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New Flexibilities

Liberalisation Measures 2005

Liberalised licence classes

11. Which licence classes have been liberalised and what kind of new flexibilities have been introduced?

Services covered by Phase 1 liberalisation include broadband access services to businesses and consumers, a very wide range of business radio services, for example transport organisations and the utilities (e.g. British Gas), and point-to-point communication links.

The table below is a list of licence classes in Phase 1 with illustrations of the sorts of variations Ofcom would expect to be able to grant.

Licence sector	Licence class	Liberalisation in January 2005
Business Radio (previously known as Public Mobile Operator (PMO))	Analogue PAMR	Liberalised technology through new single Interface Requirement. Any change of licence class to National Paging, Data Networks or National & Regional PBR .
	National Paging	Liberalised technology through new single Interface Requirement. Change of licence class to Analogue PAMR, Data Networks or National & Regional PBR .
	Data Networks	Liberalised technology through new single Interface Requirement. Change of licence class to Analogue PAMR, National Paging or National & Regional PBR .
	Common Base Station	Liberalised technology through new single Interface Requirement. No minimum subscriber requirement
Business Radio (previously known as Private Business Radio ( PBR ))	National & Regional Private Business Radio	Liberalised technology through new single Interface Requirement. Change of licence class to Analogue PAMR, National Paging or Data Networks.
Fixed Wireless Access	3.4 GHz	Liberalisation of technology and use for fixed services. Frequency and geography partition available under trading.
	3.6 GHz	Liberalisation of technology and use for fixed services. Frequency and geography partition.
	28 GHz	Liberalisation of technology and use for fixed services. Frequency and geography partition available under trading.
Fixed Service	Point to point fixed links	Technical reconfiguration.
	Scanning Telemetry	Technical reconfiguration.

Further information on these licence classes can be found on the Ofcom website at www.ofcom.org.uk .

12. Will Ofcom allow other types of variation other than those in the table?

Yes, Ofcom will consider any licence variation requests, but these may take a bit longer to assess. In the first instance we recommend that you contact the Ofcom spectrum liberalisation helpdesk for the type of service you are interested in. As well as discussing the feasibility of the request the helpdesk will also establish what information Ofcom will require from an applicant to progress their request.

Requests for complex or novel variations may require detailed technical analyses, consultation with third parties, and international coordination. We will endeavour to process these as quickly as reasonably possible and will in any case within a month of receipt of the application inform the applicant of our plan and projected timescale for progressing the application.

13. Which licence classes will be next on the list?

Ofcom intends to extend liberalisation to more licence classes in early 2009 and is currently consulting on proposals beyond 2005 for more radical reforms to make licences flexible and technology-neutral and also to extend liberalisation to certain mobile services. The Spectrum Framework Review (SFR) and associated Spectrum Framework Review: Implementation Plan (SFR:IP) provide further details.

The table below gives an indication of the classes where Ofcom aims to introduce spectrum liberalisation and of the relevant time scales.

Timescale	Liberalisation
Early 2009	Following introduction of new assignment tool for Business radio Ofcom intend to: Increase flexibility for wide-area- PBR , Onsite and CBS Simplify licence classes and licences to offer great flexibilities on use. Introduce geographical partitioning and more flexible frequency partitioning. Review arrangements for managing the scanning telemetry spectrum.
From 2006	Ofcom’s Spectrum Framework Review seeks views on proposals for radical reform of licences to be more technology-neutral and generically flexible. Ofcom’s consultation document Spectrum Framework Review: Implementation Plan (January 2005) seeks views about extending liberalisation to 2G and 3G bands. Proposals will be made in the light of responses to these consultations.

14. Under what circumstances might variations not be authorised?

Ofcom has broad discretion under section 1(4) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 to agree to vary licences but legal rules operate to limit that discretion. These legal rules include the following.

• Ofcom will not agree to remove restrictions from licences where that would conflict with the UK ’s obligations under international law. This includes changes in use or technology that would contravene binding Community measures, such as EU Directives or harmonisation measures adopted under the Radio Spectrum Decision (676/2002/EC) and ITU Radio Regulations.
• Ofcom must comply with any direction from the Secretary of State under sections 5 or 156 of the Communications Act 2003 and could not agree to a variation that would conflict with such a direction.
• Ofcom must act in accordance with its statutory duties, including the duty to ensure optimal use of the spectrum, and obligations under the European Authorisation Directive (2002/20/EC).
• Ofcom must act in accordance with general legal principles, which include the duties to act reasonably and rationally when making decisions and to take account of legitimate expectations.

In addition, Ofcom would not expect to allow variations that are predicted to lead to an excessive increase in interference (see following section).

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