Open Spectrum's core services consist of:
- frequency coordination and assignment for apparatus licensing of radiocommunications systems; and
- interference impact assessment for registration of spectrum licensed transmitters and receivers.
Your obligations
Generally speaking, all radiocommunications transmitters operating in Australia must be authorised by a licence issued by the Australian radiocommunications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA). See the ACMA’s Radiocommunications licensing page for more information.
We can advise you if you are able to operate your radiocommunications transmitter under a class licence or spectrum licence. In all other cases, your transmitter will require an apparatus licence. You can learn more about apparatus licensing here, or you can contact us to find out what type of licence is right for you and if you wish, apply for a licence.
If your business is authorised to operate a transmitter under a spectrum licence, then that transmitter is required to be registered, unless it is a type of transmitter that is specifically exempt under a licence condition. See the ACMA’s page on spectrum licensee obligations or click here to learn more about spectrum licensing.
The licensing or registration of receivers is also advised, as it improves the efficiency of interference management processes established by the ACMA. It also greatly increases the chances of your radiocommunications system being protected from interference.
Where we come in
Under its accredited person scheme, the ACMA has accredited our staff to carry out the frequency assignment work and interference impact assessment necessary for the respective ACMA licensing or registration of your radiocommunications system, in accordance with the law and the ACMA's procedural documents. For some cases, the ACMA may not have specified any coordination or assignment procedure, for which our engineers have the expertise to derive our own interference management criteria, taking into account the regulations and recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Not only do our services provide you with peace of mind in knowing that the work has been performed correctly, but your business will also save time and money. By performing the frequency assignment work and/or interference impact assessment, we have taken care of the largest component of the ACMA licensing and/or registration process, and the amount of work undertaken by the ACMA is minimised. In recognition of this, the ACMA reduce their administrative charge for issuing a licence or registering a device. Furthermore, the ACMA has established online facilities allowing us to submit technical data related to frequency assignment and device registration via the internet, which further reduces the administrative burden on ACMA staff and results in a further reduction of the administrative component of the ACMA’s fees.
Currently we can provide frequency assignment services and ACMA licensing for:
- Land mobile systems
- Fixed point-to-point links
- Fixed point-to-multipoint systems
- Paging systems
- CB repeaters
- Earth stations
but keep an eye on this list; it will grow quickly!