In June 2013 we consulted on the use of spectrum licensed to radio amateurs which the Ministry of Defence (MoD) plan to release for new civil uses. Specifically, this includes 40 MHz of radio spectrum from 2350 to 2390 MHz and a further 150 MHz from 3410 to 3600 MHz.
This statement:
i) sets out the results of our consultation and the future use of the release and adjacent spectrum bands by licensed radio amateurs; and
ii) sets out additional protection requirements that need to be implemented immediately as a result of the MoD's new and changing operational use. We have agreed with the MoD that these requirements can be achieved by issuing guidance to amateurs. This guidance is set out in Annex 1 and comes into effect immediately. As required under the terms of the Amateur Radio Licence not to cause undue interference, amateurs must follow this guidance.
As a result of our consultation we have decided that we will:
i) remove from the Amateur Radio Licence the bands 2350 to 2390 and 3410 to 3475 MHz. This statement provides 12 months' notice from the date of publication that the licence will be varied to remove these bands;
ii) retain amateur access to the bands 2310 to 2350; 2390 to 2400 and 3400 to 3410 MHz and put in place a procedure to enable us to remove these frequencies quickly should harmful interference arise in the future (to other uses in the release and adjacent bands).
Given the scope of the changes outlined in this statement it provides an opportunity to carry out a more general review of the amateur licence document to introduce improvements. We will consult separately on these changes. However, in order to reduce the administrative burden on both amateurs and Ofcom we plan to implement all changes at the same time.
We are making available 2300 to 2302 MHz for amateurs to use. This requires a Notice of Variation (NoV) to the standard Amateur Radio Licence. Further details about this arrangement are set out in Section 6.
To facilitate communication about any information related to future changes to the use of 2310 to 2350 MHz, we request users of this band to provide information as set out in Section 5.
