1. When a Contracting Member proposes to make a modification to the Plan, i.e. either:
- to change the characteristics of a frequency assignment to a broadcasting station shown in the Plan, whether or not the station has been brought into use, or
- to bring into use an assignment to a broadcasting station not appearing in the Plan, or
- to change the characteristics of a frequency assignment to a broadcasting station for which the procedure in this Article has been successfully applied, whether or not the station has been brought into use, or
- to cancel a frequency assignment to a broadcasting station,
the following procedure shall be applied before any notification is made under ths provisions of Article 9*or the corresponding article of the Radio Regulations currently in force. of the Radio Regulations (see Article 5 of this Agreement).
2. In the remainder of the present Article, the term “assignment in accordance with the Agreement” means any frequency assignment appearing in the Plan or for which the procedure of this Article has been successfully applied.
3. Proposed Changes in the Characteristics of an Assignment or the Bringing into Use of a new Assignment
3.1 Any administration proposing a change in the characteristics of an assignment or the bringing into use of a new assignment shall seek the agreement of all the administrations having an assignment in accordance with the Agreement, in the same channel or an adjacent channel, which is considered to be affected (see 3.2.5 and 3.3.1).
3.2 Channels other than Low-Power Channels 3.2.1 An administration proposing to change the characteristics of an assignment or to bring a new assignment into use shall so inform the I.F.R.B. and furnish the characteristics of the modification or addition in the form adopted in the Plan and its appendices. 3.2.1.1 Where the proposed modification is within the limits defined in 3.2.9, the information shall contain a reference to that paragraph.
3.2.1.2 In all other cases, in order to arrive at the agreement referred to in 3.1, the administration shall notify to the I.F.R.B. the names of the administrations whose agreement it considers should be sought and of those with which agreement has been reached.
3.2.1.1 Where the proposed modification is within the limits defined in 3.2.9, the information shall contain a reference to that paragraph.
3.2.1.2 In all other cases, in order to arrive at the agreement referred to in 3.1, the administration shall notify to the I.F.R.B. the names of the administrations whose agreement it considers should be sought and of those with which agreement has been reached.
3.2.2 The I.F.R.B. shall determine on the basis of Annex 2 to the Agreement the administrations having frequency assignments in accordance with the Agreement which are considered to be affected within the meaning of 3.2.5. The results of these calculations shall be sent immediately by the I.F.R.B. to the administration proposing the modification to the Plan. The I.F.R.B. shall include the names of these administrations in the information received and shall publish the complete information in a special section of its weekly circular.
3.2.3 The I.F.R.B. shall send a telegram to the administrations listed in the special section of the weekly circular drawing their attention to the information it contains and shall also send to them the results of its calculations.
3.2.4 Any administration which considers that it should have been included in the list of administrations whose frequency assignments are considered to be affected may, giving its reasons for so doing, request the I.F.R.B. to include its name. A copy of the request shall be sent to the administration proposing the modifications to the Plan.
3.2.5 Any assignment may be considered affected when its usable field strength is increased by a value equal to or greater than 0.5 dB as a consequence of the proposed modification to the Plan. The usable field strength is calculated at any point on the boundary of the service area resulting from the first recording of the assignment in the Plan. When the original assignment in the Plan has been modified in accordance with the Agreement, the calculation shall take account of this modification. The increase in the usable field strength is calculated in accordance with Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.2.6 An administration seeking agreement under 3.1 for daytime operation of a station may, by agreement with the affected administrations, use the simplified method of calculation defined in 3.3.4.3 or 3.4.3.3, as appropriate, of Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.2.7 An administration may ask the administration proposing the modification for the additional information it considers necessary to calculate the increase of the usable field strength. Similarly, the administration proposing the modification may ask any administration whose agreement it seeks for the additional information it considers necessary. The administrations shall inform the I.F.R.B. of such requests.
3.2.8 Comments from administrations on information published pursuant to 3.2.2 should be sent either directly to the administration proposing the modification or through the I.F.R.B. In any event the I.F.R.B. shall be informed that comments have been made.
