RSGB interference consultation response

| January 19, 2015

Ofcom building and logoRSGB welcomes the recent Ofcom consultation document on control of interference which invites responses by 16 February.

The RSGB EMC committee has been lobbying for Ofcom to have a wider remit in enforcement of breaches of EMC regulations.

These proposals make the regulations more resilient to evolving technology, when it causes undue interference to Wireless Telegraphy apparatus.

The document is quite long and legalistic so we have provided guidance notes which can be found at Annex A (4-page/227KB PDF).

There are two sides to the legislation to prevent interference

  1. When equipment is taken into service it must be demonstrated to meet the essential requirements of the EMC and RTTE directives, usually by demonstrating compliance to relevant standards.
  2. Once in service the Wireless Telegraphy Act (WTA) allows enforcement for non-compliant apparatus.

The proposed changes aim to catch apparatus that exceeds the permissible levels in service.

This may be due to faulty equipment or installations or improper use.

It will give additional enforcement powers against individual apparatus not just the batch or range of equipment.

These changes are essential to prevent compromising important communication systems particularly those that ensure public safety.

We have some remaining concerns:

  1. Apparatus measured as compliant, may not meet the essential requirements when connected to a system where unbalanced supply and interconnecting cables may act as antenna with gain. We would like to see stronger powers for enforcement against complete systems which cause undue interference.
  2. Challenges will remain to prove undue interference. Provision of adequate resources to take field measurements and prove non-compliance with standards or undue interference will remain an issue.

We would urge you to respond positively as individuals by using the online form and repeat our concerns above along with any others you may have.

The EMC committee is also preparing a detailed response on behalf of the RSGB and we would welcome any input you might like to make by responding through the EMC Matters forum on the RSGB website or to emc.chairman@rsgb.org.uk.

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