Notice No. DGRB-002-02

Department of Industry

Radiocommunication Act, S.C. 1985, c. r-2

Notice No. DGRB-002-02 — Determination of Interference for Equipment that defeats the conditional access system of Broadcast Satellite (Direct-to-Home or DTH) Receivers (section 50 Radiocommunication Regulations)

Introduction

The Department of Industry has received several complaints of interference to public safety radiocommunication services across Canada.

The Department has made investigations at known interference sites and has conducted laboratory tests of suspect equipment. These analyses have demonstrated that certain devices used to defeat conditional access systems of DTH broadcast satellite receivers will, when used in conjunction with such receivers, cause the emission of radio frequency signals of sufficient strength that interference is caused or is likely to be caused to radiocommunication, including that used for law enforcement and search and rescue. For example, these excessive emissions have interfered with the communications of law enforcement agencies and emergency response teams.

Accordingly, the Minister of Industry has, under section 50 of the Radiocommunication Regulations, made a Determination of Interference (through investigations and laboratory analyses) for several models of equipment used to defeat conditional access systems. Conditional access systems are used by direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasters to protect their transmissions from unauthorized reception. The decoding of encrypted subscription programming signals from direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellite facilities must be performed under and in accordance with an authorization from a person who has a lawful right in Canada to transmit the signal and to authorize its decoding. Various types of equipment, such as pirate smart cards or modules, may be employed to gain unauthorized access to satellite television signals. Equipment of this type has also been found to adversely affect the technical performance of the broadcast satellite receiver with respect to radio frequency emissions.

This Determination, as specified in the following notice, will assist in safeguarding radiocommunication services, including those used by police and search and rescue, from interference.

In accordance with section 50 of the Regulations, when there is a determination that a model or several models of equipment cause or are likely to cause interference to radiocommunication, the Minister shall give notice of the determination to persons who are likely to be affected thereby: in this case, persons who manufacture, import, distribute, lease, offer for sale, sell, install or who use equipment referred to in this notice.

For further details respecting the applicable models of equipment please refer to the Annex of this notice and to the "List of Models of Equipment Subject to a Determination of Interference (s.50 Radiocommunication Regulations)" published by the Department. The list of the models of equipment subject to this notice may be amended from time to time and is available at the following website: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/direct-to-home

Hard copies of the documents are available, for a fee, from DLS, St. Joseph Print Group Inc., 45 Sacré-C.Aur Boulevard, Hull, Quebec K1A 0S7, 1-888-562-5561 (Canada toll-free telephone), 1-800-565- 7757 (Canada toll-free facsimile), (819) 779-4335 (Worldwide telephone), (819) 779-2833 (Worldwide facsimile).

Notice

Notice is hereby given, that the Minister of Industry has, under section 50 of the Radiocommunication Regulations, made a determination that the models of equipment listed in the Annex to this notice cause or are likely to cause interference to radiocommunication. The list may be amended from time to time and the most recent version can be found at the following Industry Canada Web page: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/direct-to-home. Effective the date of publication of this notice, persons who manufacture, import, distribute, lease, offer for sale, sell, install or use the listed equipment are subject to section 50 of the Radiocommunication Regulations.

In accordance with subsection 50(3) of the Regulations, no person shall manufacture, import, distribute, lease, offer for sale, sell, install or use equipment in respect of which notice has been given. Persons who do not comply with section 50 of the Regulations may also be in breach of other applicable provisions of the Radiocommunication Actand Regulations or other statutes, such as the Criminal Code.

Failure by a person to comply with the Minister's notice, issued pursuant to section 50, is an offence under the Radiocommunication Act. Section 10(1)(d) of the Radiocommunication Actprovides for sentencing of up to $5000 and/or one year in prison for individuals and fines up to $25,000 for corporations. Under section 10(3) of the Radiocommunication Acta person may be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued. The Contraventions Actis also applicable in those provinces where it is in force.

Any inquiries regarding this notice should be directed to the local Industry Canada District Office, which is listed in the government blue pages of the telephone directory under "Radio Licensing" or on Industry Canada's Strategis web site, at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/vwGeneratedInterE/sf01742e.html

31 May 2002

Jan Skora
Director General
Radiocommunications and Broadcasting
Regulatory Branch

R.W. McCaughern
Director General
Spectrum Engineering

Annex

(section 50 of the Radiocommunication Regulations)

Equipment used to defeat Conditional Access Systems of Satellite Broadcast Receivers

Notes : 

The public may wish to consult the following technical standards and technical notes pertaining to this Notice of Determination. These are published by Industry Canada, and are posted on the Department's web site at http://strategis.gc.ca/spectrum for the English version and http://strategis.gc.ca/spectre for the French version.

Technical Standards and Requirements for Radio Apparatus Capable of Receiving Broadcasting(BETS-7)

Investigative Report on Satellite Broadcast Receivers Employing Encryption Defeating Conditional Access Modules

Amended List of Models of Equipment Subject to a Determination of Interference
June 20, 2003