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Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)

ICASA

Notice regarding Final Radio Frequency Assignment Plans for the Frequency Band 380 to 399.9 MHz in terms of Regulation 3 of the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations, 2015

2. Purpose

 

2.1 Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plan (RFSAP) provides information on the requirements attached to the use of a frequency band in line with the allocation and other information in the National Radio Frequency Plan (NRFP). This information includes technical characteristics of radio systems, frequency channelling, coordination, and details on the required migration of existing users of the band and the expected method of assignment.

 

2.2 This RFSAP states the requirements for the utilization of the frequency bands 380 - 387 MHz, 387 - 390 MHz and 390 - 399.9 MHz for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR), including digital Public Access Mobile Radio (PAMR) and Public Mobile Radio (PMR) services.

 

2.3 This follows the feasibility study concerning the 380 – 387 MHz, 387 – 390 MHz, and 390 - 399.9 MHz band1, as mandated by the 20132 and 20193 Radio Frequency migration plans, in which the Authority has concluded that the most efficient use of this band is for PPDR services. PAMR and PMR may be allowed for digital public safety provided they can coexist with PPDR services. Therefore, the Authority confirms its proposal in the ICASA 2013 Radio Frequency Migration Plan, which proposed that all public safety services should be consolidated in the same radio frequency band (380 - 399.9 MHz). The proposal also recommended that public safety users adopt a common standard where possible.

 

2.4 The clear general intention of this RFSAP is to assign this band as a continuous block for public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) as well as public safety. This RFSAP recognises the importance of having a band dedicated to Public Safety and free of any other potential sources of interference. Users would include Metro Police, Fire-Fighting services, Ambulance Services, Border Control, National Security, and other Government Services. This will result in all other users being migrated, making this a dedicated band for public safety. Therefore, all other users will migrate out of the band.

 

2.5 Public Protection and Disaster Relief, defined in ITU-R Report M.2377-1 (11/2017) 18, takes into account the individual definitions of public protection and disaster relief as stated below:

Public protection (PP) radiocommunication: Radiocommunications used by responsible agencies and organisations dealing with maintenance of law and order, protection of life and property, and emergency situations.

Disaster relief (DR) radiocommunication: Radiocommunications used by agencies and organisations dealing with a serious disruption of the functioning of society, posing a significant, widespread threat to human life, health, property, or the environment, whether caused by accident, nature, or human activity, and whether developing suddenly or as a result of complex, long-term processes.

Public mobile radio (PMR) Public Mobile Radio is radio apparatus used for short-range two-way voice communications.

 

2.6 Historically the 380 - 399.9 MHz band is divided into three sub-bands, i.e., 380 – 387 MHz, 387 – 390 MHz, and 390 - 399.9 MHz, for digital PPDR (including Digital PMR) services. However, in this RFSAP the Authority proposes to consider these as one band.

 

2.7 To conclude, the specific intention of this RFSAP is to assign the 380 – 387 MHz & 387 – 390 MHz & 390 - 399.9 MHz bands to digital PPDR (incl. Digital PMR) services. Digital PPDR services include Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), the predominant standard for this band in Europe4, P25 in North America or a still-emerging LTE PPDR/LTE 380 (not yet a 3GPP standard). There is ongoing strategic work by key stakeholders in the LTE ecosystem (e.g., the 450 MHz Alliance5) to identify LTE spectrum allocation in the 380 MHz band. TETRA narrowband (voice) spectrum usage is typically 5 MHz (380 - 385 MHz uplink and 390 - 395 MHz downlink) dedicated exclusively to public service agencies. The inherent data capabilities of TETRA are low. So, this is partly bridged by the wideband data standard - TETRA Enhanced Data Services (‘TEDS’), also known as ‘TETRA 2’, which increases data throughput tenfold from the existing TETRA standard6. Broadband PPDR typically requests to require 2 x 10 MHz of spectrum, e.g., see TEDS spectrum requirement7 from the TCCA. LTE 380 would likely require 2 x 5 / 2 x 10 MHz, too, for Broadband PPDR.

 

2.8 Considering all noted in the aforementioned 2.7, this RFSAP intends to
2.8.1 Reserve the overall band for digital public safety. All non-digital and non-PPDR users will be migrated out of this band.
2.8.2 Assign the 380 – 389.9 MHz band paired with 390 – 399.9 MHz for digital PPDR (including Digital PMR) services.

 

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1 Implementation of the Radio Frequency Migration Plan and the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Roadmap for public consultation, Government Gazette No. 45690, 24 December 2021.

 

2 Frequency Migration regulation and Radio Frequency Migration Plan March 2013, Government Gazette No 36334, 3 April 2013

 

3 ICASA. 2019. Radio Frequency Migration Plan 2019. Government Gazette No 42337, 29 March 2019

 

4 ETSI EN 300 392-2 (V3.4.1) (08-2010): "Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA); Voice plus Data (V+D); Part 2: Air Interface (AI)".

 

5 450 Alliance, https://450alliance.org/ & https://450alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/450Alliance-Annual-Global- Update-Public-version-FINAL-B.pdf

 

6 http://www.tetra-applications.com/item.html&objID=15195

 

7 Submission 4 - Attachment7 - Australasian TETRA Forum - Public Safety Mobile Broadband - Commissioned study (pc.gov.au) and https://tcca.info/documents/january-2019-tcca-spectrum-position.pdf/

 

18 ITU-R Report M.2377-1 (11/2017): Radiocommunication objectives and requirements for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR). Available online at https://www.itu.int/pub/R-REP-M.2377 .