EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations
(Amendment)
Statutory Rules No 358 of 1990
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport and Communications
Subsection 93(1) of the Radiocommunications Act 1983 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Section 24 of the Act provides that the Minister may grant to an applicant a licence to operate and to possess specified radiocommunications transmitters or radiocommunications transmitters included in a class of radiocommunications transmitters.
Subregulation 2(1) of the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations (the Regulations) provides for definitions of expressions used in the Regulations.
Subregulation 2(5) of the Regulations provides for the specification of different classes of licence in Schedule 1 to those Regulations.
The amending Regulations amend a number of these definitions and classes of licence, and also insert one new definition and three new classes of licence.
Details of the amendments to definitions and licence classes are as follows:
• definition of “AUSSAT receive-only station” (subclause 3.1)
The definition previously excluded from its ambit certain classes of earth station described at specified items, including item 22, in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. Item 22 was omitted and replaced by two new items, items 22 and 22A, by Statutory Rules 1989 No. 314. A consequential amendment to the definition of “AUSSAT receive-only station” was not made at that time due to an oversight. This amendment inserts into this definition a reference to item 22A.
• definition of “base station” (subclause 3.3)
- Amendments relating to two separate matters are made to this definition. One amendment is consequential to the creation of a new class of licence known as “land station (data communications)” (refer to subclause 6.5 -details of this new class are explained below). The amended definition of “base station” provides that it means either a land station in the land mobile service established for communication with mobile stations in that service, or a land station, other than a land station of the new class of “land station (data communications)”, established for the purpose of communicating with 2 or more land stations (data communications).
The second amendment to this definition (subclause 3.3) relates to the amendment to the definition of “coast station” (subclause 3.4), and also relates to the “aeronautical station” class of licence at item 1 in Schedule 1 to the Regulations (subclause 6.1). These amendments insert references to the effect that those definitions and licence class do not include an earth station. This means that the operators of all stations which are at a fixed point on the surface of the earth, and which communicate with satellites, are required to obtain an “earth station” class licence regardless of the primary purpose for which those stations are established.
• definition of “earth station” (subclause 3.5)
The previous definition provided that “earth station” means, inter alia, a station located on the surface of the earth or within the malor portion of the earth’s atmosphere, which communicates with a satellite, space station or other object in space (emphasis added). This definition therefore coverered any station which communicates with a satellite, whether the station is mobile or is at a fixed point on the surface of the earth. AUSSAT plans to establish a mobile satellite service (Mobilesat), involving communications with mobile stations via satellite. As the previous definition of “earth station” would have covered any station, mobile or otherwise, that may be used in the proposed Mobilesat service, the taxes payable with respect to the grant of such stations would have ranged from approximately $370 to $92,000, depending on the number of channels or fractions of satellite
transponders utilised (refer to items 23 - 27 of the Schedule to the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Regulations (the Tax Regulations)). It was considered that these amounts of tax would have operated as a disincentive to potential users of the proposed Mobilesat service.
The amendment to the definition of “earth station” provides that an earth station is a station which is located at a fixed point on land and which communicates with a satellite, space station or other object in space. This allows for the licensing of, for example, mobile, ship or aircraft stations, all of which are mobile stations, to communicate via satellite, while attracting the tax payable with respect to those respective classes of licence and not the earth station licence taxes.
• definition of “exterior paging service” (subclause 3.6)
Previously, the way in which the definitions of “exterior paging service” and “interior paging service” were expressed, meant that interior paging services were not necessarily excluded from the definition of exterior paging services. The taxes payable with respect to exterior paging services are substantially greater than those for interior paging services (refer to items 29, 30 and 55 in the Schedule to the Tax Regulations). The amendments provide that “exterior paging service does not include an “interior paging service” of the kind referred to in item 55 in Schedule 1 to the Regulations.
Also, in the course of preparing these amendments it became apparent that there was an error in the definition of “exterior paging service” in that the reference to items 29 and 30 in Schedule 1 to the Regulations referred instead to items 31 and 32 of that Schedule. The error occurred with the making of Statutory Rules no. 272 of 1987, when Schedule 1 was replaced with a new Schedule 1. The new Schedule 1 had inserted two new classes of transmitter licence at items 8 and 9, moving all subsequent item numbers upwards by two, which interfered with the reference to items 29 and 30 in the definition of “exterior paging service”. The amendment corrects this error by removing the reference to items 29 and 30, and substituting a reference to items 31 and 32.
