which defines how the "type approval" and the regulatory compliance of radio telecommunications terminal equipment destined for the European Union have been dealt with since 1 May 2000. The R&TTED has removed the requirement for formal national type approval and replaces it with a statutory declaration of compliance. Copies of the R&TTED can be downloaded from www.europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/rtte/.

3.5 R&TTED implications on the licence

To comply with the provisions of the R&TTED, all wireless systems must comply with the 'essential requirements detailed in Article 3.2 of the Directive for equipment to be placed on the market. ETSI Technical Body Transmission & Multiplexing 4 (TM4) is mandated by the European Commission under Directive 98/34/EC (see section 3.6) to produce harmonised standards for equipment to access the European fixed wireless system market. Essential requirements are clearly stated within harmonised standards produced by ETSI TM4 for the fixed digital radio relay systems. Ofcom has responsibility for formulating the UK fixed wireless system equipment and antenna regulations. For microwave and millimetric point-to-point systems the appropriate technical regulation is Radio Interface Requirement 2000 (RIR 2000). For scanning telemetry it is RIR 2037. Both regulations are periodically reviewed with the industry to reflect any changes in needs and circumstances, such as use of technology in available frequency bands, associate path length policy and for specifying ETSI spectral efficiency equipment classes deployable in the UK.

The 'essential requirements' for point-to-point fixed wireless systems links, with the exception of scanning telemetry and 65 GHz, are covered by the multipart ETSI Harmonised Standard EN 302 217 (parts 2-2 and 4-2, respectively for equipment and antennas). Non-essential parameters are also covered in the other parts of this standard.

3.6 Directive 98/34/EC

Directive 98/34/EC is intended to help avoid the creation of trade barriers within the European Union. It requires Member States to supply drafts of their Technical Regulations to the European Commission (EC) to allow other Member States the opportunity to influence the outcome.

All new and revised technical regulations are notified to the EC under the Directive notification procedures. They are subject to a three-month mandatory 'stand still period' for consultation, which starts when they are received by the EC. Following the "stand still period", and provided no objections are received from Member States, the new or amended technical regulation can be published.

3.7 Assignment considerations

Spectrum available on a co-ordinated basis is in the 1.4, 4, L6, U6, 7.5, 13, 15, 18, 22, 25, 32, 38, 52, 55 and 65 GHz bands. 58 GHz is now a licence exempt band. Some of the key issues concerning the fixed wireless services spectrum follow:

3.7.1 Assignment processes

These are the principles of assignment used in Ofcom's assignment tools. The high level detail on a band-by-band basis is prescribed in Ofcom's technical frequency assignment criteria (TFAC) available from Ofcom's web site. These processes and documents are always subject to updating and amendment to incorporate the latest propagation research, ITU recommendations and more.

3.7.2 Service availability

'Service availability' or the mean propagation availability used in determining the customers' overall link budgets. Related issues cover assignable EIRP, requirements for the use of protected (duplicated) equipment and applicability of other availability protection techniques.

3.7.3 Hi/Lo status

The designation of "transmit high" or "transmit low" sites depending on the frequencies currently in use on the site. Periodically updates to the hi/lo configuration documentation are made on Ofcom's website and brought to the industry's attention through the liaison process.

3.7.4 Choice of band, coordination with other services and organisations

Advising on the choice of frequency band which primarily depends on the path length policy, on the nature of the service and whether or not the spectrum is shared with other services. Shared spectrum requires different services to be co-ordinated to internationally agreed levels of interference.

Frequency choice for point-to-point fixed wireless services in the UK depends principally on path length and traffic capacity. RIR 2000 details all co-ordinated and un-coordinated frequency bands and associated minimum path length policy administered in the UK by Ofcom.

The path length policy is used to preserve spectrum in the lower frequency bands for longer, high capacity links (which can only be accommodated in these bands). Ofcom operates the policy to select the appropriate frequency band for a given link. These limits are based on distances below which it would be reasonable to expect the next highest band available to the operator to be used. Requirements for links operating outside of the Minimum Path Length policy will be considered on case-by-case basis.

Note that the path length policy does not apply to:

1.4 GHz fixed links with capacities below 2 Mbit/s;
31 GHz video surveillance systems; and
Any fixed link band above 38 GHz.

3.7.5 Site clearance

Advising on site clearance exemption conditions and dealing with a range of compatibility issues such as blocking, inter-modulation, obstructions and more. Ensuring that the licensee understands the current antenna and mast planning requirements and where they constitute a hazard, particularly to aircraft.

3.7.6 Wind-farm coordination

Advising on the criteria for wind-farm coordination for fixed wireless services.

3.7.7 Other assignment considerations

Covering things like:

Special treatment of offshore fixed links used by the oil and gas industries and more;
Generally licensing procedures and fees and associated changes;
Seeking industry opinion on the continuing use of legacy equipment due to imposed spectrum management change and programmes (e.g. 450-470 band reversal, digital switch-off and more).

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