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What is a PBR Wide Area Distress Alarm Licence?

Formerly known as the Local Authority Emergency Radio Alarm Licence, the PBR Wide Area Distress Alarm Licence was introduced on 19 July 2000. The licence permits the use of alarms in distress situations to assist with the protection of persons and/or property. However it should be noted that PMR assignments on shared channels do not have any guarantee of certain communication with regard to safety of life in an emergency.

Once activated, alarm stations transmit speech and/or data messages to a control station, which upon receipt of the message may acknowledge and respond to it. It is only for alarm calls from the outstations and not for routine messages. The control stations may be used for acknowledging such calls and for polling (for an explanation of polling see below).

Conditions of the licence

Under the terms of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 (WT Act), it is necessary to obtain a licence issued by the Radiocommunications Agency on behalf of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

The equipment must at all times be used in accordance with the terms of the licence and the associated schedule. Failure to comply with the terms of the licence will constitute an offence under Section 1 of the WT Act. The licensee will be required to ensure that the appropriate licence fees are paid.

Equipment, operating requirements and nature of the PBR Wide Area Distress Alarm Licence

The PBR Wide Area Distress Alarm Licence may use speech or data or both. The Radiocommunications Agency will assign simplex channels from VHF Mid and High Band. Typically, the coverage area of the system will not exceed 25 km with maximum allocated ERP levels being 5 watts for base stations and 2 watts for alarm stations. The RA will not normally permit antenna to be sited more than 10m above ground level. Data alarm calls should be kept to a minimum and in no cases exceed 20 seconds. The number of repeats before the alarm resets shall be limited to two, that is, there will be no more than three transmissions in total before the equipment resets. All speech only systems must use CTCSS or DCS complying with MPT 1326 or ETS 300 086. All new equipment must comply with IR 2001 and any equipment placed on the market before 8/4/01 must either be MPT 1357 or ETS 300 219 compliant.

Licensees shall make available, upon request, a list of the locations of alarm stations for inspection by the Radiocommunications Agency.

The base station antenna may be located at the control centre or at a site or sites away from the centre which are linked to the centre by land line. The equipment used at the outstation may be permanently fixed or portable.

The PBR Wide Area Distress Alarm system may connect to public switched networks and private circuits leased from public telecommunications operators.

What is polling and when is it allowed?

Polling is a technical feature of the equipment which enables the base station to "check" each outstation and establish whether an alarm is being raised or whether the equipment is working properly. To do this, the base station transmitter sends a radio signal for reception at the outstation. The outstation responds by returning a signal which indicates that the equipment is working. If no signal is received at the base station, the central monitor raises an alarm. Note that continuous polling is not permitted. Within the complete system, polling shall be limited to a maximum of one and a half hours in any 24 hour period. The signalling format should conform to at least MPT 1317.

Further information on alarms

Users of distress alarm systems may wish to refer to Radiocommunications Agency information sheets RA284 (Alarms on PMR) and RA114 (Short Range Radio Device Information Sheet).

For any further information, please contact:

Private Business Systems Section
Radiocommunications Agency
Wyndham House
189 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SX.

Tel: 020 7211 0202

Guidance Notes

Please read these notes carefully before completing this form.

Note 1

Under the terms of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, it is an offence to install or use radio apparatus, except under and in accordance with a licence issued by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Note 2

Cheques or postal orders should be made payable to the Radiocommunications Agency and crossed "A/C Payee". The appropriate fee should be forwarded with the application form to the further information address given above.

Details of licence fees currently applying are given in Radiocommunications Agency information sheet RA123.

Note 3

The licence is renewable every 12 months. It is the responsibility of the licensee to ensure the licence is renewed on or before the date it expires, although you will be sent a reminder one month before the fee is due requesting the fee applying at the time.

Note 4

If you are an existing Licensee and are using this form to request a change in your current operational frequency you should not send a fee with this application. Please contact your local Radiocommunications Agency office. (Details given in Radiocommunications Agency information sheet RA123)

Note 5

The submission of an application form for a licence does not permit installation of the equipment until the licence itself has been issued, and received by the applicant.

Note 6

Although distress alarm systems operate on dedicated frequencies, frequencies for individual systems are not assigned by the Radiocommunications Agency on an exclusive basis. However, assignments are as far as possible planned to minimise the risk of co-channel interference.

Note 7

The equipment must not cause undue interference to any other wireless telegraphy equipment. If it does you may be required to cease transmitting until the cause of the interference has been rectified.

Should you have any questions concerning the completion of this form or require further advice, please contact you local Radiocommunications Agency office or;

Private Business Systems Section
Radiocommunications Agency
Wyndham House
189 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SX

Tel: 020 7211 0202

Application for PBR Wide Area Distress Alarm Licence

Please note: This form should be printed out and sent via 'surface mail' to the address given below. Please do not attempt to re-send this form via E-mail as we cannot at present handle electronic submissions.

Please print entire document.

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• Please complete this form in block letters using dark ink
• Please keep a copy of the completed application form

SECTION A APPLICANTS DETAILS

1   If you are taking over a licence and wish to apply for the same assignment(s) please quote the existing licence number e.g. 123456

 

2    Who is the licence to be issued to? A licence can only be issued to a legal entity. The Agency recognises the following: Individual or Sole Trader, Partnership, Public Limited Company, Limited Company or Incorporated Association. For a partnership, give the full name of one partner (this partner must also sign the declaration) and supply a list of the full names of all other partners at the declaration.	Individual or Sole Trader Surname Forenames Partnership Surname Forenames Public Limited Company * Name Limited Company * Name Incorporated Association * Name * Please state company registration number
For example Corporation/Local Authority, Registered Charity etc.	Other legal entities Registration number

 

3   What is the trading name (if any) of the business which will operate and control the radio service?

 

4   Address to which the licence is to be sent For a Public Limited Company, Limited Company or Incorporated Association, this must be the registered office.

