CPC-3-13-02 — Provision of Interference Identification and Resolution Services on a 24/7 Basis for NAV CANADA

Issue 2
April 2008

Comments and suggestions may be directed to the following address:

Industry Canada
Spectrum Management and Operations Branch
235 Queen Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H5

Attention: DOSP

via email: ic.spectrumpublications-publicationsduspectre.ic@canada.ca

All spectrum publications are now available on the Internet at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/spectrum

Table of Contents

  1. Application
  2. Background
  3. Disclaimer
  4. Principle
  5. Mandate
  6. Policy
  7. Procedures and Roles for Requesting Assistance
  8. Reference(s)
  9. Appendix A

    10. Application

    This procedure for the Provision of Interference Identification and Resolution Services on a 24/7 Basis for NAV CANADA only applies to NAV CANADA. Industry Canada will pursue similar arrangements with other Public Safety Services on a case-by-case basis.

    Background

    Industry Canada recognizes that both NAV CANADA and itself have responsibilities in resolving interference to radiocommunication systems and that support from Industry Canada to assist NAV CANADA in resolving such interference outside of normal business hours may be required. After-hours assistance has historically been made available to public safety organizations and others who are critically dependant on radiocommunications or are being severely impacted by devices emitting radio frequency energy.

    This procedure clarifies the respective roles of NAV CANADA and Industry Canada with respect to the Provision of Interference Identification and Resolution Services on a 24/7 Basis as outlined in the Agreement Between Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as Represented by the Minister of Industry Canada and NAVCANADA Regarding Radio Frequency Spectrum Management.

    Disclaimer

    If there is a discrepancy between this procedure and the agreement, the Agreement Between Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as Represented by the Minister of Industry Canada and NAV CANADA Regarding Radio Frequency Spectrum Management prevails. You will find an excerpt of the agreement in Appendix A.

    Principle

    Industry Canada evaluates all interference complaints to radiocommunication systems on a case-by-case basis to determine how best to respond. In doing so, the Department considers the nature of the service, the severity of the interference, the radiocommunication options, the impact on the general public and Canada's well being, and the action taken by the licensee to resolve its own interference problem.

    Mandate

    section5.(1)(l) of the Radiocommunication Act authorizes the Minister to make determinations of harmful interference Footnote 1 and issue "cease or modify" orders to those who are causing the interference.

    section5.(1)(n) of the Act authorizes the Minister to do anything, including the identification and resolution of radio interference, that permits the effective administration of the Act.

    Policy

    NAV CANADA must ensure that its radiocommunication systems are installed and operating as per their authorized parameters and must collect the information necessary to resolve any interference situations. Furthermore, NAV CANADA is expected to undertake reasonable and appropriate actions before contacting the Department for assistance in the resolution of interference. As a minimum, NAV CANADA is to have completed the actions outlined below before requesting assistance either during or outside of normal business hours.

    Should there be a report of interference, NAV CANADA will provide support to Industry Canada as outlined in section4.03 of the Agreement. In consideration of the above and the Agreement, Industry Canada (Spectrum Management) will provide interference identification and resolution services on a 24/7 basis to NAV CANADA.

    Procedures and Roles for Requesting Assistance

    NAV CANADA

    1. NAV CANADA is to identify key personnel or positions within their organization (up to ten) who will be authorized to request the assistance of Industry Canada outside of normal office hours. This list is to be provided to Industry Canada and must be updated on an ongoing basis.
    2. When requesting after-hours service from Industry Canada, NAV CANADA personnel must ensure that the necessary actions outlined below have been completed before requesting assistance:
      1. evaluate the complaint to determine whether it constitutes harmful interference that endangers the protection of human life and property;
      2. determine whether the incident needs to be resolved immediately, or whether it can be dealt with the following business day;
      3. consult with their technical experts and confirm that the radiocommunication system being affected is operating within its authorized licensing parameters;
      4. confirm that the radiocommunication system's performance as well as other radiocommunication systems under its control and operating in close proximity are operating within their authorized licensing parameters;
      5. collect and record details on the nature of the interference, including, but not limited to, whether the interference takes the form of identifiable words, music, or other electrical noise, whether it is intermittent or continuous, the time of day when the interference occurs and any related patterns;
      6. record the actions taken to validate the existence of interference; and
      7. record the measures taken to eliminate the interference (e.g. additional filtering, squelch adjustments, etc.).
    3. During normal business working hours (i.e. 08:30 to 16:30, local time) NAV CANADA will communicate directly with the appropriate Industry Canada district office as per RIC-66.
    4. Outside of normal business working hours (i.e. 16:30 to 08:30, local time) NAV CANADA will communicate with the Industry Canada after-hours contact.

    Industry Canada

    1. Industry Canada will provide NAV CANADA with telephone number(s) for both normal business hours and after-hours so that identified personnel/positions are able reach Industry Canada.
    2. Upon receipt of a request to assist with interference to a NAV CANADA radiocommunication system, Industry Canada will make a determination on the source of the interference in as timely a manner as possible taking into consideration things such as weather conditions and proximity to the station experiencing the interference;
    3. Industry Canada will issue orders, as necessary, to persons in control of radio apparatus or interference-causing equipment, to cease or modify operation until such time as the radio apparatus or equipment can be operated without causing interference to the NAV CANADA radiocommunication system; and
    4. Industry Canada will notify NAV CANADA as soon as possible regarding the source of the interference and the steps taken to resolve it (subject to confidentiality and privacy issues).

