The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) published Guidelines on the Use of Radio Spectrum for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) on November 28, 2024. These Guidelines serve as a reference for radio frequency use, technical parameters, regulatory procedures, and radio communications information related to UAS operation.

 

5.0 RADIO SPECTRUM FOR UAS OPERATION

 

The frequency band identified by ITU

 

5.1 ITU has identified the 5030 MHz to 5091 MHz frequency band that could be used for terrestrial UAS CNPC links under the AM(R)S allocation.

 

5.2 For satellite components in the L-band operating under AMS(R)S and MSS allocations, frequency ranges of 1525 MHz to 1559 MHz and 1616 MHz to 1660.5 MHz could accommodate the UAS satellite radio communications link requirement.

 

5.3 The information on the frequency bands can be found in the Spectrum Plan2, which can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/spectrum/spectrum-management.

 

The most commonly used licence-exempt frequency bands

 

5.4 The 433 MHz to 435 MHz, 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz and 5725 MHz to 5875 MHz frequency bands could be used for UAS CNPC and payload communications link together with the 24050 MHz to 24250 MHz frequency band for DAA radar. In Malaysia, the usage of these frequency bands is assigned by way of CA.

 

5.5 Notwithstanding subsections 5.1, 5.2, and 5.4 above, MCMC reserves the right to select the appropriate frequency range in assigning the UAS radio communications links to ensure efficient spectrum use in Malaysia, as stated in subsection 6.2 below.

 

6.0 FREQUENCY ALLOCATION FOR THE OPERATION OF UAS IN MALAYSIA

 

6.1 In accordance with section 157 of the Act, no person shall intentionally use any part of the spectrum to provide a network service unless:

6.1.1 the person holds an SA or AA; or

6.1.2 the use of the spectrum is subject to a CA issued by MCMC.

 

6.2 The use of radio spectrum for UAS in Malaysia is as shown in Table 1 and Table 2 below:

6.2.1 Apparatus Assignment

 

Table 1: Frequency bands for UAS communications assigned by way of AA in Malaysia

 

6.2.2 Class Assignment

 

Table 2: Frequency bands for UAS communications assigned by way of CA in Malaysia

 

6.3 Annex 2 and Annex 3 illustrate examples of UAS terrestrial and satellite communications links, respectively.

 

6.4 Additionally, there are other frequency band(s) allocated for use by civil aviation that may support the safe operation of UAS. However, the assignment of such frequency band(s) will be treated on a case-bycase basis by MCMC

 

7.0 ASSIGNMENT OF FREQUENCIES

 

AA for Terrestrial CNPC Link

 

7.1 The channel arrangement for terrestrial UAS CNPC link in 5060.5 MHz to 5090.5 MHz frequency band is shown in Annex 4 of these Guidelines.

 

7.2 The use of frequency bands specified for UAS CNPC link for other purposes, such as payload communications, shall not be allowed due to the following reasons:

7.2.1 Ensuring the safe operation of UAS CNPC links:

• CNPC links support safety-critical functions. Interference to, or compromise of the CNPC link will cause potentially catastrophic consequences;

7.2.2 Use of the frequency band for purposes other than CNPC requires a bigger bandwidth to carry data:

• Limitation of frequency channels within this frequency band; and

• Demand for UAS CNPC links is expected to increase in the near future.

 

AA for Terrestrial Payload Communications Link

 

7.3 The channel arrangement for terrestrial UAS payload communications link in the 2216 MHz to 2256 MHz frequency band is shown in Annex 5 of these Guidelines.

 

7.4 The use of the 2216 MHz to 2256 MHz frequency band is shared with EESS station(s) and other station(s) operated by the Government. Both stations are given priority over the UAS payload communications link. As such, the UAS payload communications link shall, at all times, operate on a non-interference basis to these stations. MCMC may impose additional conditions to any AA holder(s) for the UAS payload communications link as and when MCMC deems fit.

 

AA for Satellite Communications Link

 

7.5 The channel arrangement for satellite CNPC and/or payload communications is to be configured through a satellite network system operated by the satellite service provider.

 

7.6 UAS radio communications device communicating with any satellite station shall fulfil the following requirements:

7.6.1 Provided by a licensee for the provision of application services in the designated frequency bands listed in Table 1;

7.6.2 The associated ITU satellite network filing must have completed coordination with both Malaysian satellite and terrestrial networks;

7.6.3 The frequency assignments under the ITU satellite network filing are recorded in the MIFR; and

7.6.4 The ITU satellite network filing must include Malaysian territory as part of its service area, as recorded in the MIFR.

 

7.7 For clarity, the satellite frequency bands listed in Table 1 shall not operate under the Mobile Satellite Access Device Schedule of the CA.

