S.I. No. 563/2013 - Wireless Telegraphy (1800 MHz and Preparatory Licences in the 1800 MHz Band) Regulations, 2013

Type Statutory Instrument
Publication 2014-01-03
State In force
Text As published
articles 9

This is the act as published. Later amendments are not folded into the text below: each one is a separate act in this repository and an entry in this law's history.

Reform history JSON API

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 3rd January, 2014.

The Commission for Communications Regulation, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 6 (as substituted by section 182 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 (No. 18 of 2009)) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1926 , (No. 45 of 1926) and with the consent of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, pursuant to section 37 of the Communications Regulation Act 2002 (No. 20 of 2002), hereby makes the following regulations:

Citation

1.

1.

These Regulations may be cited as the Wireless Telegraphy (1800 MHz and Preparatory Licences in the 1800 MHz Band) Regulations, 2013.

Interpretation

2.

2.

(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

“1800 MHz Band” means the 1710 to 1785 MHz band paired with the 1805 to 1880 MHz band;

“1800 MHz Licence” means a Non-exclusive Licence granted under section 5 of the Act of 1926 in accordance with and subject to the matters prescribed in these Regulations to keep and have possession of Apparatus in a specified place in the State;

“Act of 1926” means Wireless Telegraphy Act 1926 (No. 45 of 1926);

“Act of 1972” means Wireless Telegraphy Act 1972 (No. 5 of 1972);

“Act of 2002” means Communications Regulation Act 2002 (No. 20 of 2002);

“Apparatus” means apparatus for wireless telegraphy as defined in section 2 of the Act of 1926 for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services in the 1800 MHz Band;

“Assignee” means a party to whom some or all of the rights and obligations under a Licence have been transferred;

“Assignor” means the party from whom some or all of the rights and obligations under a Licence have been transferred;

“Auction” means the competitive award procedure used by the Commission for the purpose of granting rights of use for radio frequencies in the 1800 MHz Band, as detailed in the Information Memorandum;

“Auction Rules” means the rules and procedures relating to the Auction set out in the Information Memorandum;

“Authorisation Regulations” means the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Authorisation) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 335 of 2011);

“Bidder” has the meaning set out in the Information Memorandum;

“Commission” means the Commission for Communications Regulation;

“CPI” means the Consumer Price Index as published from time to time by the Central Statistics Office or, as the case may be, its successor;

“CPI Adjustment” means a negative or positive adjustment of the SUF, calculated using the CPI according to the methodology set out the by the Commission in the Information Memorandum;

“Decision of 2009” means the European Commission Decision 2009/766/EC, of 16 October 2009, on the harmonisation of the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands for terrestrial systems capable of providing pan-European electronic communications services in the Community;

“EMC Directive” means Directive 2004/108/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility and repealing Directive 89/336/EEC;

“Electronic Communications Network” and “Electronic Communications Service” have the meanings assigned to them in the Framework Regulations;

“EURIBOR” means the Euro Interbank Offered Rate;

“Framework Regulations” means European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Framework) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 333 of 2011 );

“General Authorisation” means an authorisation for an undertaking to provide an electronic communications network or service under and in accordance with Regulation 4 of the Authorisation Regulations;

“Harmful Interference” means interference which endangers the functioning of a Radionavigation Service or other safety services or which otherwise seriously degrades, obstructs or repeatedly interrupts a Radiocommunication Service operating in accordance with a requirement under the International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations, a regulation of an institution of the European Union or legislation giving effect to an act, or provisions of an act, adopted by an institution of the European Union relating to the provision of an electronic communications service, electronic communications network or an associated facility or the radio frequency spectrum, or regulations made under the Act of 1926;

“Information Memorandum” means the information memorandum which was published on 14 November 2013 and set out in the Commission’s Document numbered 13/104 for the purposes of outlining in detail the processes and procedures the Commission would follow in running the Auction;

“Licence” means an 1800 MHz Licence or a Preparatory Licence, as the case may be;

“Licensee” means the holder of an 1800 MHz Licence or a Preparatory Licence, as the case may be;

“Non-exclusive”, in relation to a Licence, means that the Commission is not precluded from authorising the keeping and possession by other persons of other apparatus for wireless telegraphy on a Non-Interference and Non-Protected Basis in the 1800 MHz Band;

“Non-Interference and Non-Protected Basis” means that the use is subject to no harmful interference being caused to any Radiocommunication Service, and on which no claim may be made for the protection of apparatus used on this basis against harmful interference originating from Radiocommunication Services;

“Preparatory Licence” means a Non-exclusive Licence granted under section 5 of the Act of 1926 in accordance with and subject to the matters prescribed in these Regulations to keep and have possession of Apparatus in a specified place in the State;

“Radiocommunication Service” means a service as defined in the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union involving the transmission, emission or reception of radio waves for specific telecommunication purposes;

“Radionavigation Service” means a service involving the determination of the position, velocity and/or other characteristics of an object, or the obtaining of information related to its parameters, by means of the propagation properties of radio waves and used for the purposes of navigation, including obstruction warning;

“Reserve Price” means €0.794 million per Spectrum Block;

“Spectrum Block” means a 5 MHz paired block of spectrum in the 1800 MHz Band;

“Spectrum Usage Fee” or “SUF” has the meaning set out in the Information Memorandum;

“Undertaking” has the meaning set out in the Framework Regulations;

“Upfront Fee” has the meaning set out in the Information Memorandum;

“Winning Bidder” has the meaning set out in the Information Memorandum; and

“Working Day” means a day which is not a Saturday or Sunday or a public holiday.

