Interference to business radio

Request Ofcom to investigate interference to your business radio.

1. Introduction

If your business radio system suffers interference from an external source, we can investigate free of charge, as this is a regulatory matter. However, if we find that your own equipment is the cause of the problem - because it is faulty, does not have immunity or is poorly installed – you will be liable for the cost of the investigation. We therefore advise you to consult your equipment supplier before contacting us about an interference problem.

If your equipment supplier thinks that the problem is within your own installation but cannot resolve it, we may be able to resolve or diagnose the problem on a chargeable basis.

2. How to report interference

To investigate a complaint of interference, we need to know:

• when and how the interference occurs;
• the type of system affected;
• the license number of the affected system (if applicable);
• the location of the affected system, and how we can gain access to it; and
• the frequencies affected.

Once you have gathered this information, you can report the interference and request the assistance of our specialist engineers by completing the Business Radio - Interference Report Form.

3. Investigating interference complaints

During the course of an investigation, we may need to inspect your installation. If we discover that the source of the problem is within your own system rather than external, our investigation will no longer be a regulatory matter so you will be liable for the cost. We will tell you how long we have spent on the investigation together with our current hourly charge for the work.

It will then be for you to decide whether to consult your equipment supplier or service engineer again, or to ask Ofcom staff on site if they can inspect your installation further in an attempt to locate the problem. We will send you a formal report at the end of the investigation.

4. Commercial consultancy work

If you are a commercial user of radio and have problems with your installation that your equipment supplier or service engineer cannot resolve, we may be able to investigate on a chargeable basis provided we have the capacity to do so, bearing in mind that our regulatory work must take precedence.

The cost of this work is based on an hourly charge. Investigating complaints can be time-consuming, and there is no guarantee that an investigation will resolve the problem. To prevent businesses incurring large costs, we will initially agree a ceiling on the number of hours taken for the investigation and once this ceiling has been reached, review the case with you.

If we can accept the case we will agree a start date with you and send you a contract for signature and return. When the investigation is concluded we will issue a report summarising the work undertaken and conclusions reached.

5. Further information

For more information please contact:

Ofcom Licensing Centre
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA

Tel: 020 7981 3131 (this number will be the cheapest option for most callers)
or
0300 123 1000 (this number may be cheaper for callers on the BT Light User Scheme calling from outside the London area)

Fax: 020 7981 3235 (this number will be the cheapest option for most callers)

or

Email: spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk