ICASA cracks down on piracy

By Candice Jones, ITWeb online telecoms editor

Johannesburg, 01 Apr 2008

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) spent R6 million on vehicles and technology that will clamp down on illegal broadcasters.

According to the regulator, three new spectrum interference detection vehicles, called mobile direction finding systems (MDFS), will enable ICASA to monitor compliance and enforcement of radio frequency spectrum usage.

"Pirate broadcasting starts on a small scale and once people realise they can get away with it, more and more people start to do it," says ICASA spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela.

Section 30 of the Electronic Communications Act Radio allows ICASA to control, plan, manage and administer the radio frequency spectrum. It also stipulates that no person may transmit any signal by radio, or use radio apparatus to receive any signal by radio except under and in accordance with a radio frequency spectrum licence granted by ICASA.

"If anybody is found to be using the frequency spectrum illegally, their equipment will be confiscated and they will be liable for prosecution by the court of law," says ICASA.

Hefty fines

The penalties for any form of illegal broadcast on radio spectrum can result in fines as high as R1 million, or 10% of the person or licensee's annual turnover for every day during which the offence continued.

Sekgoela says the vehicles are being used as a proactive measure to maintain the integrity of licensed service providers. "Pirate broadcasting is really at a minimum, but there are larger implications if it does occur. An example is if there are illegal broadcasts near the airport, they could affect the communication systems between towers and aircraft."

The vehicles will be used in Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Western Cape. "They will be shared or deployed among the regional offices as and when they are needed."

ICASA says plans to acquire MDFS vehicles for the Free State, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape are under way.

The MDFS cars will monitor spectrum between the 20MHz and 3GHz range. According to ICASA, they can differentiate between licensed and unlicensed frequencies, and data can be correlated with licences issued.

"In terms of the tracing of the signal, the accuracy of the MDFS will be equal or less than two degrees."

The MDFS also have the capability to determine whether licensed broadcasters are within stipulated range and signal strength. WiMax frequencies can also be monitored and when all licences are in place, ICASA plans to monitor those too.