Overseas Territories

The UK has a number of Overseas Territories located in all regions and oceans. The following are populated and operate a similar licensing and spectrum management legislation to the UK through their own local administrations:

	Anguilla
	Ascension Island (a dependency of St Helena)
	Bermuda
	British Virgin Islands
	Cayman Islands
	Falkland Islands
	Gibraltar
	Montserrat
	Pitcairn Island
	St. Helena (includes Tristan da Cunha)
	Turks & Caicos Islands
		Ascension Island - 44 volcanic craters (dormant), rare wildlife, specialised communication centre

Advice to Overseas Territories

The IPU advises the Overseas Territories on the practical aspects of spectrum management and the revision of their applicable legislation.

Several have revised their legislation in recent years and the others intend to do so. Gibraltar was the first to carry out major changes to modernise its telecommunications legislation. It has an overall regulatory authority and a new Telecommunications Ordinance, which includes the major functions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act and the Telecommunications Act in the UK. The Cayman Islands have developed new telecommunications legislation that creates a single regulatory body for Wireless Telegraphy, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act functions. The ITU Secretary-General has praised this as an example of how smaller states should modernise their legislation to promote competition and liberalisation.

Each of the Overseas Territories has its own particular requirements and interests as regards the development of its radiocommunication services, although broadcasting is usually a common element as is maritime radio use given that all except Gibraltar are islands or island groups.

Barbary Ape, Gibralter	Iguana, Cayman Is	Gentoo Penguins, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Is

Advice on legislation affecting maritime radiocommunications involves liaison with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the Admiralty Hydrographic Office. As well as advise on treaty obligations deriving from ITU instruments, there is also a need to advise on the impact of international treaties affecting territorial rights and the use of radiocommunications at sea which have developed within the IMO or the United Nations, notably SOLAS and UNCLOS.

In respect of spectrum management activities, some special circumstances or unusual situations are encountered on each of the Overseas Territories, although for organisational purposes in planning radiocommunication services it helps to recognise the distinct regional characteristics associated with the Caribbean, around Gibraltar and in the South Atlantic, and the resulting opportunities and constraints.

Remoteness is also not necessarily a guarantee that international factors can be ignored. A considerable amount of effort is for example necessary for Ascension Island, where the local economy is highly dependent on specialised communication facilities.

Ascension Island History in Stamps	USAF 45th Space Wing Launch Facility, Florida

Particularly important to the local economy are the BBC short wave broadcasting station, which is ideally situated to serve all of South America and Africa, and the Wideawake Auxiliary Airfield, which provides facilities for the USAF and RAF and requires close liaison with the 45th Space Wing of the US Air Force Space Command based at Patrick AFB, Florida.

Assuring the continued viability of the short wave broadcasting station on Ascension Island neatly dovetails with another international issue - that of revitalising the role of short wave broadcasting.