Interference on Vodafone mobile network is NOW RESOLVED

The Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) was created by Act of Parliament, The Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulation Act No.30 of 2009 as amended by Amendment 22 of 2018 (the Act). Section 7(2)(e) of the Act mandates the Regulator to allocate assign and manage the radio spectrum.

7(2) “without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Regulator is to:”

(e)” allocate, assign and manage the radio spectrum. “

On Thursday 18th June 2020, the office of the Regulator received a general request from Vodafone to run a sweep test on the 900 MHz band and share the results with Vodafone, and there was no specific interference issue was reported at that time.  On 22nd June 2020, the TRBR after several communications with Vodafone confirms that there was an interfering signal on the Vodafone network, but had not concluded on which operator was causing the interference and therefore required further tests to identify and immediately mitigate the problem.

The TRBR conducted several interference tests in collaboration with both Digicel and Vodafone, and the results of the investigations were concluded on 28th June 2020.

TRBR wishes to advise all operators and the public that the interference issue that was experienced on the Vodafone network has been identified and was not from another operator as posted on the social media.

TRBR confirms that the issue is now resolved and is eventually closed.

TRBR wishes to re-iterate that any operator or individual is not allowed to transmit on any licensed frequency without having a legal license. Anyone who is found transmitting illegally on any licensed band will be dealt with according to the TRBR Act.

Further, TRBR wishes to advise the public and other stake holders to refrain from commenting on matters concerning interference as this is an issue that could have implications on the Telecom Market.

Only TRBR is mandated by the Act to manage spectrum in Vanuatu and all interference issues must be directed to TRBR and will only be handled by the office of TRBR. Interference issues are not easy to identify and can take a lot of resources, effort and time.

Speculations on 5G as the cause of COVID-19

The Office of the Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) is aware that there is a lot of concerning misinformation and speculation circulating throughout the community about 5G mobile network being the main cause of Coronavirus, (COVID-19).

As per the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), 5G, or fifth Generation, is the latest wireless mobile technology, first deployed in 2019. 5G represents an evolution in telecommunication standards, to enable increase in performance, 5G will extend into higher frequencies around 3.5 GHz and up to a few tens of GHz. Currently, exposure from 5G infrastructures at around 3.5 GHz is similar to that from existing mobile phone base stations such us those of 3G and 4G. ((ICNIRP), 2020)

Base stations emit radiofrequencies, electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) in the range from several hundred MHz to several GHz. The exact frequency bands used differ between technologies (GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, 4G, and 5G) and between countries.((ICNIRP), 2020)

International organizations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP) sets limits/standards for exposure to RF EMF. These limits are set well below levels at which harm to people may occur. To date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies. The ICNIRP and the WHO are not aware of any well-conducted scientific investigations where health symptoms were confirmed as a result of radio wave exposure in the everyday environment resulting with the COVID-19 virus. ((WHO), 2020) ((ICNIRP), 2020)

On another note, the Office of the TRBR wishes to inform the general public that we (TRBR) is responsible for checking frequencies and technical characteristic for new sites. This also include 5G sites however to date, we have not received any information’s or application from any of the Operators on the roll out of 5G.

The Government of Vanuatu through the Office of the Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) is advising all citizens not to continue spreading misleading information and that all media outlets must not published any article on 5G as the main cause of COVID-19 virus, unless a confirmation is received by the ITU and WHO.  

For more information, please contact: The Office of the Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) on telephone + 678 27621 or email: enquiries@trbr.vu

 

References:

(ICNIRP), I. C.-I. (2020, April 4th ). ICNIRP. Retrieved from International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP): https://www.icnirp.org/

(WHO), W. H. (2020, April 8th ). WHO. Retrieved from World Health Organisation (WHO): https://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs304/en/

Separation of Registry and Registrar Functions for .vu ccTLD

The office of the Vanuatu Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) would like to confirm that Neustar has taken over as the Registry Operator of Vanuatu’s .vu country code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD).

With extensive experience of ccTLD registry operations both large and small, Neustar Vanuatu Limited (Neustar) is poised to bring further growth to the namespace through active promotion and increased retail competition, as well as providing significantly improved Domain Name System (DNS) security, stability and integrity of the .vu domain zone.

TRBR has the function to determine the wholesale fee to be charged by the Registry Operator to Registrars for the registration of .vu ccTLD - under the ‘Telecommunications and Radiocommunications Act No. 30 of 2009 and the ‘Vanuatu domain Name Management and Administration Regulations Order No. 206 of 2016’.

TRBR also confirms that there may be some retail price changes for the registration of .vu ccTLD domain and renewals, since the removal of the legacy vertically integrated Registry and Registrar environment, and after the introduction of the new competitive commercial market place.

With this new development, Neustar will help to make .vu the preferred online identity for Vanuatu businesses and organisations. Their investment of a new DNS node in Vanuatu will enhance domain resolution speeds for internet users in-country and also the speed of global users visiting Vanuatu websites.

Neustar’s goal is to provide the technical, marketing and identity foundations to support local investment, capability, and capacity in e-commerce and internet technologies.

In August 2019, TRBR appointed Neustar Vanuatu Limited (Neustar) as the new Registry and DNS services provider for the .vu ccTLD. However, Telecom Vanuatu Limited (TVL) will continue as a Registrar for .vu domain names, and other new Registrars will be introduced as well to increase competition in the retail market.

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