• definition of “outpost service” (subclause 3.7)
- The licence class “outpost station” is defined in item 70 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations as meaning a station in the outpost service. The tax payable with respect to the grant of an outpost station licence is concessional in recognition of the importance of such stations in serving remote localities (refer to item 70 of the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
However, due to the previous definition of “outpost service” in subregulation 2(1) of the Regulations, for this concessional rate of tax to apply to stations used for participation in School of the Air programs, there had to have been some deficiency in the local telephone service - otherwise, such stations were considered to be fixed stations which attract much higher taxes.
It was decided that all stations established for the purposes of participation in School of the Air programs, regardless of the standard of the local telephone service, be included in the class of “outpost station”.
The amendment therefore provides that the definition of “outpost service” includes a radiocommunications service established for the purposes of participation in the education programs known as School of the Air.
• definitions of “cellular mobile telephone service” and “line” (subclause 3.8)
• new licence class known as “cordless telephone system service” (subclause 6.2)
• definition of “cordless telephone” (subclause 3.2)
The Australian Telecommunications Corporation (Telecom) intends to introduce new services employing second generation cordless telephone technology (CT2). CT2 is a digital cordless telephone system developed and used in the United Kingdom. Basically this system involves the use of a cordless telephone handset to communicate by radio with a base station which connects the signal from the handset into the public switched telephone network, thereby allowing the handset-operator to communicate with other users of the public switched telephone network. The new services proposed by Telecom are -
a telepoint service using publicly accessible CT2 base stations (telepoints) which allow users to make but not to receive calls using a simple and inexpensive pocket-sized portable handset. Telepoints would be located in public places such as post offices, railway stations, airports, shopping centres, banks and service stations; and
a wireless PABX service which utilises the CT2 technology for business purposes with no public access. Businesses will be able to use cordless handsets to contact other users in the same PABX system.
On 29 May 1990, AUSTEL presented its report Public Access Cordless Telephone Services to the Minister. In Chapter 8 of the Report, AUSTEL recommended that cordless telephone services should be distinguished from public mobile telephone services, and on the basis of the services provided, not on the technology employed to provide the services. A public mobile telephone service, or cellular mobile telephone service, involves the use of a cordless telephone handset (mobile) linked by radio signal to a base station which is limited in the area in which it can receive and transmit signals - this limited area is known as a ‘cell’. The base station operates as a two-way relay station between the mobile and another station known as a ‘mobile switching centre’. The mobile switching centre passes signals between the base station and the public switched telephone network, thereby allowing the mobile-user to communicate with other users of the public switched telephone network. As the mobile-user moves from one cell to another cell, the mobile switching centre redirects the mobile’s transmissions from the base station in the cell being exited to the base station of the next cell being entered. This redirection function is known as ‘inter-cell hand-over’.
Essentially, it is this ‘inter-cell hand-over’ capability which distinguishes cellular mobile telephone services from cordless telephone services. In paragraph 8.4 of its Report, AUSTEL recommended that this distinction should be the basis of separating any proposed definitions of cordless telephone service and cellular mobile telephone service. AUSTEL also recommended that the licence categories for these services should be created “as soon as possible and before December 1990 with immediate effect”.
In order to implement AUSTEL’s recommendations in the context of the Act, a new class of licence was created known as “cordless telephone system service” (subclause 6.2). The description of this new class is
“a radiocommunications service consisting of -
(a) a base station, not forming part of a cellular mobile telephone service, connected by a line to a public switched telephone network; and
(b) 1 or more handsets:
(i) operated:
(A) by persons in a public place; or
(B) in conjunction with a PABX for business purposes; and
(ii) not connected by a line to a base station; and
(iii) by means of which communication may be made through the base station with other users of the public switched telephone network by the transmission of radio signals between the handset and the base station,”
The tax payable with respect to this new class of licence is $200 (now prescribed in the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
The description of this new licence class borrows heavily from the previous definition of “cordless telephone” in subregulation 2(1) of the Regulations -this definition was removed as it referred to a deleted item in Schedule 3 of the Regulations (subclause 3.2).
It was also necessary to introduce two new defined terms in subregulation 2(1) of the Regulations to assist in understanding the meaning of the new licence class of “cordless telephone system service”.
The first term is “line” which has the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act 1989 (subclause 3.8).
The second term is “cellular mobile telephone service”, the meaning of which is -
“a radiocommunications service consisting of -
(a) 1 or more handsets; and
(b) 2 or more base stations forming part of a public mobile telephone service where the area served by each base station (in this definition called a ‘cell’) is restricted; and
(c) 1 or more stations, (in this definition called ‘mobile switching centres’) which:
(i) are able to communicate by means of radiocommunications with; or
(ii) are connected by a line to;
2 or more base stations and a public switched telephone network;
being a service where:
(d) the operator of a handset may communicate with another user of the public switched telephone network by means of radio signals between the handset and a base station; and
(e) as the operator of the handset moves from the cell of 1 base station into the cell of an adjoining base station - a mobile switching centre redirects the signals that would otherwise have been channelled through the first-mentioned base station are channelled through the adjoining base station.”
