Amateur & CB

Amateur Radio

The vast majority of radio amateurs act responsibly and operate in accordance with licence conditions. It is relatively rare for the Agency to have to take serious enforcement action against amateurs but, subject to resources, we can and do take action against the small minority who operate irresponsibly. Most amateur problems involve in-band abuse of repeaters which are open access facilities. For information on what can be done about amateur radio abuse see RA 409 Abuse of Amateur and CB Radio - including licence revocation procedure. To see the latest amateur radio prosecution figures click here. Amateurs are also often the subject of complaints in broadcast reception cases, although it is more often the poor immunity of the affected equipment rather than the amateur that is to blame. However, in some cases it is necessary to reduce an amateur's power where field strength is too high for a receiver to reasonably withstand.

The Agency's local offices support amateur radio by carrying out radio inspections, attending major amateur rallies and exhibitions and giving talks at club events. For general information about amateur radio licensing see Amateur Radio

Citizens' Band (CB) Radio

The use of illegal CB equipment is an oft-cited cause of interference and can affect television and radio reception, hospital radio-paging systems, police, fire brigades and ambulance services and aircraft landing systems. Operators of approved CB sets sometimes use transmitter powers or aerials greater than those provided for under the licence conditions. Such use amounts to unlicensed use and prosecutions may be brought. In-band abuse such as the use of obscene language and playing music can also be a major problem. Where possible the Agency takes action against people who use CB radio either with no licence or outside licence conditions. For details on what can be done about CB abuse see RA 409 Abuse of Amateur and CB Radio - including licence revocation procedure. Latest prosecution figures can be viewed here.

The Agency has limited resources and has to give priority to dealing with problems which affect the emergency services and businesses so there is not a great deal of time available for untargeted monitoring of the bands used by CB radio services. We therefore welcome information about specific individuals who are seriously degrading the CB service as it enables resources to be directed as effectively as possible. Names, callsigns, locations and an indication of hours of operation are always helpful, as it is difficult to act in response to generalised complaints. We work closely with the British Citizens' Band Confederation (BCBC) who represent CB users and do what they can to ensure that their fellow CB users are aware of licensing requirements. If you wish to report specific abuse problems on CB radio please complete the CB Abuse Report Form below. For general information about CB equipment and licensing please see RA 246 Citizens' Band Radio Information Sheet. See Restricted Equipment for information about legislation concerning illegal CB radios.

CB Abuse Report Form - Download Word Document (32 KB)