- Office of Electronic Communications

UKE co-operating with Allegro.pl in the matter of repeaters

The Office of Electronic Communications is co-operating with Allegro.pl in the matter of repeaters (boosters) which, when used without authorisation, may interfere with the operations of base transceiver stations of mobile telephony.

As a result of the co-operation, the major Polish commercial platform is changing its terms of use in a manner allowing for removing offers concerning repeaters. All devices offered within the „GSM accessories” – „Antennas and repeaters” category need to include the following information: “Installation and use of GSM/UMTS/LTE repeaters, also referred as boosters, by customers without the necessary authorisation is prohibited by the law. Such devices may be installed solely by mobile networks operators. Any failure to comply with the above law may be punishable with a fine, and in cases of persistent violations – with restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to 2 years”. Offers without such descriptions infringe the terms of use and may be removed.

By 25 October 2018, approximately 560 offers were cancelled in this way.

Co-operation with Allegro.pl is only one of the ways to limit the use of repeaters and making sure that potential buyers are aware of the harmful effects and illegality of the use of such devices. UKE has also prepared an information campaign drawing users’ attention to the negative effects of illegal applications of radio equipment. An element of the campaign is a poster distributed by, among others, mobile networks operators and UKE branch offices across Poland.

What is a repeater?

A GSM repeater is a piece of active radio equipment which retransmits signals between a base transceiver station and a user terminal. It is used by subscribers dissatisfied with the quality and availability of mobile telephony services.

According to the Telecommunications Act, the use of radio devices requires a licence (with exceptions stipulated in the relevant provisions).

A repeater which is not in compliance with the technical standards, is defective, is installed in a non-compliant manner or too close to the base transceiver station may considerably increase the electromagnetic background in the vicinity of the BTS, which dramatically limits the station’s range, causes massive connection losses, or difficulties with initiating connections with the BTS.