Licences to which these Regulations apply

3.

3.

(1) These Regulations apply to:

in the form of the respective Licences set out in Schedules 1 and 2 to these Regulations.

Application for the Grant of, and Form of, Licences

4.

4.

(1) Application for the grant of any Licence to which these Regulations apply shall be made by a Winning Bidder to the Commission in writing, and in such form as may be determined by the Commission from time to time.

Duration of Licences

5.

5.

(1) The commencement date of a Preparatory Licence to which these Regulations apply shall be set by the Commission and specified in the Preparatory Licence. Unless it has been withdrawn or had its duration amended under Regulation 7(2) and in accordance with the Authorisation Regulations, a Preparatory Licence to which these Regulations apply, shall in any event expire on such date as may be determined by the Commission and as specified in the Preparatory Licence.

Conditions of Licences

6.

6.

It shall be a condition of any Licence to which these Regulations apply, that the Licensee shall:

or both;

Enforcement, Amendment, Withdrawal and Suspension

7.

7.

(1) Enforcement by the Commission of compliance by a Licensee with conditions attached to its Licence shall be in accordance with the Authorisation Regulations.

Licence Fees

8.

8.

(1) The fee for an 1800 MHz Licence is the sum of the Upfront Fee and the Spectrum Usage Fees over the duration of the Licence less any rebates or adjustments or refunds applicable to the Licensee, as identified in the Information Memorandum.

Licensee to satisfy all Legal Requirements

9.

9.

(1) Licences granted pursuant to these Regulations do not grant to the Licensee any right, interest or entitlement other than the right to keep, and have possession of, install, and maintain, and additionally in the case of an 1800 MHz Licence, to work and use, at a specified location or locations in the State, apparatus for wireless telegraphy for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services.

SCHEDULE 1

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ACT, 1926

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY (1800 MHz AND PREPARATORY LICENCES IN THE 1800 MHz BAND) REGULATIONS 2013

1800 MHz Licence for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services

Licence under section 5 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 , to keep and have possession of apparatus for wireless telegraphy for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services.

The Commission for Communications Regulation, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 5 (as substituted by section 182 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 (No. 18 of 2009)) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 (No. 45 of 1926), hereby grants to the Licensee specified ___ of _____ authorisation to keep and have possession of the apparatus for wireless telegraphy for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services specified in Part 2 to this Licence, subject to such apparatus being installed, maintained, worked and used in accordance with the terms and conditions and restrictions set out in the Wireless Telegraphy (1800 MHz and Preparatory Licences in the 1800 MHz Band) Regulations, 2013 ( S.I. No. 563 of 2013 ) (“the Regulations”), including, but not limited to, the following:

This Licence shall come into effect on DD/MM/YY (the “Licence Commencement Date”) and, subject to revocation, suspension or withdrawal, expires on DD/MM/YY (the “Licence Expiry Date”).

Signed: ___

For and on behalf of the Commission for Communications Regulation

Date of Issue: ______ Official Stamp

Part 1

Commencement and Expiry dates per Spectrum Block

Authorised Band Name of Spectrum Block Uplink / Downlink Frequency Assigned to Spectrum Block Commencement Date per Spectrum Block Expiry Date per Spectrum Block
1800MHz Block I, J, K etc. From ___ MHz to ___ MHz DD Month YYYY DD Month YYYY

Part 2

The Apparatus to which this Licence applies

Equipment Index Reference Terrestrial System Equipment Description Manufacturer Model

Part 3

Apparatus Location and Details

1800 MHz Band

Site Identity Eastings Northings Equipment Index Reference Maximum EIRP1

Part 4

Licence Conditions

1. General

“Licensed Spectrum Block(s)” means the Spectrum Blocks set out in Part 1 of the Licence.

“Terrestrial Systems” means terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services that are in compliance with the technical implementing measures adopted pursuant to Decision No 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (“Radio Spectrum Decision”) and in conformity with the standards referred to in Sections 1 to 4 of this Schedule.

For the purposes of carrying out quality of service compliance checks, the Licensee shall, on request, provide to the Commission the following:

2. Technical Conditions

3: Quality of Service (QoS) Obligations

"Network unavailability" means the average number of minutes per terminal per six month period for which services on the network are not available due to a network disturbance, failure or scheduled unavailability.

