Business Radio is a generic term that refers to a variety of licence types issued by ComReg. These include PMR (Business Radio), Community Repeaters, Paging (Local Area), Mobile Radio Systems (Local Area), Telemetry and Third Party Business Radio licences.
Despite the rapid growth of cellular telephony, Business Radio is still a popular communication system for applications where most traffic is between a control point and one or more mobile terminals, or where groups of mobile terminals need to communicate on a “one to all” basis. The main uses of Business radio are for public safety and security, public utilities (power, water, transport etc.), industrial and commercial users as well as various voluntary organisations, who need a reliable means of communicating with personnel and more especially groups of personnel on the move.
Recent years have seen a number of developments that have enhanced the reliability and security of Business Radio systems. Features such as encryption, data transfer and interworking are available with digital systems, thereby allowing BR systems to meet the needs of the most demanding users (e.g. security and emergency services. Trunked systems, whereby users have access to a pool of channels rather than the users each having their own specific channel can increase the effective use of spectrum. Both on-site and local area Trunked systems have been licensed under the mobile radio systems licensing regime.
Private Mobile Radio (PMR) remains a popular communication system for applications where most traffic is between a control point and one or more mobile terminals, or where groups of mobile terminals need to communicate on a “one to all” basis. The main uses of business radio are for public safety and security, industrial and commercial users such as taxis and couriers, as well as voluntary organisations, all of whom need reliable means of communicating with personnel and, in particular, those on the move.
Guidelines
More information can be found in our guidelines document – Guidelines for Business Radio Licences – 00/07aR1.
Application Form
To apply for a licence please download the Business Radio Application Form.
Applications should be submitted via email to licensing@comreg.ie
Fees
Licence fees are based on the quantity of equipment to be licensed.
The cost is €22 per piece of equipment plus a fixed charge of €22 for the duration of the licence. (e.g. 4 walkie talkies + 2 radio mics = 6 units +1 Fixed Charge = 7 x €22 = €154).
Regulations
The Regulations governing the issue of Business Radio licences is the Wireless Telegraphy (Business Radio Licence) regulations, 1949 and subsequent amendments.
The use of community repeaters has been driven by the demand from equipment suppliers to supply turnkey systems to their customers. Instead of each small user establishing a base station with the planning permission and costs involved, equipment suppliers can offer the use of a communal repeater station that is shared out amongst the user population. In terms of spectrum management this increases efficiency of spectrum usage by putting more users onto a channel(s), releasing spectrum for other uses.
A community repeater system is comprised of a base station, trigger stations and mobiles. The base station is normally located at a remote position on a high mountain or another high site to provide wide area two-way radio communications to many customers on a channel sharing basis. The licence offered covers all elements of the community repeater system including the mobiles, thereby eliminating the requirement for customers to hold individual radio licences. All radio stations on the system are covered by the operator’s licence, i.e. the user does not have to hold a licence for controlling the base station (by means of a trigger station) or for the operation of his mobiles.
Guidelines
More information can be found in our guidelines document – Community Repeater Licence Guidance Notes.
Application Form
To apply for a licence please download the Community Repeater Licence Application Form.
Applications should be submitted via email to licensing@comreg.ie
Fees
Regulations
The regulations governing the issue of community repeater licences are the Wireless Telegraphy (Community Repeater Radio Licence) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 83 of 1988)
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1988/si/83/made/en/print
Traditional business radio systems work because all parties involved in the communication agree on what frequencies they will utilize. Trunking radios, on the other hand, constantly renegotiate the frequencies utilized for the conversation. This allows for more efficient utilization of limited frequencies because each conversation does not require a dedicated channel. Trunked systems create a pool of channels that can be accessed by any user rather than assigning specific channels to specific users. For a given number of users and radio channels, the likelihood of all the channels in the pool being in use at any one time is much lower than that of two users simultaneously accessing a single, common channel. Trunking also results in a significant improvement in radio spectrum utilisation, since available channels can be shared between a large number of users.
Private trunked radio networks are likely to be operated by large national or regional organisations such as the emergency services, utilities and transport operators that need to communicate between large numbers of mobile users. They may also be deployed on specific sites or premises where the traffic level is particularly high. National and regional trunked networks provide BR functionality over a wide geographic area to users who do not wish to operate their own systems.
