On Thu, 25 Feb 2010, Roger Lapthorn wrote:
People may be interested in the reply from Rod Wilkinson at OFCOM
received
today. I asked him what OFCOM's view would be.
[...]
They state that ITU Radio Regs indicate that there is no allocation for
frequencies below 9 kHz. However in the UK, a licence would be required
as
there is no lower frequency limit for wireless telegraphy under the WT
Act
2006. [...]
there is already a very big commercial user of the elf and vlf spectrum,
they inject very big power into ground dipoles. emissions from one
continent
can be heard on another. and they do this without any license from the
radio
authorities. the only regulation they need regards maximum field
strengths
(and this is usually the realm of some environmental protection authority
and not the radio authority). the operating frequency varies, but is
usually
50Hz, 60Hz, 16.6Hz etc :)
sometimes when dealing with the goverment, the best practice is not to
ask
at all :) even if they agree with you there will always be a "but you
will
need a license for that" clause.
if you have to ask, ask them if it is their duty to regulate potential
electromagnetic wave transmission from instalations operating on 50Hz (or
any other frequency in the 0-9kHz region, that is not ITU regulated). you
would probably get an entirely different answer :)
VY 73
Jacek / SQ5BPF
ps. the answer that you got from OFCOM is actually very nice
