FINAL REPORT - Stakeholders - Ofcom

Very little use is made of the MF telegraphy band with the exception of 490 kHz, 500 kHz
and 518 kHz; there is thus little traffic in the band 415-526.5 kHz. In several places within
Chapter 6 the possibility for the introduction of new technology or a change of use has
been postulated. The Consultant has postulated that the LF to HF frequency range
addressed in this study would benefit from a European market and harmonised frequency
bands to ease co-ordination difficulties and provide economies of scale for industry. A
CEPT DSI process for the band 30 kHz to 30 MHz is suggested as a possible way to
respond to such an approach. In addition to consulting widely, it is suggested that every
opportunity should be sought for introducing the relevant technical, operational, economic
and regulatory issues contained in this Report into the committee structure and decision
making processes of the relevant international bodies. The overall objective should be to
continue to promote innovation in the spectrum management process at the international
level.
Subject to the results of public consultation and any European DSI process new digital
systems in the 2 MHz MF band might be considered on a national and non-interference
basis taking account of the need to maintain interoperability with ships from foreign
countries.
Adaptive systems have been successfully introduced to the fixed service in the HF bands.
They would likewise offer great advantages to the maritime mobile service in the MF and
HF bands; the regulatory pre-conditions necessary might therefore be developed for the
implementation of such techniques.
In the HF bands, there is a rapidly growing need for digital technologies and the
international community is engaged in the necessary studies. It is recommended that every
effort is made to support these studies and refrain from implementing national solutions
that might not be compatible with the outcome of these studies.
At VHF, an in depth study of all UK applications within the ‘maritime band’ addressing the
international maritime channels as well as Coast Station Radio private maritime channels
should be considered. The principal goal would be to determine the future VHF spectrum
requirements of the UK maritime industry with a view to the rationalisation of the current
spectrum, taking account of recent changes in the industry and the introduction of new
technologies.
At UHF, the use of 12.5 kHz technology on all ten UHF on-board channels has been
suggested in order to minimise possible interference in a mixed scenario. Turning to public
correspondence, the GSM system at 900 MHz is increasingly used by the maritime
community as a substitute for maritime VHF public correspondence. IMT-2000 is now
being implemented and in the long term, it will likely replace GSM 900. The question of
how frequencies at 900 MHz should be made available for the implementation of IMT-2000
in coastal areas, when GSM is planned for decommission requires some consideration.
The outcome of such strategic thinking might also have some impact on the policy adopted
for the VHF bands.
8.5 Licensing
No clear trends resulted from the benchmarking part of the study; however it appears that
only Australia has implemented administrative pricing in respect of aeronautical and
maritime services. Even then pricing is only applied where specific frequencies are
assigned, although a nominal amount is charged for non-assigned applications, which are
not subject to the class licences applicable for domestic (non-SOLAS) ships and aircraft.
It is suggested that a study should be conducted whether a class licence approach would
benefit the UK aviation and maritime industries for access to VHF aviation and maritime
frequencies and on-board navigation apparatus. A class licence for such applications could
also be linked to AIP only applying fees and charges if older equipment continues to be
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