CONATEL regulatory decision OE-CNT-DEC-20220001 of 31 March 2022 setting sanctions for harmful interference affecting electronic communications

Regulatory decision OE-CNT-DEC-20220001 of 31 March 2022, in force from 15 April 2022, is the current Haitian rule on harmful radio interference. The other CONATEL instruments in this batch are gazette scans; this one is a standalone publication.

It rests on the decree of 12 October 1977 granting the state the telecommunications monopoly, the decree of 10 June 1987 redefining CONATEL's mission, the decree of 26 June 1987 on frequency taxation, the decree of 13 January 1978 on licence duties, and the ITU radio regulations.

Article 4 forbids the use, in Haitian territorial waters or airspace, of a transmitter aboard an aircraft or a ship of any flag capable of causing interference in the radiocommunication spectrum over Haitian territory. Article 5 obliges any operator aware of interference to its equipment to report it to CONATEL without delay by the method CONATEL determines. Article 6 requires CONATEL to notify the responsible entity once identified, and that entity to take corrective measures immediately. Article 7 requires immediate cessation of all emission when the interference falls in a band used by duly authorized aeronautical, maritime, medical, emergency or public safety services. Article 8 makes CONATEL the arbiter of interference disputes between concession, licence and authorization holders.

The sanctions begin at Article 9: 100,000 to 500,000 gourdes as soon as the source is determined. Article 10 adds a daily 5,000 to 20,000 gourdes from the day of the finding until the breach ends, and beyond thirty days CONATEL requests suspension of the concession or suspends the operating permit for three to six months, without stopping the daily fine. Article 11 suspends a technician's certification for three months after four interference cases in a year traced to stations that technician installed or maintained, liftable against 150,000 to 300,000 gourdes per case. Article 12 raises the penalty for an installation that breaches the rules through negligence or design to 300,000 to 600,000 gourdes with a daily 10,000 to 40,000, and 70,000 to 150,000 gourdes for the technician. Article 13 provides for seizure of equipment and prosecution where the interfering station is unauthorized. Article 14 sets the force majeure route, twenty-four hours to end interference that does not touch emergency, medical or public safety services and immediate shutdown where it does, and excludes socio-economic consequences as a justification. Article 15 doubles the penalty on repetition, Article 16 routes the sums to the Direction Générale des Impôts, and Article 17 suspends the authorization or certification when a fine goes unpaid for forty-five days. Article 18 exempts interference caused to secure a ship or aircraft in distress or to meet an emergency endangering people, provided the operator resolves the problem once the emergency passes, and Article 19 puts the burden of proving such a case on whoever caused the interference.