Business Review 1997-98

Keeping the Spectrum Clean

Service to Customers

The provision of the highest possible standard of radiocommunications to our customers is central to the Agency's aims. In pursuit of this, local staff resolve interference problems, carry out a programme of inspections of radio installations, educate customers in correct radio use and where necessary, carry out enforcement action. All radio use is covered in the Agency's activities, including mobile, aeronautical, maritime, broadcasting, fixed services, paging and leisure use. The work includes the inspection of radio installations to ensure they are operating within their licence schedule and are not therefore likely to cause interference to other users.

Local Offices

As part of the Agency's customer service strategy, the Agency's local offices are being given an increasing role in licensing. This is part of a policy of taking services to customers and ensuring that their radio requirements are assessed by those best placed to understand the local conditions. Initially, standard private mobile business licences were devolved in autumn 1993 and this was followed by coastal station radio licences in July 1997. From 1 February 1998, local offices started also to process applications for on-site paging (except for one-way non-speech services) and local communications licences. From 1 April 1998, they handled applications for the new private business radio suppliers' licence, which replaced the PBR and on-site paging Short Term Hire licences and PBR Parking and Demonstration licences. On 1 February 1999 the local offices will start to handle licences for single channel Common Base Stations (CBS) which are not linked to any other CBS. Details of the local office structure can be found in Information Sheet RA 206 which is available from the RA Information and Library Service and on the Agency website.

Dealing with interference

Priorities

The Agency's priorities in dealing with interference have been set by Ministers. These are to deal first with interference affecting the emergency services; second to assist businesses affected by interference; and, finally, to deal with other complaints. The Agency aims to respond to all complaints from the emergency services within 24 hours, to 98% of commercial complaints within one week and 98% of domestic interference complaints within one month. In the latter two instances, the remaining 2% of complaints are to be dealt with within a further 10 days and one month respectively. These targets were all met during the year.

Help to Business Users of Radio

For business users of radio who are unable to resolve intractable problems, the Agency will investigate and advise on interference problems on a repayment basis. During the financial year this service was used by 67 businesses.

Interference to Domestic Broadcast Reception

The Agency's leaflet Advice on Television and Radio Reception (RA 179) sets out measures that can be taken by householders to ensure that they are receiving the best reception possible. The leaflet also aims to assist householders whose broadcast reception is affected by interference and explains what the Agency can do to resolve these problems.

Often interference problems lie outside the Agency's statutory responsibilities and should be dealt with by private sector service engineers, dealers and aerial contractors. These instances are usually when a radio or television has poor immunity to unwanted signals, or inadequate aerial arrangements, as opposed to interference from the illegal use of radio or faulty electrical apparatus.

If an interference problem cannot be solved by the private sector, then the Agency can check viewers' and listeners' reception arrangements. There is a flat rate charge of £45 for this service because it does not form part of the Agency's regulatory duties. If a suspected source of interference is identified, then it will be checked free of charge as part of the Agency's regulatory work. The cost of this work is met from the BBC television licence income. The Agency and the BBC have had discussions on how the domestic radio and television interference service can be made more effective and established a joint Working Group. Details of the number of reported cases of interference for the financial year can be found in Table 2 (below).

Electromagnetic Compatibility

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is the term that describes the ability of equipment to co-exist without causing undue interference or being unduly susceptible to interference from other devices. It is of growing importance in an increasingly crowded and challenging electromagnetic environment. Not all interference comes from radio equipment. For example, electronic products, such as computers, are a significant source of 'electromagnetic pollution'.

EMC is an important part of 'keeping the spectrum clean' and key to effective spectrum management. Without EMC, spectrum cannot be used to its full potential. The Agency's involvement in EMC includes advising other Government departments and participating in work in the UK and internationally, where the UK takes a leading role, on equipment standards. An example of the problems that can arise from inadequate EMC is illustrated in the box below.

Short Range applications, even those which have been operating on a particular frequency for a number of years, cannot claim protection against interference from an authorised service. Nor should they cause interference to an authorised service.

EMC case study

Some radio-operated car security systems are susceptible to interference by radio transmissions causing them to malfunction. From initial
statistics obtained by the AA and RAC, it appears that the number of call-outs related to immobilisers or lock-outs has continued to increase by approximately 30% this year. This figure is likely to increase as the number of vehicles with such systems are produced and sold. When systems and receivers are being designed, manufacturers and users must be aware that the bands are often shared with other high powered services.

Enforcement and Prosecutions

It is Agency policy to try and persuade radio users to operate legally. Those who fail to do so, thereby creating the potential for interference to authorised radio users, or deliberately flout the law, are prosecuted. The Agency has a good record in bringing prosecutions. Full details of prosecutions, cautions administered and warnings given can be found at Table 3.

