This statement confirms that, following a formal consultation, the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (No. 236) (the “Amending Regulations”) were made by us on 6 February 2008, and are coming into force on 27 February 2008. The Regulations will be available through the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) later this month1.
The Amending Regulations exempt the use of Digital PMR446 “walkie talkies” operating in the frequencies around 446 MHz.
At this time we will not be implementing the proposed changes we consulted on for the devices operating in the 169.4 – 169.6 MHz band in order to comply with a European Commission Decision2 (the “Decision”). This is due to us receiving a Detailed Opinion from the European Commission on the draft Radio Interface Requirement document IR2030.
Before deciding to make the Amending Regulations, in accordance with the requirements of section 122(4) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (“the Act”), on 23 November 2007 we published a Statutory Notice3 (the “Notice”) containing a draft of the Amending Regulations and inviting comments from stakeholders.
We received no objections to the Notice regarding Digital PMR446 and therefore have proceeded with making the Amending Regulations to exempt these devices.