3.2.9 The agreement mentioned in 3.1 is not required if the proposed modification either: - entails no increase in effective monopole radiated power in any direction, or
- relates to a change in the site of the station, within the tolerances specified in 4.9 of Annex 2 to the Agreement. In either case, the administration intending to modify the Plan may put its project into effect, subject to the application of the provisions of Article 9 *or the corresponding article of the Radio Regulations currently in force.of the Radio Regulations.
- entails no increase in effective monopole radiated power in any direction, or
- relates to a change in the site of the station, within the tolerances specified in 4.9 of Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.2.10 An administration which has not notified its comments either to the administration concerned or to the I.F.R.B. within a period of sixteen weeks following the date of the weekly circular referred to in 3.2.2 shall be understood to have agreed to the proposed change. This time limit may be extended by eight weeks in the case of an administration which has requested additional information pursuant to paragraph 3.2.7.
3.2.11 If in seeking agreement an administration makes changes in its initial proposal, it shall again apply the provisions of 3.2.1 and the consequent procedure.
3.2.12 If no comments have been received on expiry of the periods specified in 3.2.10, or if agreement has been reached with the administrations which have made comments, the administration proposing the modification may proceed with its project and shall inform the I.F.R.B. indicating the final characteristics of the assignment together with the names of the administrations with which agreement has been reached.
3.2.13 When the proposed modification to the Plan involves a developing country, administrations shall seek a solution conducive to economical development of the broadcasting system of the developing country, giving due consideration to the principles enunciated to this effect in the Preamble to this Agreement.
3.2.14 The I.F.R.B. shall publish in a special section of its weekly circular the information received under 3.2.12, together with the names of any administrations with which the provisions of this article have been successfully applied. With respect to Contracting Members, the assignment concerned shall enjoy the same status as those appearing in the Plan.
3.2.1 An administration proposing to change the characteristics of an assignment or to bring a new assignment into use shall so inform the I.F.R.B. and furnish the characteristics of the modification or addition in the form adopted in the Plan and its appendices. 3.2.1.1 Where the proposed modification is within the limits defined in 3.2.9, the information shall contain a reference to that paragraph.
3.2.1.2 In all other cases, in order to arrive at the agreement referred to in 3.1, the administration shall notify to the I.F.R.B. the names of the administrations whose agreement it considers should be sought and of those with which agreement has been reached.
3.2.1.1 Where the proposed modification is within the limits defined in 3.2.9, the information shall contain a reference to that paragraph.
3.2.1.2 In all other cases, in order to arrive at the agreement referred to in 3.1, the administration shall notify to the I.F.R.B. the names of the administrations whose agreement it considers should be sought and of those with which agreement has been reached.
3.2.2 The I.F.R.B. shall determine on the basis of Annex 2 to the Agreement the administrations having frequency assignments in accordance with the Agreement which are considered to be affected within the meaning of 3.2.5. The results of these calculations shall be sent immediately by the I.F.R.B. to the administration proposing the modification to the Plan. The I.F.R.B. shall include the names of these administrations in the information received and shall publish the complete information in a special section of its weekly circular.
3.2.3 The I.F.R.B. shall send a telegram to the administrations listed in the special section of the weekly circular drawing their attention to the information it contains and shall also send to them the results of its calculations.
3.2.4 Any administration which considers that it should have been included in the list of administrations whose frequency assignments are considered to be affected may, giving its reasons for so doing, request the I.F.R.B. to include its name. A copy of the request shall be sent to the administration proposing the modifications to the Plan.