“The network” means any Terrestrial System which uses the Licensed Spectrum Blocks.

Table 1: Weighting Factors for Network Unavailability tracking all periods of network unavailability.

Network Unavailability, Weighting Factors(divide duration of each network event by weighting factor) Network Unavailability, Weighting Factors(divide duration of each network event by weighting factor) Network Unavailability, Weighting Factors(divide duration of each network event by weighting factor) Network Unavailability, Weighting Factors(divide duration of each network event by weighting factor)
Monday to Friday Saturday Sunday
For periods between 07.00 and 24.00 1 2 4
For periods between 00.00 and 07.00 4 8 16

In this paragraph “voice calls” does not include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.

Table 2: The minimum “voice call” standard for each 6 month period for annual reporting

Average Worst Case
Maximum Permissible Blocking RatesThis refers to the maximum percentage of total call attempts which are unsuccessful during the time consistent busy hour5 . 2% 4%
Maximum Permissible Dropped Call RatesThis refers to the maximum percentage of total originating calls which are prematurely released by the network within 3 minutes of the call being made. 2% 4%
Transmission qualityThe Licensee shall ensure that the speech transmission quality is as good as or better than the speech quality associated with the GSM Standard and GSM Technical Specifications of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (“ETSI”). The Licensee shall ensure that appropriate echo treatment equipment is used and that it is properly configured. Transmission qualityThe Licensee shall ensure that the speech transmission quality is as good as or better than the speech quality associated with the GSM Standard and GSM Technical Specifications of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (“ETSI”). The Licensee shall ensure that appropriate echo treatment equipment is used and that it is properly configured. Transmission qualityThe Licensee shall ensure that the speech transmission quality is as good as or better than the speech quality associated with the GSM Standard and GSM Technical Specifications of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (“ETSI”). The Licensee shall ensure that appropriate echo treatment equipment is used and that it is properly configured.

SCHEDULE 2

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ACT, 1926

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY (1800 MHz AND PREPARATORY LICENCES IN THE 1800 MHz BAND) REGULATIONS 2013

Preparatory Licence for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services.

Preparatory Licence under section 5 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 , to keep and have possession of apparatus for wireless telegraphy for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services.

The Commission for Communications Regulation, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 5 (as substituted by section 182 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 (No. 18 of 2009)) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 (No. 45 of 1926), hereby grants to the Licensee specified __ of __ authorisation to keep and have possession of the apparatus for wireless telegraphy for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services specified in Part 2 to this Licence, subject to such apparatus being installed and maintained in accordance with the terms and conditions and restrictions set out in the Wireless Telegraphy (1800 MHz and Preparatory Licences in the 1800 MHz band) Regulations, 2013 ( S.I. No. 563 of 2013 ) (“the Regulations”), including, but not limited to, the following:

This Licence shall come into effect on DD/MM/YY (the “Licence Commencement Date”) and, subject to revocation, suspension or withdrawal, expires on DD/MM/YY (the “Licence Expiry Date”).

Signed: ___

For and on behalf of the Commission for Communications Regulation

Date of Issue: ______ Official Stamp

Part 1

Licence Conditions

Part 2

Statement of Authorised Apparatus

To Include:

Authorised Band Commencement Date Expiry Date Description of Apparatus
1800MHz DD Month YYYY DD Month YYYY

GIVEN under the official seal of the Commission for Communications Regulation

23 December 2013.

KEVIN O’BRIEN,

Chairperson.

For and on behalf of the Commission for Communications Regulation

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

20 December 2013.

PAT RABBITTE,

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations prescribe matters in relation to licences for apparatus for Wireless Telegraphy for terrestrial systems capable of providing Electronic Communications Services in the 1800 MHz Band.

Footnotes

1

EIRP is the Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power

2

Repeaters are also included as a Base Station for the purposes of this Licence.

3

As defined in Decision 2009/766/EC as amended by Decision 2011/251/EU.

4

http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg1150e.pdf and http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg1150f.pdf.

5

“Time consistent busy hour” means the period of one-hour starting at the same time each day for which the average traffic of the network concerned is greatest over the days under consideration. The time consistent busy hour shall be determined from an analysis of traffic data obtained from the service and be subject to the Commission’s approval. The ‘Time consistent busy hour’ is determined from the operator’s voice traffic. It is the one-hour period during which there is the highest level of traffic. The blocked call rates are measured for the same one-hour period during each review period (i.e. 6 months). The one-hour period is determined by the operator and is subject to the Commission’s approval.

6

The Commission does not envisage drive test measurements being required on a frequent basis, but notes that such measurements may be appropriate in circumstances where: • a Licensee is submitting a compliance report on QoS for the first time; • the Commission’s own verification checks, drive test measurements or other information suggests that there may be discrepancies in the compliance report on QoS or the Licensee may not be meeting its QoS obligations.

7

Drive Test Measurements are measurements collected using a motor vehicle.

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