THE ARGOS JOINT TARIFF AGREEMENT
Overview
The Joint Tariff Agreement (JTA) has been set up by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to offer to scientific
governmental organizations a preferential price for the Argos location and data collection
service. This requires that a lumpsum agreement be signed at the beginning of each year.
Each country is represented by a Representative Of Country (ROC) who acts as an
interface between the organizations participating to the Agreement in his country and CLS
. ROC role and commitments are described below.
Each year, in October or early November, ROCs are conveyed to the JTA annual meeting
at which Argos policy and prices for the next year are discussed.
Contract and Invoicing
Each year, an agreement is signed between CLS and the ROC on the basis of the total
consumption ordered by the country for the next year. According to this agreement, two
invoices are sent to the ROC. One in January for 70% of the total amount, an other in
December for the balance and the extra consumption, if any. ROC invoices users in their
country for what they have ordered individually.
Each user pays for the consumption he committed for, even if the PTTs transmit less than
expected. If his annual consumption is higher than the amount initially agreed, the extra
consumption will be charged, at the appropriate JTA rate.
CLS records the consumption of all platforms for all the programs covered by this country
agreement and sends quarterly reports to the ROC , which in turn he can relay to the
participants.
How to calculate your Argos use
The JTA accounting unit is the Platform.year or PTT.year. The PTT.year is defined as 365 days
of operation of Platform Transmitter Terminal processed under the standard location and
data collection service. For example, two PTTs transmitting during 6 months using this same
service counts for: 0.5 PTT.year + 0.5 PTT.year = 1 PTT.year.
If you are using other services than the standard location and data collection service,
apply the appropriate coefficient - given in table below - to calculate your consumption.
For example, one platform transmitting a full year under the standard data collection
service - coefficient 1/2 - counts for 0.5 PTT.year.
Rates and coefficients for 2003
For 2003, the price of the PTT.year is 4,055 Euro for the standard location and data
collection service.
Type of service*
Standard service location et data collection service
Standard data collection service
Back-up location and data collection service
Back-up data collection service
Price (per Ptt.year)
4,055 Euro
Coefficient
1
1/2
2/5
1/5
* Description of services is given in our catalogue.
Monthly active platform fee: each active platform (platform transmitting at least once in
the month) is charged 4.57 Euro per month. These fees are included in the ROC’s invoices.
Joining the JTA
To join the JTA you need to:
- be a government funded or scientific non profit organization
- have a ROC in your country,
- obtain a letter from your ROC stating he agrees to include your organization in his
agreement,
- keep your ROC informed of your applications and provide him each year prior
October, your estimations in terms of Ptt.years for the next year,
- accept the JTA rules.
ROC for Finland is Simo Kalliosaari
Upon reception of the letter of agreement of your ROC, we will declare your Program in
the JTA list .
Special conditions
In order to help the users who join the JTA in the course of a year or who have some
difficulties to meet above conditions in due time, in particular users who belong to a
country for which no ROC is designated yet, CLS offers the opportunity to benefit from a
special rate based on the JTA preferential tariff plus 25 percent. This rate will be applied on
a day to day basis according on the actual transmissions of the platforms and not on a
lumpsum estimation.
In such case, you will deal directly with CLS and be invoiced every two months for the
Ptt.days used.
Role and commitments of the ROC
The ROC acts as focal point between national organizations participating to the
agreement and CLS. In particular, he :
 collects the needs and expectation of all the participants in his country,
 provides the expected consumption of his country for next year before October each
year,
 signs the agreement contract with CLS and commits himself to pay the bills issued by
CLS in due time,
 signs individuals contracts with the participants in his country and receive their
payments,
 informs the participants about the evolution of the JTA policies and prices