3.2.5 Any assignment may be considered affected when its usable field strength is increased by a value equal to or greater than 0.5 dB as a consequence of the proposed modification to the Plan. The usable field strength is calculated at any point on the boundary of the service area resulting from the first recording of the assignment in the Plan. When the original assignment in the Plan has been modified in accordance with the Agreement, the calculation shall take account of this modification. The increase in the usable field strength is calculated in accordance with Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.2.6 An administration seeking agreement under 3.1 for daytime operation of a station may, by agreement with the affected administrations, use the simplified method of calculation defined in 3.3.4.3 or 3.4.3.3, as appropriate, of Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.2.7 An administration may ask the administration proposing the modification for the additional information it considers necessary to calculate the increase of the usable field strength. Similarly, the administration proposing the modification may ask any administration whose agreement it seeks for the additional information it considers necessary. The administrations shall inform the I.F.R.B. of such requests.
3.2.8 Comments from administrations on information published pursuant to 3.2.2 should be sent either directly to the administration proposing the modification or through the I.F.R.B. In any event the I.F.R.B. shall be informed that comments have been made.
3.2.9 The agreement mentioned in 3.1 is not required if the proposed modification either: - entails no increase in effective monopole radiated power in any direction, or
- relates to a change in the site of the station, within the tolerances specified in 4.9 of Annex 2 to the Agreement. In either case, the administration intending to modify the Plan may put its project into effect, subject to the application of the provisions of Article 9 *or the corresponding article of the Radio Regulations currently in force.of the Radio Regulations.
- entails no increase in effective monopole radiated power in any direction, or
- relates to a change in the site of the station, within the tolerances specified in 4.9 of Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.2.10 An administration which has not notified its comments either to the administration concerned or to the I.F.R.B. within a period of sixteen weeks following the date of the weekly circular referred to in 3.2.2 shall be understood to have agreed to the proposed change. This time limit may be extended by eight weeks in the case of an administration which has requested additional information pursuant to paragraph 3.2.7.
3.2.11 If in seeking agreement an administration makes changes in its initial proposal, it shall again apply the provisions of 3.2.1 and the consequent procedure.
3.2.12 If no comments have been received on expiry of the periods specified in 3.2.10, or if agreement has been reached with the administrations which have made comments, the administration proposing the modification may proceed with its project and shall inform the I.F.R.B. indicating the final characteristics of the assignment together with the names of the administrations with which agreement has been reached.
3.2.13 When the proposed modification to the Plan involves a developing country, administrations shall seek a solution conducive to economical development of the broadcasting system of the developing country, giving due consideration to the principles enunciated to this effect in the Preamble to this Agreement.
3.2.14 The I.F.R.B. shall publish in a special section of its weekly circular the information received under 3.2.12, together with the names of any administrations with which the provisions of this article have been successfully applied. With respect to Contracting Members, the assignment concerned shall enjoy the same status as those appearing in the Plan.
3.3 Low-Power Channels 3.3.1 Any administration proposing a change in the characteristics of a frequency assignment in a low-power channel or the bringing into use of a new station in such a channel shall seek the agreement of any other administration when the distance between the proposed station and the nearest point on the boundary of the territory of that other administration is less than the corresponding values given in 4.8.3 of Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.3.2 After having obtained the agreement of the administrations concerned, the administration proposing the modification shall inform the I.F.R.B. indicating the characteristics of the station together with the names of the administrations with which agreement has been reached.
3.3.3 The I.F.R.B. shall publish this information in a special section of its weekly circular. With respect to Contracting Members the assignment concerned shall enjoy the same status as those appearing in the Plan.
3.3.4 The administration may then proceed with its project.
3.3.1 Any administration proposing a change in the characteristics of a frequency assignment in a low-power channel or the bringing into use of a new station in such a channel shall seek the agreement of any other administration when the distance between the proposed station and the nearest point on the boundary of the territory of that other administration is less than the corresponding values given in 4.8.3 of Annex 2 to the Agreement.
3.3.2 After having obtained the agreement of the administrations concerned, the administration proposing the modification shall inform the I.F.R.B. indicating the characteristics of the station together with the names of the administrations with which agreement has been reached.
3.3.3 The I.F.R.B. shall publish this information in a special section of its weekly circular. With respect to Contracting Members the assignment concerned shall enjoy the same status as those appearing in the Plan.
