Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Outpost Licence) Determination 2015

Radiocommunications Act 1992

The AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY makes this Determination under paragraph 107(1)(f) of the Radiocommunications Act 1992.

Dated          4th September   2015

Chris Chapman
[signed]
Member

Richard Bean
[signed]
Member / General Manager

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Determination

  This Determination is the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Outpost Licence) Determination 2015.

2 Commencement

  This Determination commences on the day after it is registered.

Note   All legislative instruments and compilations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments kept under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. See http://www.comlaw.gov.au.

3 Revocation

  The Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Outpost Licence) Determination 1997 [F2005B01173] is revoked.

4 Scope

 (1) This Determination sets out conditions to which an outpost licence is subject in the following manner:

 (a) every outpost licence is subject to the conditions in Part 2;

 (b) every outpost licence (outpost non assigned station) is also subject to the conditions in Part 3.

 (2) However, if a condition in this Determination is inconsistent with a condition specified in the licence, the condition specified in the licence applies.

5 Definitions

  In this Determination, unless the contrary intention appears:

licensee means:

 (a) the holder of an outpost licence; or

 (b) a person authorised by the holder of an outpost licence to operate a station under the licence.

outpost licence (outpost assigned station) means an outpost licence that authorises the holder to operate an outpost assigned station.

outpost licence (outpost non assigned station) means an outpost licence that authorises the holder to operate an outpost non assigned station.

Note 1  In accordance with paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, other expressions in this Determination have the same meaning as in the Act, including:

 ACMA

 Australia

 import

Note 2  In accordance with section 64 of the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, other expressions in this Determination have the same meaning as in the Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2015, including:

• Act
• carriage service provider
• carrier
• harmful interference
• outpost assigned station
• outpost licence
• outpost non assigned station
• outpost station
• public correspondence
• station
• telecommunications network

Part 2 Conditions for every outpost licence

6 Conditions

  For paragraph 107(1)(f) of the Act, every outpost licence is subject to the conditions in this Part relating to the operation of any outpost station under the licence by the licensee.

7 Conditions of operation

 (1) The licensee must accept and transmit all telecommunications directed to an outpost station from the public for transmission, other than:

 (a) telecommunications directed to the station using a telecommunications network operated by a carrier or carriage service provider; and

 (b) telecommunications that would require use of a telecommunications network operated by a carrier or carriage service provider.

 (2) The licensee must operate an outpost station to transmit and receive all public correspondence on equal terms, and without favour or prejudice.

 (3) However, the licensee is not required to operate an outpost station to transmit or receive public correspondence while the station is required for communications in an emergency.

8 Transmitter output power

  The licensee must not operate an outpost station at a transmitter output power greater than the power sufficient to achieve efficient communications.

Note   Subsection 11(2) imposes a further restriction on the level of power used to operate an outpost non assigned station.

9 Call signs

  The licensee must operate an outpost station by transmitting the call sign allocated by the ACMA:

 (a) at the start of each transmission or series of transmissions; and

 (b) at the end of the transmission or series of transmissions.

Part 3 Conditions for outpost licence (outpost non assigned station)

10 Conditions

 (1) For paragraph 107(1)(f) of the Act, every outpost licence (outpost non assigned station) is subject to the conditions in this Part relating to the operation of any outpost non assigned station under the licence by the licensee.

 (2) The conditions in this Part are additional to the conditions in Part 2.

11 Technical performance of an outpost non assigned station

 (1) An outpost non assigned station must comply with the requirements of any applicable standard made under section 162 of the Act as in force at the time when:

 (a) if the station was manufactured in Australia — the day it was manufactured;

 (b) if the station was manufactured overseas and imported — the day it was imported;

 (c) if the station was altered or modified in a material respect in Australia — the day it was altered or modified.

 (2) An outpost non assigned station must not be operated using transmitter output power of more than 100 watts pX.

Note   If a standard mentioned in subsection 11(1) is amended or replaced by another standard after the day on which the relevant device was manufactured, imported, alterered or modified, the device need not comply with the new or amended standard.

12 Operation of station

  The licensee must only operate an outpost non assigned station in accordance with sections 13 and 14.

13 Permitted frequencies and purposes — any locality

  The outpost non assigned station may be operated at any locality, on a frequency mentioned in column 3 or 4 of an item in Schedule 1, for the transmission or reception of a message in relation to a distress or emergency situation, if no other satisfactory means of communication is available.

14 Permitted frequencies and purposes — telecommunications network only available through outpost non assigned station

 (1) This section applies to the operation of an outpost non assigned station at a locality mentioned in column 2 of an item in Schedule 1:

 (a) if a connection to a telecommunications network that is operated by a carrier or carriage service provider is only available through the station; or

 (b) if:

 (i) a connection to a telecommunications network that is operated by a carrier or carriage service provider is available through the station and also by other means; but

 (ii) the only working connection is through the station because each other means of connection to the telecommunications network is unavailable or out of service.

 (2) The outpost non assigned station may be operated at the locality, on a frequency mentioned in column 4 of the corresponding item in Schedule 1, to communicate with an outpost assigned station for any of the following purposes:

 (a) to obtain or provide medical aid or advice;

 (b) to transmit or receive public correspondence;

 (c) to transmit telecommunications that require the use of a telecommunications network operated by a carrier or carriage service provider.

 (3) The outpost non assigned station may also be operated at the locality, on a frequency mentioned in column 3 or 4 of the corresponding item in Schedule 1, for any of the following purposes:

 (a) to communicate with an outpost station at a location where there is no connection to a telecommunications network operated by a carrier or carriage service provider;

 (b) to communicate with other outpost stations for the purpose of participating in a community interest session;

 (c) for the transmission or reception of messages in relation to distress or emergency situations.

 (4) For subsection (2) and paragraphs (3)(a) and (b), the licensee of an outpost non assigned station must ensure that, as far as practicable, the station only operates on the lowest frequency mentioned in column 3 or 4 of that item.

 (5) For paragraphs (3)(a) and (b), the licensee of an outpost non assigned station must ensure that the station operates on a frequency only at a time when each outpost assigned station:

 (a) that is at the locality mentioned in column 2 of the item; and

 (b) that is permitted to operate on the frequency under an outpost licence (outpost assigned station); and

 (c) with which the outpost non assigned station of the licensee can communicate at that time using that frequency;

is open only for the transmission or reception of messages in relation to distress or emergency situations.

 (6) If the operation of an outpost non assigned station causes harmful interference to a service provided by another station, the outpost non assigned station must cease operating.

Note   Licensees of outpost non assigned stations should contact the Royal Flying Doctor Service for information regarding its operational requirements applying to outpost non assigned stations.

Schedule 1 Outpost non assigned stations — Royal Flying Doctor Service frequencies

(section 13 and subsections 14(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5))

Note   If an outpost assigned station at a locality mentioned in column 2 of an item in Schedule 1 is the nearest outpost assigned station to an outpost non assigned station, use of a frequency mentioned in column 3 or 4 of the item is available for communications between the stations.