OfReg offers amnesty for illegal mobile radios
(CNS): Individuals, businesses, non-profits or other entities using professional land mobile radio devices that do not comply with Cayman’s licensing legislation are being offered an amnesty until the end of the year. OfReg has announced the move to address public health and safety concerns, as unlicensed radios can interfere with networks and essential radio-enabled services and devices, including pacemakers.
OfReg officials explained that this is a serious issue but is mostly one of unintended consequences, with businesses such as construction and hospitality companies unknowingly importing handheld radio devices with factory pre-set frequencies that are the same as existing radio-enabled services.
OfReg Spectrum Manager Richard Womersley said there are safety concerns and potential consequences with the use of unlicensed mobile radios.
“This is a well-known problem in other countries around the world,” he said. “There are documented incidents in the construction industry, such as two different crane operators unknowingly operating on the same radio channel and one acting on instructions intended for the other.
“There are even recorded incidents of interference with life-saving medical devices such as pacemakers or critical national infrastructure frequencies such as air traffic control. Thankfully, we have not had any serious incidents in Cayman yet, and we are acting in the public interest to ensure that remains the case,” Womersley added.
Anyone using these types of professional land radio devices should come forward and check if they require a licence to operate them before the end of the year.
“We’ve been working with a number of companies who already use these devices to adapt the frequencies in use to avoid any interference with other users and to bring them up to date with any licensing requirements,” Womersley explained.
Not all handheld radio devices require a licence to use and operate, such as basic walkie-talkies, often referred to as ‘Family Radio’ devices. OfReg recently made many of these basic radio devices exempt from licensing and said they are quite easily identifiable from professional land mobile radios.
“There is a simple general difference between a Family Radio type device and a professional land radio device which requires a licence to operate,” Womersley said. “Family radio walkie-talkies that many people have for fun have an integrated antenna, or aerial which cannot be removed. Professional land mobile radio devices, on the other hand, usually have antennas that can be detached.
“There are other ways to distinguish them, such as detachable battery packs, but we ask that if any business is not sure what type of device they have or whether they need a licence, to get in touch with us and we will work with them to ensure they are operating them legally and most importantly safely,” he added.
The Land Mobile Radio Amnesty runs until the end of 2024.
The spectrum team at OfReg can be contacted by email at spectrum@ofreg.ky
or by phone at 1(345) 946-4282.See more details in the OfReg document below:
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Category: Politics, Private Sector Oversight
Can OfReg confirm and list what radios/frequencies are Exempt/(Licence Free)?
Already noted Exempt were FRS (Family Radio Service)
what about:
GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)
or those radios that have dual FRS and GMRS
or MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service)
or PMR446 (Personal Mobile Radio [446MHz])
can somebody list off what is or isn’t License Free Radios in Cayman?
No.
My Starlink?
reduce cellular service cost.
Boy, these swivel jockeys really need to get a life🙄
I guess OfReg will be needing some brand new spectrum scanning SUVs patrolling 24/7/365 then? Or else they gonna target offenders with some jamming tech or death ray😂
‘Amnesty’ LMAO Aren’t we important! OK corral, draw your professional land mobile radio devices, showdown.
Will this ‘showdown’ take place on the Wild West of the ocean, where the mobile radio has been used for decades? What about trunked radio?
Why, oh why, is this even a “thing”? My neighbor’s son has a couple of these things. Should we stone him, or merely steal his communication toy, of which he and his friends do ZERO harm to anyone, while they play as kids do.
Roger that. Idiots.
Can someone please pull up the statistics for pacemaker issues occurring in Cayman directly due to a walkie talkie being used?
I mean, I’ve never read one single story about this.
Ofreg need to actually fix something worthwhile. Y’know, like when consumers will benefit. For example, when internet service is repeatedly disrupted and the best we’ll get is a “loops, sorry about that.” email, with no countenance of a discount or refund. The same businesses will then push through price increases at the drop of a hat.
Shoot, pull up stats on pacemaker/radio interference vs # pacemakers & # radios in any country you can find it. One incident somewhere sometime that no one can reference isn’t very worrying. You’ve more chance of dying of bee stings I’d bet. Like you said OfReg need to focus on something worthwhile.
I must have had two dozen unsolicited text messages from flow reminding me to pay my bill two weeks before it is due. This is badgering and abuse of telecoms. Ofreg should outlaw this kind of harrassment!
I still have some old walkie talkies that my kids used to play with. Am I going to jail or can I turn the kids in?
Article states these devices (“Family Radio”) are exempt from licensing.
So you’re saying the OP can’t turn their kids in for temporary free child care? Gotcha.
Brought to you by the same bunch of clowns at OfReg that tried to charge license fees for WiFi Hot Spots back in 2017.