Address Postcode Telephone Fax E-mail

 

5   Contact name and address for licence renewals/accounts queries/additional correspondence

Name Address Postcode Telephone Fax E-mail

 

6   If the address in Q5 differs from Q4 do you wish to have additional copies of the licence sent to each location?

Please tick box if YES

 

7   Name and telephone number of the person(s) in your organisation who is responsible for the operation of the radio equipment, and who the Agency can contact in case of queries about your application and/or radio system

Non-technical contact Name Telephone Fax E-mail Technical contact (if different) Name Telephone Fax E-mail

 

SECTION B SYSTEM DETAILS

8   What type of transmission will be used? (tick as appropriate)

Speech Data and voice Data Data ID (in Hex) Data modulation (e.g. Fast Frequency Shift Keying)

 

9 Location address of base station. If more than one base transmitter is proposed please give details separately

Address Postcode Telephone Fax E-mail Contact at this address

 

10   What is the national grid reference (NGR) of this location? Two letters followed by six figures, e.g. NJ 935 044, one letter and six figures in Northern Ireland (obtainable from an Ordnance Survey Map)

Grid letters Eastings Northings / /

 

11   Base station antenna You should not purchase any equipment including the antenna until you have received your licence schedule. The Agency may require you to use a specific type of antenna to ensure minimum interference is caused to other co-channel operators.

Height of the top of the base station antenna above ground level in metres Note: The Agency will not normally permit the antenna(s) to be sited more than 10m above ground level.

 

12   What type of antenna would you like to use with your base station? The RA frequency assignment officer will take into account the frequency band and operational conditions when deciding the type of antenna to be used.

Omni-directional antenna Downtilt antenna Downfire antenna Radiating cable Directional antenna Angle of tilt below the horizontal plane in degrees Direction of antenna in degrees east of north What is the gain of your chosen antenna? dB-relative to a dipole

 

13   Describe the geographical area you wish to cover with your radio service?

 

14   What base ERP level do you or your supplier consider is required? The maximum allocated ERP levels are 5 watts for base stations and 2 watts for alarm stations.

watts

 

15   Number of alarm stations to be used (please estimate if not known)

 

16   The Agency will assign a frequency from the VHF Mid and High Band Simplex channels listed opposite. If you have a preferred frequency, please indicate your first and second preferences by writing 1 and 2 in the appropriate boxes You will automatically be assigned a CTCSS tone and DCS code. Please note that the frequencies 160.5625 MHz, 160.5750 MHz and 168.2875 MHz are no longer available.

160.55 MHz 168.9375 MHz

 

17   Indicate any preferred requirement for CTCSS tone/DCS code Please note that it may not be possible to assign this tone/code.

CTCSS/DCS

 

18   Will your base station be remotely controlled? (tick as appropriate)

Yes - please complete Q19-21 No - go to the Declaration

 

19 How many remote control points will the base station have? If more than one control point please complete Q20 - 21 on a separate piece of paper for each additional control point.

 

20   What is the address of the remote control point?

Address Postcode Telephone Fax E-mail Contact at this location

 

21   What method of control do you wish to use from the remote control point? Microwave links must be separately licensed by the Agency. See information sheet RA164.

Landline Dial up landline Microwave 2.4GHz low power device compliant with ETS 300 328 or IR 2005

 

DECLARATION

I declare that all the details given in this application form are correct to the best of my knowledge.

The information on this application form is being collected on the authority of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Signature of applicant	Date of application
For self and partners (tick if applicable)
Full name in CAPITAL LETTERS	Position in organisation

Partnerships must be applied for by one partner signing "For self and partners". An authorised person must sign for Public Limited Companies, Limited Companies and other legal entities.

Partnership members

Name	Signature
Name	Signature
Name	Signature
Name	Signature

If the number of partners exceeds the space provided above, additional partners details should be provided on a separate sheet of paper in the format given above and attached to this form.

CHECKLIST

Failure to complete this form fully or provide any additional information requested, may result in a delay to the processing of your application. Have you enclosed payment for the licence fee? Details are contained in Agency information sheet RA123. Cheques or Postal Orders payable to "Radiocommunications Agency". If you are unable to calculate the licence fee payable, the Agency will inform you upon receipt of the application form. If this application is to takeover an existing assignment, have you enclosed a letter from the existing licensee authorising the takeover? Have you signed the declaration?

Please note that any false information provided may, at the Secretary of State's discretion, invalidate the licence after it has been granted.

Where to send your form

Details of where to send your form and the fee payable are given in Agency information sheet RA123 or by contacting your local Agency office or the Agency's Enquiry Point on 020 7211 0211.

If you require any advice on completing this form please contact your RA Local Office. Details of Local Offices' areas of responsibility can be found in RA123.

SUPPLIERS DETAILS

It can be helpful for your radio supplier to be notified of the frequency assignment made to you. Complete the following if you would like a copy of your licence and additional or revised schedules to be sent to your supplier

Contact name

Telephone

Fax

 

Supplier's name and address
	Please find enclosed a copy of your customer's licence schedule as requested on the RA209 application form   Radiocommunications Agency

RA 209 (REV 6) July 2003