7 February 2017
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) are seeking to advise the surveying profession about changes to differential GPS and licencing requirements. The Board has been requested to forward the details below for your attention. The ACMA is the federal government regulator for radiocommunications, telecommunications, broadcasting and the internet. As part of their priority compliance areas (PCAs) for technical regulation, they have developed new educational material which provides guidance to DGPS operators, such as surveyors, about radiocommunications licensing in the wake of the 400 MHz band review:
Through their field spectrum monitoring activities they have found a number of DGPS services, including surveyors, operating in Segment T (457.50625 – 459.9875) and Segment Y (467.50625-469.9875 MHz) of the harmonised government spectrum (HGS) without a radiocommunications licence. As government services transition into the HGS there is a risk that unlicensed DGPS equipment could interfere with these critical communications. Amongst other activities, they are seeking to educate operators of DGPS equipment about the 400 MHz band changes and their licensing requirements. It is an offence under the Radiocommunications Act 1992 to operate DGPS equipment without an appropriate radiocommunications licence.