Cellular mobile repeaters – a proposed regulatory approach
Submissions
The public consultation period has now closed. The ACMA received 5 submissions to the discussion paper:
- AMTA / Communications Alliance (.doc)
- Communications Law Centre, UTS (.doc)
- Optus (.docx)
- SpectrumWise Radiocommunications Consulting (.docx)
- Telstra
Background
The ACMA is seeking public comments on the proposed regulatory options for the supply of cellular mobile repeaters (repeater/s).
Repeaters are regularly used by mobile carriers as part of their ordinary network management. However, repeaters can also be used (illegally) by end-users without carrier permission. When used without carrier permission, repeaters can cause similar problems to those of mobile phone boosters, in that they have the capacity to cause substantial interference to the cellular network and consequentially may have an impact on mobile services, including access to emergency call services.
The discussion paper provides information on the existing regulatory arrangements that apply to repeaters, outlines the limitations of that framework, describes the policy outcomes the ACMA is seeking to achieve and presents options for regulating the supply of repeaters to achieve those policy outcomes.
The discussion paper invites comments on:
- The policy outcomes for mobile repeaters;
- The regulatory options identified in the paper;
- The impost on industry associated with the implementation of the identified options; and
- Any additional options that have not already been considered.
The discussion paper is available in Word (200 kb) or PDF (312 kb) formats.
Submissions
Interested parties are invited to make a submission on the discussion paper by close of business Friday, 21 October 2011.
Submissions should identify:
- the name of the party making the submission
- the organisation represented, if applicable
- contact details, including telephone, postal address and email address.
Submissions can be sent:
by email: repeaters.regulation@acma.gov.au or
by post:
Technical Regulation Development Section
Australian Communications and Media Authority
PO Box 13112
Law Courts
Melbourne VIC 8010
Electronic submissions should be in MS Word format.
Publication of submissions
In general, the ACMA publishes all submissions it receives.
The ACMA prefers to receive submissions that are not claimed to be confidential. However, the ACMA accepts that a submitter may sometimes wish to provide information in confidence. In these circumstances, submitters are asked to identify the material over which confidentiality is claimed and provide a written explanation for the claim.
The ACMA will consider each confidentiality claim on a case-by-case basis. If the ACMA accepts a claim, it will not publish the confidential information unless authorised or required by law to do so.
Release of submissions where authorised or required by law
Any submissions provided to the ACMA may be released under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (unless an exemption applies) or shared with other Commonwealth Government agencies under Part 7A of the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005. The ACMA may also be required to release submissions for other reasons including for the purpose of parliamentary processes or where otherwise required by law (for example, under a court subpoena). While the ACMA seeks to consult submitters of confidential information before that information is provided to another party, the ACMA cannot guarantee confidential information will not be released through these or other legal means.