3.3.4 The administration may then proceed with its project.
3.4 Additional Provisions for Channels in shared Bands The provisions of this Article apply also to frequency assignments to broadcasting stations in frequency bands shared with other radiocommunication services. However, the special sections of the I.F.R.B. weekly circular mentioned in 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 which concern the proposed modifications shall be considered by these other services to be for information only (see also Resolution No. 7).
3.5 Provisions common to all Channels 3.5.1 If no agreement is reached between the administrations concerned, the I.F.R.B. shall make any study that may be requested by these administrations; the Board shall inform them of the result of the study and shall make such recommendations it may be able to offer for the solution of the problem.
3.5.2 Any administration may at any stage in the procedure described, or before applying it, request the assistance of the I.F.R.B., particularly in seeking the agreement of another administration.
3.5.3 If, after application of the procedure described in this Article, the administrations concerned have been unable to reach agreement, they may resort to the procedure described in Article 50 of the Convention. Administrations may also agree to apply the Optional Additional Protocol to the Convention.
3.5.4 In any case, the relevant provisions of Article 9 *or the corresponding article of the Radio Regulations currently in force. of the Radio Regulations shall be applied when assignments are notified. When, no agreement having been reached, the I.F.R.B., following the notification of an assignment, records it in the Master International Frequency Register, the entry shall be accompanied by a symbol indicating that the entry has been made subject to the reservation that no harmful interference will be caused to frequency assignments in conformity with the Agreement.
3.5.5 The I.F.R.B. shall maintain an up-to-date master copy of the Plan, and of Appendix 1 relating to low-power channels, taking account of the application of the procedure specified in this Article; to this end the I.F.R.B. shall prepare a document listing the amendments to be made to the Plan and Appendix 1 as a result of modifications made in accordance with the procedure of this Article and of the addition of new assignments in conformity with the Agreement.
3.5.6 The Secretary-General shall be informed by the I.F.R.B. of these changes made in the Plan and shall publish an up-to-date version of the Plan in an appropriate form as and when the circumstances justify and in any case every three years.
3.5.1 If no agreement is reached between the administrations concerned, the I.F.R.B. shall make any study that may be requested by these administrations; the Board shall inform them of the result of the study and shall make such recommendations it may be able to offer for the solution of the problem.
3.5.2 Any administration may at any stage in the procedure described, or before applying it, request the assistance of the I.F.R.B., particularly in seeking the agreement of another administration.
3.5.3 If, after application of the procedure described in this Article, the administrations concerned have been unable to reach agreement, they may resort to the procedure described in Article 50 of the Convention. Administrations may also agree to apply the Optional Additional Protocol to the Convention.
3.5.4 In any case, the relevant provisions of Article 9 *or the corresponding article of the Radio Regulations currently in force. of the Radio Regulations shall be applied when assignments are notified. When, no agreement having been reached, the I.F.R.B., following the notification of an assignment, records it in the Master International Frequency Register, the entry shall be accompanied by a symbol indicating that the entry has been made subject to the reservation that no harmful interference will be caused to frequency assignments in conformity with the Agreement.
3.5.5 The I.F.R.B. shall maintain an up-to-date master copy of the Plan, and of Appendix 1 relating to low-power channels, taking account of the application of the procedure specified in this Article; to this end the I.F.R.B. shall prepare a document listing the amendments to be made to the Plan and Appendix 1 as a result of modifications made in accordance with the procedure of this Article and of the addition of new assignments in conformity with the Agreement.
3.5.6 The Secretary-General shall be informed by the I.F.R.B. of these changes made in the Plan and shall publish an up-to-date version of the Plan in an appropriate form as and when the circumstances justify and in any case every three years.
4. Cancellation of Assignments
When an assignment in accordance with the Agreement is released, whether or not as a result of a modification (for instance a change of frequency), the administration concerned shall immediately so inform the I.F.R.B. The I.F.R.B. shall publish this information in a special section of its weekly circular.