 

General Principles for AA

 

7.8 The use of the frequency for UAS CNPC and payload communications classified under AA shall be subject to the relevant legislations and procedures applicable for AA, including the payment of fee(s). The AA fees consist of fixed fees and variable fees as prescribed in the First Schedule of the Communications and Multimedia (Spectrum) Regulations 20003.

 

7.9 As guidance for the AA application, Table 3 below outlines each UAS component:

Table 3: Types of AA application for UAs components

 

7.10 Issuance of AA for UAS shall be subject to:

7.10.1 Technical evaluation conducted by MCMC and will be treated on a first-come-first-served basis;

7.10.2 Border coordination procedures and agreements reached with the neighbouring countries for the use of radio spectrum by UAS within the coordination zone along the international border areas4;

7.10.3 Compliance with all requirements and conditions set forth by MCMC;

7.10.4 Validity of the certification of the radio communications equipment; and

7.10.5 Completion of all necessary assessments/conditions fromDGTA and/or CAAM.

 

7.11 MCMC may request additional information and/or documents from the user to evaluate the AA application or for any other reasons deemed necessary by MCMC with respect to the operations of the UAS.

 

7.12 MCMC may impose additional AA conditions for the user to adhere to. Any non-compliance with the AA conditions will result in the suspension or cancellation of the AA granted with respect to the UAS.

 

7.13 All relevant procedures pertaining to AA applications, including payment for AA fees, shall be in order prior to the issuance of the AA certificate.

 

7.14 The required documents for AA application, as shown in Annex 6 of these Guidelines, shall be submitted to:

Head

Spectrum Planning and Assignment Division

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

MCMC HQ, Tower 1, Jalan Impact, Cyber 6

63000 Cyberjaya

Selangor

 

7.15 For any enquiries pertaining to AA, please email:aa.application@mcmc.gov.my.

 

7.16 Information on the AA application can be found in the following link: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/spectrum/assignment-of-spectrum/apparatus-assignment

 

CA for UAS Radio Communications Links

 

7.17 The use of radio spectrum for UAS under CA:

7.17.1 Shall use the CA frequencies specified in Table 2 above;

7.17.2 Shall comply with the specific technical parameters as stipulated in the respective CA Schedule;

7.17.3 Shall be on a sharing basis with other services and/or applications and shall be on a non-interference and non-protection basis⁵;

7.17.4 Does not require any frequency application to be made. However, the radio communications equipment installed in the UAS shall be certified by MCMC6 accordingly; and

7.17.5 Shall complete all necessary assessments/conditions required from DGTA and/or CAAM.

 

7.18 Details on the operational conditions and restrictions of UAS under CA are stipulated in the latest CA, which can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/spectrum/assignment-of-spectrum/class-assignment.

 

7.19 For any enquiries pertaining to CA, please email: class.assignment@mcmc.gov.my.

 

8.0 CERTIFICATION OF UAS RADIO COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT IN MALAYSIA

 

8.1 UAS radio communications equipment to be used either under AA or CA shall be certified by MCMC or its registered certifying agency and bear a valid MCMC certification label in accordance with the Communications and Multimedia (Technical Standards) Regulations 2000.

 

8.2 UAS radio communications equipment shall comply with the relevant registered technical codes under the Act. The list of technical codes is published in the following link:https: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/legal/registers/cma-registers

 

8.3 UAS radio communications equipment may be certified under the provision of compliance approval (also known as type approval) issued by a registered certifying agency or special approval granted by MCMC or a registered certifying agency7.

 

8.4 Further information on the certification requirements of the radio communications equipment can be found in the following link: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/communications-equipment/certification-of-communications-equipment

 

9.0 AUTHORISATION OF UAS ACTIVITIES IN MALAYSIA

 

9.1 UAS application shall be submitted to CAAM. The process flow of the application for UAS and other approvals from the relevant authorities will be determined by CAAM. Information on the UAS application category and its requirements are available on CAAM’s official website

(https://www.caam.gov.my/public/unmanned-aircraft-system-uas ).

 

9.2 Upon submission of the application to CAAM, as stated in subsection

 

9.1 above, CAAM will then liaise with the relevant authorities to conduct an assessment based on their respective jurisdictions. For the avoidance of doubt, CAAM and MCMC govern different aspects of UAS regulation. The assessment by MCMC shall be subject to the requirements stipulated in Sections 6, 7 and 8 of these Guidelines.

 

9.3 A demonstration of UAS may be required by CAAM to facilitate the evaluation of the application. In the event that a demonstration of UAS using the designated frequency bands as stated in Table 1 above is required, an AA application for demonstration purposes shall be submitted to MCMC accordingly.8

 

9.4 For further information, please email drone@caam.gov.my .

 

10.0 RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE

 

10.1 In the event of interference, the affected person may submit an RFI complaint to MCMC pursuant to section 69 of the Act, except for the use of frequency band for devices, which is assigned by way of CA.

