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: