PROCEDURES FOR INTERFERENCE INVESTIGATIONS

Step I – Once OOTR receives the complaint for an interference problem, OOTR advised the complainant to complete an Interference Form and send it back to us by email. Depending on the nature of the problem, there are two forms available.

1.      Interference to Radiocommunication Form (Form INT01)

2.      Interference to Domestic Systems (Form INT02)

The requirement for the provider to complete this form is to assist this office to assess your request/complaint based on the information for the next line of action.

Step II – Once we received the completed form, our office will then assess the problem to see if there is a need to proceed or take any other necessary actions. It is at this stage that OOTR advises the complainant to have a thorough check of their own system to see if the interference is a result of any internal problem. Once the complainant report back to us, we will then proceed with the next step. 

Step III – OOTR technical staff then proceed to the site where the interference is said to be happening. OOTR technical staff will have an initial assessment of the site for any obvious reasons.

Step IV - OOTR technical staff will then proceed with the usual check of the suspected system using our monitoring units. Such action catches the interferer depends on the nature of the signal. It is the responsibility of the OOTR to ensure that the interferer information is checked with all the information recorded in the office register in order to determine if it is an illegal transmission. In some cases where the signal modulation is low and quite hard to analyse, OOTR will then proceed with next step.

Step V - In an event that the OOTR is unable to verify the source of the signal using the monitoring unit, or wanted to reconfirm its findings, they can then call on the provider(s) to help out by isolating each provider signal. This is done by switching off each user of the band where the interference occurred. Providers are expected to present because OOTR staff will then need to access provider towers and transmission machines.

Step VI – Once the interferer is identified and confirmed by the monitoring unit, and by procedure V, OOTR will then contact the provider/source of interferer and advise them accordingly. If the interference poses risk to the public, OOTR will advise the interferer to shut down its transmission immediately. Otherwise OOTR and the interferer will work together to achieve a prompt solution to the problem.