In that case, can offreg please advise on current protocol and fee payment regime for local telegram and/or smoke signal communication?
Given that CBC seems to have ground to a halt and can’t process packages within a month of arrival I will resort to burning jamaican smuggled ganja in 1g increments rolled up with legally purchased lion pride paper instead of legally imported smoke signal paper which would take CBC 3 years to process.
mean while radio silent on everything else
These laws have been in place since the 1980s. I think payments were made at the post office back then. There’s no valid reason for using this kind of equipment without understanding or following the country’s regulations. I’m also not sure if it can even be legally imported without some sort of declaration.
OfReg, go get a life and stop piggy backing same as government members off the backs of us that are paying for you, to question and prohibit us when you do nothing to those that are robbing people, us!
who said ofreg were an overpaid waste of space!!!!!!???
“Illegal mobile radios” LOLOL! Well, there’s your confirmation of OfReg hard at work. Nothing more pressing.
Illegal mobile radios. Where do I get mine? I’m sure there are even stores on the Brac which sell them. No worry about that, no coordination with CBC about importing illegal devices. Nope. Just more threats of low-hanging fruit noninforcement.
next up from ofreg… an amnesty on firesticks!!!
welcome to wnderland…..zzzzzz
Don’t forget about those pesky petrol additives; those things could be seriously dangerous.
Mobile phone consumers pay 3-5 times rest of the world rates for lousy antiquated data speeds, anti-service, with high latency. Entry level post-paid data plans are KYD$85/mo, and with implausibly low amounts of bundled monthly data. Plans that make sense are nearly $200/month, for each line. The average household of 4 is burdened with hundreds of dollars a month, just in oppressive connectivity taxes underwritten by this foreign business-friendly OfReg.
I don’t know where you are getting your service from but maybe you should check out the prepaid plans. I spend $55 for 8 Gig of data and 500 anywhere minutes, onnet calls are free, text messages via all social media are free.
Anywhere minutes?!? Dude, nobody makes “phone calls” anymore. It’s all data voip and 8Gb is nothing in 2024 esp when served at 3G speed. There is no sensible data option for an IoT SIM service for today’s vehicles with infotainment features. It used to be that another SIM could piggyback on an existing postpaid data plan for only $10/mo extra per month. In Cayman, it costs another $1000 a year for that.
Just such utter nonsense. The money government wastes on OfReg would be better spent having an island wide bonfire fueled with $100.00 notes.
With several Guy Fawkes!
In the interest of public safety, can OfReg let us know about their Toyota Hilux. Locally bought but sourced out of the Middle East. Came with only one key and no warranty, but sold as a new vehicle and priced accordingly.
Outstanding 9:24 am, yes totally focus on trivial $#@% whilst the fleecing of Cayman is in full swing, but saying that when have these so called top notch civil servants ever use their pea size brain to improve or make govt even work as a matter of fact, but they absolutely have no problem masturbating and pumping up their enormous salaries and egos
I’m afraid I’m going to have to call a class II internet foul on you for using ‘masturbating’ and ‘pumping’ in the same sentence. However, since you properly spelled both terms, I choose to give you the OfReg penalty, which is to say ‘no action’.
Onesie did mention Pea Size Brain.
So typical of regulation in Cayman. Focus on the most trivial topics and ignore the important ones.
Government just CANNOT help itself with grabbing fees from any source!
Want a new source of revenue?? Restore licenses for and the requirements to have lights on all bicycles!! It’s simple safety and common sense! It was that way in the 1960,s – 70s. We’ve continued to go backwards!
Crime as well as gun crimes rising quickly in the Cayman, and they worry about some radios…sounds like you’re becoming much like the USA
Not sure what exactly OfReg is expected to do about gun crime?
If you strap an antenna on your gun, Ofreg will be kicking in your back doors!
Try and wake up like you, duh, duh!
OfReg should focus on the water supply licence for Cayman Water. Their licence expired years ago.
Radio silence from OfReg.
anyone see the salaries listed for the open positions for Offreg? this has been a COLLASAL waste of money for us, the consumers. They have cost us millions and offered us no savings.
But hey, glad we are protected from those dangerous radios and satellites.
Like they don’t have more important issues to address…
Legalize Starlink.
Gots to recognize it..
Ofreg is a complete waste of time. I’m looking forward to the new government elected in 2025 shutting them down
We got a 420 in progress.
What?? Illegal mobile radios? Where do I get one?
Will licensing my radio stop it from interfering with pacemakers?
Have these guys even read our constitution? This is absurd.
Where is my Star-link?
As usual, OfReg priorities prove to be set on taking nice things away from the man on street, while ignoring the fact that we getting robbed blind by CuC, Flow and fuel providers
wow….
your not getting my starlink
LOOLLLLLLLLL