ComReg has identified different spectrum allocations for analogue and digital trunked systems:
Guidelines
More information can be found in our guidelines document – Mobile Radio System Licence Guidelines.
Application Form
To apply for a licence please download the Mobile Radio System Licence Application Form.
Applications should be submitted via email to licensing@comreg.ie.
Fees
Regulations
The regulations governing the issue of Mobile Radio licences are the Wireless Telegraphy (Mobile Radio Systems) Regulations, 2002 (S.I. 435 of 2002)
Paging is a means of sending a one way digital coded signal to a paging receiver which is owned by a subscriber. The signal can be simple causing the pager to just bleep or, more complex, in transmitting numeric characters or show alphanumeric/text messages on the pager. Compared with other mobile communication systems, paging offers extremely good coverage with excellent signal strength for building penetration.
Application Form
To apply for a permit please download the Paging Permit Application Form.
Applications should be submitted via email to licensing@comreg.ie.
Fees
There are no fees charged for this service.
Unlike traditional Business Radio licences, the Third Party Business Radio (TPBR) licence allows licensees to provide business radio services to third parties throughout the country without the need for individual licensing of business radio operations for each specific geographic site or by each third party user. Another benefit of this scheme is that it permits TPBR licences to be transferred to or traded with other entities, subject to prior agreement from ComReg.
The TPBR scheme was initiated on the 9th of November 2005 and closed on 31 January 2007. ComReg re-opened the scheme in 2010 in order to grant new licences, to run for a further five year period. ComReg has again re-opened the TPBR licensing scheme for applications from 18 November 2015.
Guidelines
More information can be found in our guidelines document – Guidelines for Third Party Business Radio Applicants – 05/82R3.
Application Form
To apply for a licence please download the Third Party Business Radio Application Form – 05/82aR3.
Applications should be submitted via email to licensing@comreg.ie.
Fees
The fee payable for a TPBR licence is €5000 per channel for a five year licence.
Regulations
The regulations governing the issue of Third Party Business Radio licences are the Wireless Telegraphy (Third Party Business Radio Licence) Regulations, 2005 (S.I. 646 of 2005).
Publications
| Ch ID | BTX | BRX | Licensee | Licence Expiry Date |
| TBV-01 | 165.5875 | 170.3875 | BP Multipage | 05-01-2021 |
| TBV-02 | 165.3625 | 170.1625 | BP Multipage | 05-01-2021 |
| TBV-03 | 166.1 | 170.9 | RSP | 05-01-2021 |
| TBV-04 | 166.3625 | 171.1625 | DAL Electronics | 07-03-2021 |
| TBV-05 | 166.3875 | 171.1875 | EMR | 19-12-2020 |
| TBV-06 | 166.4125 | 171.2125 | ||
| TBV-07 | 166.4625 | 171.2625 | ||
| TBV-08 | 166.475 | 171.275 | ||
| TBV-09 | 166.5375 | 171.3375 |
| Ch ID | BTX | BRX | Licensee | Licence Expiry Date |
| TBU-01 | 453.8375 | 460.3375 | ESB | 29-11-2020 |
| TBU-02 | 453.85 | 460.35 | RSP | 25-11-2020 |
| TBU-03 | 453.8625 | 460.3625 | RSP | 25-11-2020 |
| TBU-04 | 453.875 | 460.375 | RSP | 25-11-2020 |
| TBU-05 | 453.8875 | 460.3875 | ||
| TBU-06 | 453.9 | 460.4 | ||
| TBU-07 | 453.9125 | 460.4215 | Mobile Radio Links | 30-11-2020 |
| TBU-08 | 453.925 | 460.425 | ||
| TBU-09 | 453.9625 | 460.4625 | ||
| TBU-10 | 453.9875 | 460.4875 | Mongey | 16/12/2020 |
