Will My Wireless Systems Work In The Countries I’m Visiting And Are They Legal?

Let’s break this down.

Are they legal?

Every country sets its own rules and regulations about which wireless systems are permitted, what power they can be operated at, which frequencies they can be tuned to, and whether a license is needed or not. Mission Control can provide you with immediate clarity on your rights and obligations in each territory. Send us your itinerary and a list of the equipment you plan to use and we can get back to you with instant answers.

Will they work?

What works in one location may not work in another. If you’re planning to operate wireless systems in unfamiliar environments, advance knowledge that your system can be tuned to legal, clean frequencies in each location is a massive reassurance. Our extensive database of site-scans and predicted TV and cellular coverage, and our data-driven approach to planning for two-way radio give you the best chance of your equipment leaving the warehouse ready for wherever it’s going next.

Do I Need A License For My Wireless Microphones And IEMs?

This depends on which tuning range they operate in and where you’re planning to take them. It is well known that in the UK RF licenses are required in all frequency bands used by professional productions, but the same is true in many other European countries as well as those further afield. There are also many countries where a license isn’t needed, but there are still certain parameters which you’ll need to observe to operate legally in these places. If we’re supporting your project, you’ll receive a simple one-page sheet in plain English outlining what’s authorised or generally permitted at each location you visit.

I’ve Got Some Walkie Talkies, Do I Need A License For Those Too?

Yes! Almost certainly!

With a few exceptions (PMR446, PTT Over Cellular) that are not generally appropriate for professional events, a license is required for two-way radio (AKA walkie talkies) on most frequencies to which they can tune in every country on earth. Since these radios operate at high power, and tune within spectrum shared by blue light services and other critical infrastructure, it’s important to get this right. Preparing frequencies in advance of the radios shipping is usually essential, so contact us now for a quote.

How Much Does It Cost?

Our budget-friendly prices scale to accommodate any size of tour, event, or permanent installation, reflecting the scale of the systems you need licensing. We support breakthrough club tours and grassroots independent venues, all the way up to arenas, outdoor concerts, stadium shows, multi-stage, multi-day festivals, international sporting championships and major new infrastructure projects. You can rest assured that, whatever level you’re working at, others in your area have found our prices affordable and our support worth paying for.

Prices for radio frequency licenses vary as much from country to country as do their rules and regulations, if not more so. Since for a temporary event different licensing authorities can charge anywhere between ‘nothing at all’ and ‘quite a lot more than that’ to license the exact same set of equipment, we break our quotes down transparently. You’ll see the face value of the licenses you need at each location and then, separately, the fees we charge to obtain them for you.

We’re always working on ways to bring down the cost of licensing, and have invested in long-term licenses in many countries and cities globally, which we can offer at a greatly reduced cost since we can reuse them from one event to the next.

What Happens If I Don’t Get A License?

Not having the right RF licenses can have significant consequences, including fines, show stoppage, and even in extreme cases, imprisonment.

RF licensing is now widely understood to be an essential aspect of due diligence for an event. If there’s an RF issue, be it one that affects the performance or important communications in the vicinity of the venue, questions will be asked and it’s important to have a clear paper trail evidencing that you did everything to meet your obligations and respect the rights of other RF users.

Do We Need Different Licenses For Different Countries?

Unfortunately, yes.

Although a few frequency bands are harmonised for use across borders, these are generally those suitable for consumer-level tech. If you’re moving between countries with professional wireless equipment, then you will need different licenses for different national jurisdictions.

Can We Use The Same Frequencies Everywhere?

Almost certainly not! Whether it’s two-way radio, wireless audio, video RF or anything else, there will be national and local variations in the available spectrum and the frequencies that authorities are able or willing to grant.

Each country devises its own national frequency allocation. Whilst they do it in dialogue with other governments, most of the spectrum we’re interested in for business use or for use at events is not harmonised at that level of detail. Then, within each country, the specific frequencies or chunks of spectrum allocated to existing licensees (think broadcasters, telcos, local businesses, emergency services, etc) will vary from city to city.

The easiest way to navigate this complex international regulatory environment and know you have the planning and paperwork in place to use legal, clean frequencies wherever you’re going is to enlist the support of Mission Control.

How Quickly Can You Obtain Licenses?

The answer (as you can see it’s a bit of a theme) is that this varies wildly by country - anything from a few months to a few minutes. If you’re planning a tour or event, we’d encourage you to contact us as early in the planning process as possible, as licenses for different types of equipment have different processing times too: for the biggest tours, we’re often locking in the two-way radio frequencies months before the audio RF specification is even finalised.

What we can say, is that if anyone can obtain RF licenses in the time-frame you need it’s us. We’ve built relationships with licensing authorities all over the world over many years, and along the way we’ve educated them about the time pressures at play in the industries we serve. We’ve streamlined our processes to give the greatest chance of finding a solution for you in the time available.

I Need A License For Today / Tomorrow - Can You Help?

Try us. We’ve done it many times before in many parts of the world. If you need urgent assistance outside of office hours call the office number on +44 1373 800 321 and your call will be forwarded to an available member of the team.

What Happens If We Encounter Interference?

Interference from localised EMF, unlicensed users, or changes in the spectrum due to atmospheric conditions can, of course, happen from time to time. When you hire Mission Control to support your tour or event, our work doesn’t stop once we’ve delivered the documentation. You’ll benefit from ongoing support via phone or email from our team of RF licensing and coordination experts if you need it.

Even outside of UK office hours, calls to the office number +44 1373 800 321 will be forwarded to an available member of the team. We understand the pressures and realities of live events and will work swiftly and methodically to find a solution for you.

Will You Communicate With The Promoter For Me?

Of course. We do this all the time. We have good relationships with most of the major European concert and festival promoters. We’re more than happy to deal with their production teams on your behalf to advance your RF and share any licensing documentation which they require from you.

Many promoters are reassured as soon as they see that Mission Control are involved with the RF for your production. It’s effectively another box ticked so you can move on to other matters.

Will You Coordinate Frequencies For Us?

When it comes to your on-stage RF, as standard, we coordinate frequencies for any event where the authorities grant licenses for specific wireless audio frequencies or blocks of spectrum.

For example, in Ireland, a license for wireless microphones and IEMs lists the specific frequencies you intend to use and we will always coordinate these for you (or work with you to license your own coordination if you prefer), taking into account existing licenses, local conditions, manufacturer recommendations or tried-and-testing modelling for channel spacing and avoidance of intermodulation distortion products (IMD), along with any other relevant factors.

Where this isn’t a requirement, and where there isn’t event-wide RF coordination by a third party, many engineers prefer to coordinate their own frequencies on-site. However, if you would like a bit more support with coordination for every show, ask us about pricing for this.

How Far In Advance Should We Start RF Planning For International Tours?

As soon as possible, of course! But don’t worry if you think you might have left it late. We’re extremely versed in responding to the just-in-time requirements of live events and other industries.

In the best of all possible worlds, and with some national variations, we’d generally recommend that you start talking to us about your two-way radio frequencies 6-8 weeks before they are due to leave the warehouse, and your audio and video RF 6-8 weeks before the first event.

We’re very happy to discuss timelines with you for the purposes of planning. Get in touch!