Every wireless service uses radio waves: mobile phones, Wi-Fi links, police and emergency radios, ships, aircraft, satellite dishes, radio and TV. These radio waves are called the radio-frequency spectrum. It is a limited national resource, so it must be shared carefully to avoid interference. Under Decree-Law No. 15/2012, ANC manages, allocates and assigns the spectrum (Article 5).
What ANC does
- Plans the spectrum. ANC decides which frequency bands are used for which services, in line with international rules of the ITU (International Telecommunication Union).
- Licenses radio equipment. Using radio equipment needs a spectrum licence from ANC (Article 61).
- Publishes who uses which frequencies. ANC keeps the list of frequency assignments up to date (Article 60).
- Represents Timor-Leste in regional and international bodies such as the ITU (Article 5). For example, in 2019 the ITU gave Timor-Leste its own Maritime Identification Digits (MID 550) for ships' radios.
Types of spectrum licence
Since Decree-Law No. 31/2024, there are three types of licence (Article 61):
- Individual licence: for one radio station at one fixed place.
- Network licence: for a group of connected radio stations run by one service provider.
- General licence: for all the end-user devices that a registered provider supplies to its customers, used anywhere in Timor-Leste. Satellite terminals that connect users directly to satellites are covered by a general licence given to the provider.
