Wireless Telegraphy Licence Exemption - Automotive Short Range Radar

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Introduction

1.1 In January 2005, as part of its eSafety initiative to improve road safety in Europe, the European Commission adopted a Decision (2005/50/EC) (the “Decision”) on the harmonisation of the 24 GHz range radio spectrum band (21.65 to 26.65 GHz) for the time-limited use by automotive short range radar equipment (“SRR equipment”) in the community. The Decision required that the 24 GHz band be designated and made available for SRR equipment until 30 June 2013. A copy of this Decision is available in Annex 4 of this document.

1.2 All Member States were required to implement the Decision by 1st July 2005. In order to do this, we made the Wireless Telegraphy (Automotive Short Range Radar) (Exemption) (No.2) Regulations 2005. The Regulations were subject to public consultation that closed on 23 May 2005 .

1.3 In order to protect existing radio astronomy services, the Decision required the deactivation of SRR equipment operating in the 22.21 – 24.00 GHz band within defined exclusion zones around UK Radio Astronomy sites. Details of these exclusion zones are included in Annex 3 of this document.

1.4 Article 6 of the Decision required that equipment operating in the frequency band between 22.21 GHz and 24.00 GHz must be automatically or manually deactivated within exclusion zones which surround radio astronomy sites. The Article limited the time period in which equipment that relied on manual deactivation could be put into service. In line with this, and as we previously stated , we are amending the regulations to remove that option (unless replacing equipment installed prior to the cut off date).

1.5 We plan to implement this change by making the Wireless Telegraphy (Automotive Short Range Radar) (Exemption) (No.2) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (the “Proposed Regulations”). A draft version of the Proposed Regulations can be found in Annex 2.

1.6 In accordance with the requirements of section 122(4) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (the “WT Act”) this document enables stakeholders to comment on the drafting of the Proposed Regulations. We do not consider it appropriate to first conduct a policy consultation as implementing the Proposed Regulations is mandatory to ensure that we comply with the Decision to authorise the use of SRR equipment at 24 GHz.

Responding to this consultation

1.7 This consultation document provides an opportunity to make representations about the Proposed Regulations as the means by which we intend to transpose the EC Decision on SRR into UK legislation rather than seeking views on the content of the Decision itself. The full text of the Decision is set out at Annex 4 of this document and the Proposed Regulations giving effect to the Decision are included at Annex 2.

1.8 Responses should be sent to us in accordance with the instructions set out in Annex 5 and should reach us no later than 5pm on 13 December 2007.

Next steps

1.9 Following the closure of this one month and one day consultation and having considered responses, we plan to issue a statement including the final Regulations that should, allowing for issues raised in response to this consultation, implement the proposals outlined in this document.