A Sydney man has been fined $3,000 and ordered to forfeit valuable radio equipment that he had been using to make overpowered transmissions. The defendant pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful possession of a radiocommunications device under the Radiocommunications Act 1992. He appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney, on Tuesday, 27 January 2015.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority last year investigated allegations that the defendant used overpowered equipment to transmit on the Citizen Band Radio Service in the Sydney area. The ACMA had previously warned the defendant about using overpowered radiocommunications equipment to transmit on the Citizen Band Radio Service.
Citizen Band (CB) radios operate under a class licence system in Australia. The class licence includes the condition that transmissions must not exceed five watts. Exceeding five watts may interfere with transmissions of other legitimate users of the service.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions charged the defendant with two counts of unlawful possession of a radiocommunications device. The ACMA can sell items that are forfeited under the Act. In this case, as the radios are nonstandard devices that do not comply with Australian requirements, the radios will be destroyed.
‘This conviction is a logical outcome and reinforces the point that continued non-compliance will not be tolerated,’ said Mark Loney, the ACMA’s Executive Manager for Spectrum Operations and Services.
Citizen Band radios are permitted to be operated by any person in Australia for recreational or domestic purposes, or in connection with work or business, provided the person complies with the Radiocommunications (Citizen Band Radio Stations) Class Licence 2002.
The unlicensed use of a radiocommunications device is an offence under theRadiocommunications Act 1992. More information about radiocommunications interference is available here.