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Q & As

Questions and Answers on the award of wireless telegraphy licences for use of the spectrum bands 412-414 MHz paired with 422-424 MHz

Q&A on spectrum at 410-412 MHz/420-422 MHz and the emergency services

Q&A arising from Fylingdales workshops


Q. When will Ofcom be publishing the bid documentation?

A. The full bid documentation will be published on the Ofcom Spectrum Awards website http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/spectrumawards/ shortly after the application date of 14 September 2006.

Q. We intend to transfer the initial deposit to Ofcom by CHAPS. If we send to Ofcom a copy of the CHAPS form to the bank would this be acceptable?

A. Paragraph 7 of the 412 MHz Award ‘Guidance on Submission of the initial deposit to Ofcom’ says that ‘Applicants are also advised to send a copy of their payment instructions to Ofcom before 17:00 on 14 September 2006, by e-mail to spectrumawards@ofcom.org.uk’. It is advisable to forward to Ofcom’s spectrumawards@ofcom.org.uk e-mail address a scanned copy of the CHAPS form to the bank which is endorsed with the banks date/time stamp.

Q. Is it acceptable to pay the £25,000 initial deposit in advance of the application date?

A. The initial deposit may be paid in advance of the application day on 14 September 2006. However, it is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that their chosen method of payment results in the initial deposit being received by Ofcom’s bank account before the end of the application day.

Q. Do the regulations require an original signature by each authorised person on the application and bid documents which are delivered to Ofcom. Would a faxed signature be sufficient if the relevant authorised person is not able to sign the documents at the same place on the day in question?

A. In the relevant places (such as regulations 5(3), 12(1) and 16(a)) the regulations require that particular documents to be "signed by two authorised persons" and delivered to Ofcom in a sealed envelope. Accordingly, the document which is delivered must be the document which is signed. In other words, original signatures must be on the physical document which is delivered.

A photocopied or faxed document has not itself been signed (even though it may bear a copy of a signature). Faxed copies and photocopies are therefore not acceptable.

This rule was intended to protect applicants and bidders by reducing from the possibility of fraudulent activities or activities designed to distort the outcome of the auction.

Under the regulations, applicants (in their application) must provide the name, specimen signature and position in the applicant of three "authorised persons", each of whom has authority to bind the applicant for all purposes relating to the award process. Documents which are to be signed by authorised persons only require the signature of two of those three authorised persons. It is hoped that this provides applicants and bidders with sufficient flexibility to arrange timely signatures of the relevant documents.


Q&A on spectrum at 410-412 MHz/420-422 MHz and the emergency services

Q. What is Ofcom’s intention for the assignment of the 410-412 MHz and 420-422 MHz bands to allow use by the emergency services?

A. In the consultation document, published in October 2005, on the award of 412-414 MHz paired with 422-424 MHz, Ofcom explained that it had decided to make available 2x2 MHz in order to make sure that the requirements of the emergency services could be met, and that 410-412 MHz paired with 420-422 MHz would be assigned to allow use by the emergency services. Ofcom confirmed this in the statement it published in April 2006 which set out its decisions on the award of 412-414 MHz/ 422-424 MHz.

In making this decision Ofcom accepted that, although it expected that over time the needs of most or all spectrum users would be met from the market, while market mechanisms were still developing there might be circumstances under which it was appropriate to provide spectrum directly to the emergency services. Ofcom’s expectation is that a WT Act licence for the 410-412/420-422 MHz band will in due course be granted to a single government-controlled entity, in accordance with the policy adopted in 2005. This entity is expected to act as a band manager, allowing use by the emergency services, in a manner that meets the Government’s objectives.

Ofcom stated that following the assignment of the spectrum, administrative incentive pricing would be charged initially at a rate comparable to that for existing PAMR use. This rate would be reviewed following the auction of 412-414 MHz/ 422-424 MHz, which should provide market information about the value of spectrum available in the band.

No licence has yet been granted. Ofcom has asked the relevant Government departments to expedite the process that will allow a licence to be issued so that this is completed by the end of 2006. If this has not been achieved, Ofcom expects to review the situation further at that point.


Q&A arising from Fylingdales workshops

Ofcom held a series of workshops in June 2006 to give interested parties an overview of the co-ordination requirement for the Fylingdales radar, an explanation of the software tool and an opportunity to operate the tool to assess possible networks against the co-ordination requirement. The following questions arose during the workshops.

Q. Will a licensee be permitted to establish a station within the 40 km zone around the Fylingdales radar?

A. Ofcom has devised a reference network that represents the general geographic density and ERP values of a network that would just meet the agreed interference levels. No station in the reference network is located within a circular exclusion zone of 40 km radius around the radar, and Ofcom believes it is unlikely that installing such a station would be appropriate, given the impact this would have on the overall interference limit. However, in exceptional circumstances a licensee might apply to Ofcom for permission to install such a station and Ofcom and the Ministry of Defence will grant permission if they are fully satisfied that it will not cause interference to the radar above the levels agreed between Ofcom and the Ministry of Defence.

Q. Is the requirement to co-ordinate with the Fylingdales radar separate from the site clearance requirement?

A. Yes. Site clearance must be undertaken for qualifying transmitters, this is a separate process.

Q. What propagation model does the Fylingdales co-ordination tool use and could it be changed?

A. The co-ordination tool incorporates the propagation model P.1546-2, with a modification as proposed by the UK at ITU SG3K in submission document 3K/85 (2005). The model parameters are 50% time and 50% locations and it is implemented using a reverse profile from a 200 metre resolution terrain database. The reference network with the path loss model used defines the interfering power received at Fylingdales. This power must not be exceeded and so any change in the model that increased the power would not be permitted. Any change in the model would need to be agreed between Ofcom and the Ministry of Defence.

Q. What is the interference budget at Fylingdales in terms of received radiation?

A. It is not possible to publish technical information about the radar, for security reasons. Ofcom has devised a reference network that represents the geographic density and ERP values of a network that would just meet the agreed interference levels. The reference network together with the path loss model used defines the interfering power received at the radar (see answer to question 3 above for information on the propagation model.)

Q. What is the height of Fylingdales above sea level?

A. The radar is situated approximately 244m above sea level. The centre of each face is approximately 22m above ground level and the top of the faces is at 36m.

Q. Is there a maximum power per transmitter?

A. The maximum EIRP in the band 422-424 MHz shall be 47 dBm/25 kHz. The maximum base station EIRP is 56 dBm.

Q. Can the co-ordination tool take account of vertical antenna patterns?

A. Yes, the tool is based on ICS Telecom and any parameters that can be defined using the tool can be taken into account. This option was not given within the workshops due to the limited number of fields available to import the data.

Q. How will assignments be made in the adjacent spectrum 410-412 MHz/420-422 MHz?

A. Ofcom decided in 2005 that the spectrum band 410-412MHz/420-422MHz should be assigned under an administrative process that would allow use by the emergency services, in order to meet essential requirements for public safety. No licence has yet been issued for the spectrum, as work is still under way to define the arrangements for the assignment. In particular, Ofcom is in discussions with the Public Safety Spectrum Policy Group (PSSPG) which includes the principal Government departments responsible for the emergency services.

Q. Will there be remote access to the co-ordination tool?

A. Ofcom plans to allow each licensee to have remote access to the co-ordination tool. It is currently at the early planning stage with its IS supplier. Ofcom will discuss with licensees shortly after the licence award suitable arrangements for accessing the tool.


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