    Reference(s)

    These and other Spectrum documents can be found on Industry Canada's Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Web site at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/home.

Appendix A

Excerpt from the Agreement Between Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada as Represented by the Minister of Industry and NAV CANADA Regarding RadioFrequency Spectrum Management

article 4 - Agreement on Radio Frequency Interference Investigation and Resolution

Section 4.01 - Introduction

  1. In order to conduct its business, NAV CANADA is required to operate safety-related radiocommunication systems.
  2. Each party has access to unique resources which may be combined in order to successfully investigate and Resolve cases of Harmful Interference.
  3. As such, both parties agree that, where required, they will combine those resources and work together in investigating and resolving cases of Harmful Interference to NAV CANADA's aeronautical radiocommunication systems.

Section 4.02 Shared Responsibilities

  1. The Minister and NAV CANADA shall:
  2. undertake to safeguard from Harmful Interference licensed aeronautical radiocommunication facilities whether operated by NAV CANADA or published for public use. Recognizing the inherent difficulties in protecting mobile units from interference, both Parties will endeavour to provide similar protection to mobile receivers, operating on the frequencies listed in Appendix B;
  3. meet as necessary, upon the request of either party, to discuss radio frequency interference (RFI) resolution efforts;
  4. review and update points of contact periodically;
  5. endeavour to resolve any problems or disagreements that may arise during the term of this Agreement;
  6. each provide engineering and management support to field staff, as necessary, during an investigation;
  7. each be responsible for their own operational costs, incurred during an investigation. (e.g. equipment and vehicle expenses, overtime wages, cost of airborne operations, etc.); and
  8. keep confidential, subject to applicable laws:
    1. the data provided for the purpose of investigations, and
    2. the results of the investigations.

Section 4.03 - NAV CANADA Responsibilities

NAV CANADA shall:

  1. designate a lead person to act as officer of primary interest (the "OPI") who will receive reports of interference initiated by NAV CANADA operational staff and evaluate the significance of each report before determining which cases should be referred to Industry Canada. After a case is referred to Industry Canada, the OPI shall continue to function as a facilitator of information and communication flow between the two organizations and to direct NAV CANADA resources to assist in the identification and resolution of the interference;
  2. conduct an initial investigation of RFI incidents and rule out both intrasystem interference and faulty NAV CANADA equipment as the source of the interference;
  3. evaluate the urgency of a RFI incident and determine if it warrants contacting the designated Industry Canada officials and asking them to respond to a problem outside of normal working hoursFootnote 2;
  4. provide Industry Canada with an RFI report that includes:
    1. the rationale for designating an RFI incident as Harmful Interference;
    2. the significance of the RFI incident and the urgency of resolution requested;
    3. the type and nature of the interference that was observed;
    4. the frequency, the location, the date(s) and time(s) of occurrence, type of equipment involved; and
    5. where appropriate and available, aircraft position data and sound recordings of the detected interference;
  5. institute policies and procedures, as may be required, to ensure that suitable and timely RFI documentation is available to Industry Canada and to NAV CANADA investigators;
  6. cooperate as fully as possible with Industry Canada to assist with their RFI investigation, including but not limited to assisting with field support; and
  7. provide airborne RFI investigation support to Industry Canada, if appropriate, when Industry Canada ground-based techniques are insufficient to detect the interference or locate the source.

Section 4.04 - The Minister's Responsibilities

The Minister shall:

  1. provide interference identification and resolution services to NAV CANADA, in accordance with Industry Canada Client Procedure Circular 3-13-02, "Provision of Interference Identification and Resolution Services on a 24/7 Basis for Safety Services";
  2. endeavour to consult with NAV CANADA, prior to making any changes to Client Procedure Circular 3-13-02, "Provision of Interference Identification and Resolution Services on a 24/7 Basis for Safety Services", and to provide NAV CANADA with reasonable notice if those changes will impact on NAV CANADA;
  3. evaluate all RFI reports, received from NAV CANADA's OPI, and assign a high priority to those cases considered to constitute Harmful Interference;
  4. in the event of a disagreement over the designation of Harmful Interference, provide the rationale for that assessment;
  5. assign staff to investigate and Resolve, in a timely manner, those cases of Harmful Interference reported by NAV CANADA;
  6. take action, as quickly as possible, to Resolve reported cases of Harmful Interference;
  7. provide NAV CANADA with timely reports on the status of RFI investigations, involving NAV CANADA frequency assignments, and access to all related RFI documentation and data, including but not limited to databases, reports, studies, maps of field strength contours and investigation related software;
  8. where feasible, provide NAV CANADA technical personnel with access to Industry Canada technical resources, including necessary instruction where applicable, to assist NAV CANADA with an on-going investigation; and
  9. provide NAV CANADA with points of contact for obtaining RFI resolution services after normal office hours.

Section 4.05 - Intellectual Property Rights

The Parties recognize that successful collaboration may involve the exchange of technical information, which is confidential and proprietary to one of the Parties. Accordingly, both Parties agree that, technical information that is disclosed by one Party will be distributed on a need-to-know basis only and will not be disclosed to a third party without prior written consent of the disclosing Party.

Section 4.06 - Equipment

The Parties recognize that successful collaboration may involve the loan of equipment from one Party to the other or the joint acquisition of equipment by the Parties. In either case, the Parties shall enter into acceptable written arrangements with respect to such loans or joint acquisitions which shall address, among other matters, ownership, costs, use, maintenance and repair, disposal and termination.

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