Results of Public Comments on Proposed Radio Standards Revision
Overview
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) invited public comments on a proposed revision to examination standards related to the Radio Act. It is publishing the comments received, MIC’s views, and the instruction enacted in light of the comments. The revision sets frequency-sharing conditions for municipal digital simultaneous-broadcast disaster prevention and administrative radio systems, and examination standards allowing increased antenna power for fire-service field-operation land mobile stations in mountainous areas.
Key points
- A total of 3 comments were submitted during the public comment period.
- MIC enacted and published the revised instruction in light of the public comments.
- The revision addresses frequency-sharing conditions for disaster prevention and administrative radio systems and examination standards for fire-service radio in mountainous areas.
Overview
Municipal digital simultaneous-broadcast disaster prevention and administrative radio systems deliver disaster prevention and administrative information from municipalities to residents immediately and simultaneously through outdoor loudspeakers and individual receivers.
Fire-service field-operation land mobile stations are generally used within the jurisdiction of a regional fire department headquarters or fire station for command and information exchange between the on-site command post and crews, and among crew members.
Impact
To improve communications quality in mountainous areas, standards will be established to allow increased antenna power.
Details
In recent years, municipalities using 16-value quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) have requested a transition to the lower-cost quadrature phase-shift keying narrowband method (QPSK narrow). The revision sets frequency-sharing conditions so that both methods can be assigned in the same frequency band.
MIC invited comments on the proposed revision from July 11, 2026, through August 10 of that year. The submitted comments and MIC’s views are provided in Appendix 1, and the enacted Instruction Partially Revising the Examination Standards Related to the Radio Act (MIC Instruction No. 47 of 2026) is provided in Appendix 2. Both documents are posted in the “Public Comments” section of e-Gov, and may also be viewed and distributed at the responsible division’s contact desk along with the press materials.