Does anyone know wireless licence band policy in Malaysia?
Up to what frequency spectrum is needed to register with cmc party?

must be a bumi own company, that's y Digi not getting 3G license. (actually i think they scared Digi hit hard on the price war, then the rest kannot sustain the business)

Assignment of spectrum bands and the granting of license to operate a specific spectrum are treated separately by CMC. E.g., given that you already possess the license to operate on a particular spectrum, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can legally operate on that band unless you are granted the assigned spectrum via Apparatus Assignment or Spectrum Assignment. It's a very convoluted process and one can spend years trying to understand the whole process.

Generally, if you operate a business that falls within the categories of the NFP, NSP, ASP, and CASP license, you will need to apply for the respective license(s), be it class or individual.

The Unlicensed Band, within context of WLAN:
The nature of what the spectrum is being used for matters.

Just because a spectrum band does not require license to operate, it doesn't mean that you don't need to apply for a license.

Example:
The use of unlicensed bands, such as 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz, for private access networks does not require registration with CMC.

The use of unlicensed bands for public for-profit access networks such as hotspots, on the other hand, requires the Operator to apply for an ASP class license.

Either ways, there are restrictions on the use of such bands. I.e., only WLAN networks can operate on the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz band. The use of these bands for other purposes may be prohibited. Furthermore, EIRP of the transmission should not exceed a certain level. 500mW for 2.4GHz and 1W for 5.8GHz, if I'm not wrong.

All these info can be fished out from CMC's website.

For starters, look at their Guideline on the Provision of Wireless LAN Service (MCMC/G/01/05 - WLAN).
--

The latest spectrum plan can be found on CMC's website (front page). If you're willing to spend some time reading their fine fine text (>300 pages), you might find other spectrum bands that do not require a license to operate. Hint: typically, they're spectrum bands that are classified under "Class Assignment", but you'll need to read the SRSP or Guideline documents affiliated to each spectrum band.

Errrr...... hope this helps.

This post has been edited by husagi: Nov 30 2006, 02:05 PM

It is very helpful. Let's take this case as example.

If designing a WLAN at particular area at 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz (radio mesh) for surveillance purpose, is that a need to apply licence?

Initially, pilot testing will be conducted. NO commerical purpose involved.
Once confirm working, commercial process taking into account.

How do you think?

if just setting a network, no need license. however must assure that the network is secure enough so that not everybody can access it

@superminis6451:
As long as the network is in 'trial' mode (i.e., your network is closed to public access and no one is paying for your service), you don't need a license.

However, as soon as you launch your service commercially, a license is most very likely needed -- you can write to CMC to clarify which license is required. In my opinion, surveillance application service could be classified under data services, so a class ASP is most likely the license required.

Check out CMC's Licensing Application & Criteria.

Incidentally, I too had been thinking of putting up such a wifi-based surveillance network in my Taman, but at the moment, it's only wishful thinking.

This post has been edited by husagi: Nov 30 2006, 07:55 PM