Use of ISM bands in the UK

Just had this response from OFCOM about the use of ISM bands without a licence in the UK:

“The use of licence-exempt apparatus is authorised under exemption regulations, with set emission powers and other criteria.  This is in order for it to be available to all users with minimal risk of disruption or interference.

The limits, including maximum power levels and whether airborne use is permitted, are set out in the UK Interface requirement. If apparatus being used for testing meets the relevant technical criteria and complies with IR 2030, then a licence will not be necessary. Please note that some frequency bands which may be licence-exempt in other countries, such as the USA, may not be so in the UK and only the frequency bands listed are eligible for the exemption of qualifying apparatus.

In some circumstances we may be able to authorise the test or development of non-compliant radio apparatus under an Innovation and Trial (I&T) licence.  However, this generally will be under conditions that are sufficiently remote, shielded or otherwise unlikely to affect other users.  I&T is not intended for the operational use of radio apparatus, such as for the monitoring / control / telemetry of other apparatus, where a licensed or exempt authorisation is already generally available.  Even if it were the radio apparatus itself that is under test or development (in excess of normally permitted limits) we should emphasise that, as described above, it will not be possible to grant an operational permission for its future deployment and use.”

My reading of this is that as long as we meet the interface requirements set out in IR 2030, we are perfectly at liberty to use ISM bands for beacons without a licence.

At 8m, this means a limit of 10mW ERP.  10mW ERP does not sound much but on WSPR or FT8 range might be surprising.

This means anyone in the UK can use 8m (or any other ISM band) for beaconing as long as they fully comply with IR 2030.

I am not a legal expert and I have just shared what OFCOM has written in answer to my question earlier in the week.  In this instance, OFCOM has been very helpful indeed. I should like to thank OFCOM for the prompt reply.

ISM bands legal operation

In some countries, people operate beacons to study radio propagation without needing a licence in the ISM bands. In the UK, such operation is unclear, so I have asked OFCOM to clarify. As I only asked yesterday I am not expecting an answer soon.

My question was:

"May I legally operate a test beacon, to investigate radio propagation, without a licence in the ISM bands at low power? If legal, at what power?"

Whatever the answer, I shall post it here.

In the meantime, this link seems to give a fair summary of legal ISM operation.

My reading indicates that at 8m one can use 10mW ERP legally under the short range devices legislation without a licence, but I do not know about type approvals. Can none type approved gear be used without a licence in the ISM bands in the UK? 

8m beacons

As I have mentioned before, I expect we will see this band (or small part of it) allocated to the amateur service eventually. For several years, I expect certain amateurs in certain countries to apply for limited access, possibly with spot frequencies and low power for limited time e.g. just for the Es season. 

My prediction is that 10 years from now the 8m band will be widely available.

An interesting recent posting on a Facebook page mentioned this is an ISM allocation. The question is there a legal way to get on the band very soon?

There is a new beacon in the west of Eire EI1CAH on 40.016MHz. This is the second Irish beacon. There is also a beacon in Slovenia S55ZMS (40.670MHz) and the South African 8m beacon ZS6WAB (40.675MHz) has been copied in Europe more than once.

A dipole for 40MHz is easy to make.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html .