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Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act, 2007 (Act No. 21 of 2007)

Regulations

Protection of the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Areas in terms of the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act, 2007

Schedule B-Regulations on administrative matters regarding Schedule A for the Karoo central astronomy advantage areas declared for radio astronomy purposes

4. Requirements and Procedures for Compliance Assessment and Permit Applications

 

(1) Prior to the issuing of any permit for frequency spectrum use and the transmission of a radio communication signal from a radio station within the Karoo central astronomy advantage areas, a compliance assessment shall be performed on each such transmission by the management authority, or alternatively by the licensee or licence exempt operator carrying out, or intending to carry out, the transmission. The applicant for a permit must indicate in the permit application whether he will perform the compliance assessment, or arrange for it to be done by a contractor, or request the management authority to do it.

 

(2) The compliance assessment shall be performed by a competent person, as contemplated in regulation 8 of these Schedule B Regulations, who is employed or contracted by the management authority or the licensee or the licence exempt operator transmitting or intending to transmit the signal.

 

(3) The compliance assessment must determine:
(a) The radio frequency interference level at the SKA Virtual Centre as prescribed in Schedule A of these Regulations and the comparison thereof with the applicable protection level for radio astronomy observations prescribed in the Protection Levels Regulations, 2012, according to the criteria prescribed in regulation 6 of these Schedule B Regulations; and
(b) The radio frequency interference level within the areas prescribed for the prohibition of saturation level interference in Schedule A of these Regulations and the comparison thereof with the saturation level, all according to the criteria prescribed in regulation 6 of these Schedule B Regulations; and
(c) Whether there is compliance with all the applicable regulations made in terms of the Act.

 

[A list of the regulations that must be complied with in the compliance assessment for a permit application is provided in Annexure A to these Schedule B Regulations to assist applicants: provided that this list shall not be considered as exhaustive as there may be further or different aspects involved in a particular application.]

 

(4) The report for compliance assessment based on computer modelling shall include all the information and data required as listed and described in a schedule to be obtained from the management authority.

 

(5) In the event of a dispute between the applicant and the management authority, about:
(a) the validity of the radio frequency interference levels determined by means of computer modelling, or
(b) the accuracy of the determined radio frequency interference levels, that are considered to be unacceptable by the management authority,

then appropriate and feasible measurements of the interference level at a measurement point to be determined by the management authority, with acceptance of the location by the applicant, must be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions in regulation 6 of these Schedule B Regulations. The party raising the dispute will be liable for the costs of the measurements to be done, provided that, if the results of the measurements proves that the dispute raised was valid, then the costs must be shared between the parties as agreed to in advance according to an estimate.

 

(6) The results of the measurements, contemplated in sub-regulation 4(5), shall be reported in a separate detailed measurement report. The report shall include a description of the measurement process and standards used, the list of measuring and ancillary equipment used with calibration certificates, full information on measurement parameters (including location, height, date, time, and weather conditions) and the measurement results.

 

(7) An application for a permit shall be done on a form obtained from the management authority and include all the information and data required therein. The application shall indicate whether the applicant chose to arrange for the compliance assessment to be performed or whether it is requested that the assessment must be performed by the management authority.

 

(8) The completed application form and the compliance assessment report, if applicable, must be submitted by the licensee or licence exempt operator to the management authority for consideration and evaluation