 

10.2 The RFI resolution process can be referred to in Annex 7 of these Guidelines.

 

10.3 Further information on guidelines for RFI submission can be found in the following link: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/spectrum/spectrum-interference

 

11.0 ENQUIRY

 

11.1 For any enquiries related to these Guidelines, please contact MCMC via email at spd.fbs@mcmc.gov.my.

 

12.0 REVISION

 

12.1 These Guidelines may be revised or varied from time to time as and when MCMC deems fit and may also be revoked accordingly.

 

ANNEX 1: REGULATIONS APPLICABLE FOR THE USE OF UAS IN MALAYSIA

 

The relevant regulations under the Act that are applicable for the use of UAS are shown in Table 4 below:

Table 4: Regulations applicable for the use of UAS in Malaysia

 

Note: The diagram in Annexes 2 and 3 illustrates the fundamental model of communications. The actual model may vary depending on the specific requirements of the UAS.

 

ANNEX 2: EXAMPLE OF UAS TERRESTRIAL COMMUNICATION LINKS (LOS)

Diagram 1: Terrestrial UAS communications links

 

ANNEX 3: EXAMPLE OF UAS SATELLITE COMMUNICATION LINKS (BLOS)

Diagram 2: Satellite UAS communications links

 

ANNEX 4: CHANNEL ARRANGEMENT FOR UAS CNPC IN THE 5060.5 MHz TO 5090.5 MHz FREQUENCY BAND

 

i. The 5060.5 MHz to 5090.5 MHz frequency band provides a total of 30MHz bandwidth available for UAS CNPC.

 

ii. The centre frequencies of individual channels with 150 kHz separation in the 5060.5 MHz to 5090.5 MHz frequency band are derived as follows:

Fn = 5060.575 + 0.150 (n − 1) MHz

Where:

Fn: centre frequency of the n-th slot

n = 1 to 200

 

iii. The frequency band is divided into 200 sub-blocks with 150 kHz channel bandwidth, as depicted in Diagram 3 below:

Diagram 3: Channel arrangement in 5060.5 MHz to 5090.5 MHz frequency band

 

iv. The channelling plan with centre frequency for each sub-block is shown in Table 5.

 

v. The user may apply to use a single sub-block of 150 kHz or multiple contiguous sub-blocks of 150 kHz for each assignment.

 

Table 5: Channelling plan with centre frequency for each sub-block

 

ANNEX 5: CHANNEL ARRANGEMENT FOR UAS PAYLOAD COMMUNICATIONS IN THE 2216 MHz TO 2256 MHz FREQUENCY BAND

 

i. The 2216 MHz to 2256 MHz frequency band provides a total of 40 MHz bandwidth available for UAS payload communications as depicted in Diagram 4 below:

Diagram 4: Channel arrangement in 2216 MHz to 2256 MHz frequency band

 

ii. The centre frequencies of individual channels in the 2216 MHz to 2256 MHz frequency bands are as shown in Table 6 below:

Table 6: Centre Frequency for UAS Payload Communications

 

ANNEX 6: REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR APPLICATION OF AA

 

ANNEX 7: INTERFERENCE RESOLUTION PROCESS

Diagram 5: RFI resolution process

 

 

 

Table 7: Interference resolution priority

 

Table 8: Interference resolution timeline

 

ANNEX 8: REFERENCE

 

1. ITU Radio Regulations (https://www.itu.int/pub/R-REG-RR ).

 

2. Report ITU-R M.2171 Characteristics of unmanned aircraft systems and spectrum requirements to support their safe operation in non-segregated airspace (https://www.itu.int/pub/R-REP-M.2171).

 

3. MCMC Spectrum Management (https://www.mcmc.gov.my/en/spectrum/spectrum-management).

 

4. MCMC MTSFB TC T020:2023 Aeronautical Radiocommunications Equipment - Specifications (https://www.mcmc.gov.my/skmmgovmy/media/General/registers/MC MC-MTSFB-TC-T020_2023-Aeronautical-RadiocommunicationsEquipment-Specifications.pdf).

 

5. ETSI EN 301 473 Aircraft Earth Stations (AES) operating below 3 GHz under the Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service (AMSS)/Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) and/or the Aeronautical Mobile Satellite on Route Service (AMS(R)S)/Mobile Satellite Service (MSS)

 

Source: https://www.mcmc.gov.my/skmmgovmy/media/General/pdf2/Guidelines-on-the-Use-of-Radio-Spectrum-for-Unmanned-Aircraft-Systems.pdf

 

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