| TBU-11 | 454.2 | 468.2 | BP Multipage | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-12 | 454.2125 | 468.2125 | BP Multipage | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-13 | 454.325 | 468.325 | RSP | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-14 | 454.3375 | 468.3375 | RSP | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-15 | 454.3875 | 468.3875 | Kestrel Comms | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-16 | 454.4 | 468.4 | Kestrel Comms | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-17 | 454.45 | 468.45 | EMR | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-18 | 454.675 | 468.675 | EMR | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-19 | 454.6875 | 468.6875 | Mongey | 09/01/2021 |
| TBU-20 | 454.9375 | 468.9375 | Mongey | 09/01/2021 |
| TBU-21 | 454.95 | 468.95 | Mobile Radio Links | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-22 | 454.9625 | 468.9625 | Mobile Radio Links | 05-01-2021 |
| TBU-23 | 454.9875 | 468.9875 | DAL Electronics | 07-03-2021 |
| TBU-24 | 457.775 | 463.275 | Universal | 25-04-2021 |
| TBU-25 | 457.8 | 463.3 | Universal | 25-04-2021 |
| TBU-26 | 457.8125 | 463.3125 | EMR | 19-07-2021 |
| TBU-27 | 457.8875 | 463.3875 | EMR | 19-07-2021 |
| TBU-28 | 457.9 | 463.4 | ||
| TBU-29 | 457.9125 | 463.4125 | EMCA | 06-12-2016 |
| TBU-30 | 457.925 | 463.425 | Mercury Wireless Ltd | 29-11-2020 |
| TBU-31 | 457.9375 | 463.4375 | Cully Automation | 19-12-2020 |
| TBU-32 | 458.0125 | 463.5125 | ||
| TBU-33 | 458.025 | 463.525 | RSP | 19-12-2020 |
| TBU-34 | 458.0375 | 463.5375 | EMR | 19-12-2020 |
| TBU-35 | 458.05 | 463.55 | BP Multipage | 20-12-2020 |
| TBU-36 | 458.075 | 463.575 | BP Multipage | 20-12-2020 |
| TBU-37 | 458.0875 | 463.5875 | Cully Automation | 04-01-2021 |
| TBU-38 | 458.1875 | 463.6875 | Mobile Radio Links | 21-12-2020 |
| TBU-39 | 458.2 | 463.7 | BP Multipage | 26-11-2020 |
| TBU-40 | 458.2125 | 463.7125 | BP Multipage | 26-11-2020 |
| TBU-41 | 458.4 | 463.9 | ||
| TBU-42 | 458.4125 | 463.9125 | ||
| TBU-43 | 458.425 | 463.925 | Apex Radio Systems Ltd | 27-06-2021 |
| TBU-44 | 458.4375 | 463.9375 |
A telemetry system is a wireless telegraphy system by which automated measurements are made and other data collected at remote or inaccessible locations, and transmitted to receiving stations for monitoring, recording or remote control purposes. These systems are primarily used by organisations such as utility and industrial companies, where continuous monitoring of operations and control of equipment at multiple locations is necessary to ensure the proper function of processes and equipment. However, this licensing scheme does not cover smart metering applications.
Licences are issued for a maximum period of 10 years and are subject to annual renewal through payment of the relevant annual fee.
Telemetry licences are available under four licensing types:
Regional
National
Guidelines
More information can be found in our guidelines document – Licensing of Telemetry Systems Guidelines.
Application Form
Applicants wishing to apply for a Regional Telemetry licence should contact the Licensing Operations Team at licensing@comreg.ie.
To apply for a licence please download the application form National Telemetry Licence Application Form – 14/56a.
Applications should be submitted via email to licensing@comreg.ie.
Fees
The fee structure for the four categories of telemetry licences for the first 12 months of the licence are listed in the table below.
| Telemetry Licence Type | Number of 2 × 12.5 kHz Channels* Assigned in a Licence | Annual Licence Fee (to be adjusted for CPI*) |
| On-site | 1 | €109 |
| Local-area | 1 | €436 |
| Wide-area | 1 | €872 |
| National | 12 | €39,240 (per 12 channel block) |
The fees are based on a duplex 12.5 kHz channel (2 × 12.5 kHz). If a 2 × 25 kHz channel is required then two adjacent 12.5 kHz channels may be aggregated. In such cases the fee charged will be as if two separate 12.5 kHz channels were assigned.
* Consumer Price Index.
Regulations
The regulations governing the issue of Telemetry licences are the Wireless Telegraphy (Licensing of Telemetry Systems) Regulations, 2014 (S.I. 240 of 2014)
/csv/downloads/SI_240_of_2014.pdf
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