September 22nd, 2026
Cable-locating equipment operating between 9 kHz and 490 kHz
Through this notice, ISED seeks to clarify the regulatory requirements applicable to different types of equipment used for locating underground cables or pipes. Recent inquiries have shown that the technical requirements related to this equipment are not always well understood, necessitating these clarifications.
Cable-locating equipment is used for locating buried cables or pipes and is mainly intended for professional use by utilities and telecom industry companies. The transmitter incorporated in these devices is operated for short periods of time and is not meant to continuously transmit. There are generally two types of cable-locating equipment.
The first type consists of a transmitter that couples a radio frequency (RF) signal onto the buried cable or pipe and a receiver that is used above ground for detecting the location of that cable or pipe. This type of cable-locating equipment is exempt from both licensing and certification and is subject to RSS-310 issue 6, more specifically, to section 3.4 of that standard.
The second type is similar to a reader for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, where the device transmits an electromagnetic signal from above ground that powers passive electronic markers attached to the buried cable or pipe and listens to responses from these markers, thus allowing the device to detect and locate that cable or pipe. This type of cable-locating equipment is generally exempt from licensing and falls under the scope of one of the following standards:
- section 3.8 of RSS-310 issue 6, if its emissions are very low; in this case, the equipment is also exempt from certification
- section 8.3 of RSS-210 issue 11; in this case, the equipment requires certification
Regardless of type, all cable-locating equipment shall comply with the applicable requirements stated in RSS-Gen, such as the general emission limits (section 7.4 of RSS-Gen issue 6).