• new class of licence known as “exterior paging service (weather information)” (subclause 6.3)
Four different classes of exterior paging service licences are specified at items 29 to 32 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations.
Previously, there were services provided under the “exterior paging service (other than low density location)” and “exterior paging service (low density location)” classes of licence (items 29 and 30) which
provide weather information and weather warnings services free of charge. For members of the public there is a one-off cost of approximately $400 for purchase of a portable receiver unit to receive these services. Previously, these services are liable to pay radiocommunications taxes of either $2,473 or $1,172 depending on whether they operate in a low density, or other than low density, location (see items 29 and 30 of the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
It was decided to create a new class of exterior paging service to allow for the payment of a concessional rate of tax by operators of such exterior paging services where the services are operated in conjunction with a marine rescue station. Marine rescue stations are primarily used for marine safety purposes such as search and rescue operations (see item 62 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations).
The amendments insert a new class of licence known as “exterior paging service (weather information)”. The description is “an exterior paging service that:
(i) is used for the purpose of transmission of weather information and weather warnings; and
(ii) is operated in conjunction with a marine rescue station by the licensee of that marine rescue station”.
The tax payable with respect to this new class of licence is $100 (now prescribed in the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
• licence classes known as “land mobile system service (extra high density location) and “land mobile system service (very high density location)” (subclauses 6.4 and 6.5)
Items 57 and 58 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations respectively provide for descriptions of the above-mentioned classes of licence. A land mobile system service licence covers the operation of a base station on a single frequency and an unlimited number of mobile stations. For operators with more than approximately 50 mobile stations, the tax payable for such a system licence is cheaper than licensing the base station and
mobile stations separately. This operates as an incentive for operators to ‘load up’ a base station with as many mobile stations as possible rather than obtain another base station licence involving another frequency. The availability of these system licences is thus in the interests of greater spectrum efficiency.
However, by the operation of previous subparagraph (a)(ii) in the descriptions of those licence classes at items 57 and 58, a radiocommunications service could not be licensed under those licence classes unless it had been operating as part of a trunked land mobile service for at least three years. For operators of services that were thus barred from licensing under either item 57 or 58, there was less incentive to ‘load up* their base station. This previously operated against the interests of spectrum efficiency.
The amendments to items 57 and 58 remove the requirement that such stations must have been operating in a trunked land mobile service for a period of not less than three years.
• licence class known as “land mobile system service” (supplementary transmitter) (subclause 6*6)
The above-mentioned licence class was previously described at item 60 in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. The tax payable with respect to the grant of this class of licence was $113 (refer to item 60 in the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
However, a supplementary transmitter that is used in conjunction with a land mobile service where the base stations and mobile stations are licensed separately and not under a system licence, previously attracted a tax of up to $634 depending on the radio density of the location of the transmitter (refer to items 13 to 16 of the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
In order to correct this anomaly, the amendments change the name of the class of licence to “land mobile service (supplementary transmitter)”, and remove from the licence description the reference to a land mobile system service” and substitutes a land mobile service”. This allows for supplementary transmitters in all land mobile services, irrespective of whether they are covered by a system licence, to attract the same tax.
• new class of licence known as “land station (data communications) (subclause 6*6)
Previously, there were services established primarily for the purpose of data communications which involve a ‘central’ land station communicating with a number of fixed stations. The classes previously applying to these fixed stations are “fixed station, Class CI (other than low density location)” and “fixed station, Class CI (low density location)” (refer to items 37 and 38 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations) and, because the bandwidth usage is less than 36 MHz, the taxes payable with respect to these classes are $296 and $151 respectively (refer to paragraphs 4(1)(a) and (b) of the Tax Regulations).
These data communications services have the same ‘point-to-multipoint’ characteristics as apply to base stations and mobile stations in the land mobile service. The tax payable with respect to mobile stations is $42, and for base stations ranges from $242 to $634 (refer to item 65 and items 14 to 16 respectively in the Schedule to the Tax Regulations).
For reasons of equity, it was decided that the taxes payable with respect to the stations used in these data communications services, where the fixed stations operate in certain specified frequency bands, should be the same as for base stations and mobiles. To achieve this, it was decided to create a new class of licence to cover the fixed stations forming part of such data communications services to be known as “land station (data communications)”. The description of the new class is a land station -
(a) that is established primarily for the purposes of data communications with 1 or more land stations; and
(b) that operates in any of the following frequency bands -
(i) 410.55 MHz to 411.55 MHz; or
(ii) 451.5 MHz to 452.5 MHz; or
(iii) 853.5 MHz to 854 MHz.”
