Ofcom General Notice Update
Date Added 26.05.21
On 1 March 2021, Ofcom notified licensees of a proposal to vary radiocommunications licences to include a new licence condition. This new licence condition would require licensees to comply with international guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) for the protection of the general public.
This relates to the risk to the general public of being exposed to radiation (radio waves) usually from a fixed antenna.
In almost all the systems that Resound install the transmitted power levels are very low and the risk to the public is also very low.
The location of outdoor antennas is generally on roof areas or in plant rooms from which the general public are excluded.
Most Ofcom Licenses for on-site systems restrict the Effective Radiated Power transmitted from an antenna to a maximum of 5 Watts.
This is a very low level and is generally just sufficient for on-site communication.
Handportable radios intermittently transmit between 4 and 5 Watts when the Push-to-Talk button is held down only.
The duty cycle (or amount of transmitting) in each hour is often less than ten per cent and this reduces the overall risk even further.
In general it should certainly be possible for most Licensees to fully comply with the amended licence conditions.
If you are unsure if this has an impact on your system, please contact Resound on 0333 121 2000 if you require any further details.
The below Ofcom document sets out their final decision relating to that proposal.