Explanatory note

These Regulations give effect to EU obligations of the United Kingdom contained in the Commission Implementing Decision 2016/2317/EU of 16th December 2016 amending Decision 2008/294/EC and Implementing Decision 2013/654/EU to simplify the operation of mobile communications on board aircraft (MCA services) in the Union (OJEU No L 345, 20.12.2016, p 67). These Regulations revoke the Wireless Telegraphy (Mobile Communications Services on Aircraft) (Exemption) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/953).

These Regulations exempt the use of any wireless telegraphy apparatus which complies with certain terms, provisions and limitations, from the requirement to be licensed under section 8(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (c.36). The apparatus must be on board an aircraft which is registered in the British Islands and the exemption applies when the aircraft is flying over the British Islands and the territorial waters adjacent thereto, or, for the time being, beyond the British Islands and the territorial waters adjacent thereto (regulation 4).

The terms, provisions and limitations for the exemption to apply are set out in regulation 5. These include the requirement that apparatus complies with specified standards published by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (“ETSI”) (regulation 5(1)). The apparatus must only operate in the 1800 MHz band or the 2100 MHz band (regulation 5(3)). The apparatus must only be used for mobile communication services on aircraft, when the aircraft is three thousand metres or more above the ground, where specified operational requirements are met and when it does not emanate outside the aircraft specified values for the equivalent isotropic radiated power (e.i.r.p.)(regulation 5(4)). The apparatus must not cause or contribute to any undue interference to any wireless telegraphy (regulation 5(5)). Finally, the apparatus must connect to a relevant network that complies with further technical requirements set out in regulation 5(7). Some of these requirements relate to the base transceiver station to which the apparatus is connected (in the case of UMTS and LTE systems, the base transceiver station is commonly known as “Node B”).

The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) publishes a list of the most recent and relevant versions of the ETSI standards referred to in the Regulations. That list is available to the public from the official website of the European Union at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html or from the EU Bookshop (as managed by the Publications Office of the European Union) by emailing: [email protected], or from the Publications Office of the European Union at 2 rue Mercier, 2985 Luxembourg, Luxembourg. The ETSI standards themselves are available to the public from ETSI on their website at http://www.etsi.org or from the ETSI Secretariat at 650 Route des Lucioles, 06921 Sophia-Antipolis CEDEX, France (Tel: +33 4 92 94 42 00).

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs to business is available to the public from OFCOM’s website at http://www.ofcom.org.uk or from the OFCOM Library at Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA. Copies of this assessment have also been placed in the library of the House of Commons.