The tax payable with respect to this new class of licence is the same as is payable with respect to a mobile.
Also to cover the ‘central’ land station, as explained above in relation to the definition of “base station” (subclause 3.3), that definition was amended to Include a land station established for the purpose of communicating with 2 or more land stations (data communications).
• class of licence known as “repeater station” (subclause 6.7)
“repeater station” is described at item 75 in Schedule 1 to the Regulations as meaning “a station established at a fixed location for the reception of radio signals from amateur stations or citizen band radio stations and for the automatic retransmission of those signals by radio”. Repeater stations are useful in extending the range of a radiocommunications service.
The Department had a large number of representations from fishing clubs and volunteer coast guard organisations seeking the licensing of repeater stations receiving maritime communications and operating on designated public correspondence channels in the International Maritime Mobile VHF frequency band. The Department was not able to accede to these requests because of the previous description of “repeater station”. It was therefore decided to amend that description to include stations receiving signals from ship stations for the automatic retransmission of those signals by radio. Accordingly, the amendments insert into the description of “repeater station” a reference to ship stations.
In addition to the above-mentioned amendments relating to definitions and licence classes, the following amendments to the Regulations were made:
• regulation 6 (prescribed classes of transmitters) (subclause 4.1)
Section 23 of the Act makes it an offence to operate, or possess for the purpose of operation, a radiocommunications transmitter without a licence.
Section 22 of the Act provides that for the purpose of the licensing provisions of the Act,
“radiocommunications transmitter” does not include a transmitter included in a prescribed class of transmitters.
- Paragraph 6(a) of the Regulations prescribes, for the purposes of section 22 of the Act, those transmitters which comply with certain specified Ministerial Standards made under section 9 of the Act.
It was decided that those transmitters which comply with Ministerial Standard No.309, relating to satellite distress beacons operating on the frequency 406MHz (published in the Gazette on 27 February 1990 - refer to Statutory Rules No.71 of 1990), should also be prescribed for the purposes of section 22.
The amendments insert into paragraph 6(a) of the Regulations a reference to Ministerial Standard No.309.
• service of notices - new regulation 22 (subclause 5.1)
Section 88 of the Act provides that where a provision of the Act requires a notice to be served on a person by or on behalf of the Minister or a conciliator, the notice may be served on that person personally, by post or as prescribed. No other method of serving a notice had been prescribed in the Regulations before these amendments.
There are occasions on which it is highly desirable to serve notices as soon as possible after a decision affecting a licence has been made, for example the serving of a licence suspension notice, where it is desirable that the notice be served immediately by facsimile to prevent continuing breaches of licence conditions. The amendment inserts a new regulation 22 into the Regulations to provide that for the purposes of section 88 of the Act, a notice may be served by telex facsimile transmission to the telex or facsimile receiver last known to the person sending the notice as being the receiver at which the addressee receives telex or facsimiles. New regulation 22 also provides that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, such notice is taken to be served at the time the transmission is received at that receiver.
• Schedule 2 (Fee for examination for purposes of section 12 of the Act) (subclause 7.1)
Section 9 of the Act provides for the making of Ministerial Standards relating to the design and performance of radiocommunications devices.
Section 12 of the Act provides that the Minister may issue to an applicant a certificate authorising the applicant to apply to a specified device, or a device included in a specified class of devices, a statement certifying that the device complies with a specified Ministerial Standard made under section 9 Section 12 also provides that the Minister may, for the purposes of section 12, require an applicant to submit a device for examination against the relevant Ministerial Standard.
Subparagraph 93(2)(h)(iii) of the Act provides that regulations may be made prescribing fees to be payable in respect of examinations conducted under section 12.
Schedule 2 of the Regulations sets out the fees payable with respect to examinations conducted under section 12.
The Minister recently made two new Ministerial Standards under section 9 which were published in the Gazette on 21 August 1990: Ministerial Standard No.244, relating to radiocommunications devices used in the 27 MHz Inshore Boating Service; and Ministerial Standard No.274 relating to radiotelephony devices used in the VHF International Maritime Mobile Service (refer to Statutory Rules No.’s 262 and 263 of 1990 respectively).
The amendment omits the current Schedule 2 and substitutes a new Schedule 2 which incorporates, at new items 2 and 4, references to provide that the fees payable with respect to the examination, under section 12, of devices against Ministerial Standard No. 244 is $700, and against Ministerial Standard No. 274 is $1,400.
• Commencement (subclause 1.1)
The amendments commence on 1 December 1990.