Unlicensed Broadcasting

The Agency is sensitive to the concerns of its customers affected by interference from unlicensed broadcasters, whether they be the emergency services, the authorised broadcasters or the listening public at home, and is continually refining its tactics to deny air time to unlicensed broadcasters. This includes focusing on those unlicensed stations which regularly cause interference because of their poor quality equipment, and people who organise and facilitate unlicensed stations' activities. Raids carried out by Agency staff on unlicensed broadcaster transmitter and studio sites totalled 808 for the year. Using powers contained in the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, we secured 59 convictions for involvement with unlicensed broadcasting stations this year, compared with 20 in 1996/97.

Our successful prosecutions have resulted in a range of penalties being imposed by the Courts, from periods of probation or community service to fines or combinations of all three. Long and difficult investigations into interference to air traffic control communications in the London - Scotland air corridor resulted in the conviction and sentencing of two offenders to 180 hours community service for unlicensed broadcasting with a warning that further appearances before the Courts are likely to result in imprisonment. The conviction of a person for advertising on an unlicensed station underlines our determination to act, with the support of the Courts, not just against those who run stations, but also against those who provide the finance to fund their operations. During the year telephone service providers disconnected 18 telephone services identified as being used to facilitate the operation of unlicensed stations. Those persons cautioned for admitted offences can have their cautions cited in court if they are convicted of an offence within five years.

Illegal Videosenders

During the year the Agency oversaw the implementation of an Order under Section 7 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1967 to prohibit the trade in and possession of videosenders. These devices have been used in domestic and business premises to relay recorded and live video images to television receivers. However, they are illegal to use as they operate in the TV broadcast band and are liable to cause interference to broadcast reception. Their poor quality also means that they have caused interference to emergency services. The Order will protect the public and other radio users by removing these devices from the market.

Monitoring

The Agency's Radio Monitoring Station provides a range of monitoring services. The activities of its three sections during 1997/98 are summarised at Tables 4, 5 and 6.

Terrestrial Monitoring

The Terrestrial Monitoring Station's primary responsibility is the protection of the spectrum from harmful interference and the station is manned on a 24-hour basis. During the year 1,163 (22% down on 1996/97) reports of interference were received; these encompassed not only UK users, including the emergency services, but also overseas administrations. All responses to cases affecting safety of life services were within the target time of twenty-four hours.

Outside normal hours the operations room is responsible for contacting the Agency's field staff. There were 757 (9% up on 1996/97) such calls in the year. Earth Station clearance requests received outside normal working hours continued to be dealt with by the operations room. During the year 4,748 (86% up on 1996/97) clearances were processed and the total continues to rise year on year.

TABLE 4: MONITORING SERVICES 1997/98 Terrestrial Monitoring Station

Satellite Monitoring

The Satellite Monitoring Station takes measurements and observations on the use of the geo-stationary arc by communications and broadcast satellites. Staff collect information on transponder and orbital arc occupancy in order to resolve interference and conflicts between users of this shared part of the spectrum as quickly as possible.

The station is equipped with two fully steerable large parabolic reflectors for use in the Ku and C frequency bands and a smaller 1.8m antenna for the L band. The facility is now fully automated and remotely controlled via fibre optics from the main operations room.

TABLE 5: MONITORING SERVICES 1997/98 Satellite Monitoring Station

Mobile Monitoring

The Mobile Monitoring teams systematically monitor usage of the PBR bands on a national basis. The major monitoring tasks for the year have been associated with an audit of all PBR bands and Public Networks. To help with the local frequency assignment process the teams respond to requests from the local licensing centres for monitoring at additional locations. This on-going programme will provide a basis for future decisions on frequency assignments and fee setting for Spectrum Pricing.

Unattended Monitoring Systems have been dedicated to monitoring PMR activity within London, Birmingham, Manchester and other key locations. The unattended systems provide a flexible monitoring and measuring system covering 20 MHz to 1300 MHz. Configuration changes and results can be obtained by remote control, making these valuable tools for use within the licensing process. The systems have been adapted to apportion channel occupancy to individual licensees and offer the option of audio recording and antenna switching.

The NAMAS-accredited EMC and interference laboratories deal with complex measurement and interference work across the whole radio spectrum. Site protection surveys have allowed new earth station assignments to go ahead. Significant work has resulted in promising solutions being found to interference arising from the use of industrial radio-frequency drying machines.
A comprehensive survey of the first segments of spectrum scheduled to be auctioned has also been completed.

TABLE 6: MONITORING SERVICES 1997/98 Mobile Monitoring Station

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