Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 57 Deployment and operation of small-area wireless access points

1. Competent authorities shall not unduly restrict the deployment of small-area wireless access points. Member States shall seek to ensure that any rules governing the deployment of small-area wireless access points are nationally consistent. Such rules shall be published in advance of their application.

In particular, competent authorities shall not subject the deployment of small-area wireless access points complying with the characteristics laid down pursuant to paragraph 2 to any individual town planning permit or other individual prior permits.

By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of this paragraph, competent authorities may require permits for the deployment of small-area wireless access points on buildings or sites of architectural, historical or natural value protected in accordance with national law or where necessary for public safety reasons. Article 7 of Directive 2014/61/EU shall apply to the granting of those permits.

2. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, specify the physical and technical characteristics, such as maximum size, weight, and where appropriate emission power of small-area wireless access points.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 118(4).

The first such implementing act shall be adopted by 30 June 2020.

3. This Article is without prejudice to the essential requirements laid down in Directive 2014/53/EU and to the authorisation regime applicable for the use of the relevant radio spectrum.

4. Member States shall, by applying, where relevant, the procedures adopted in accordance with Directive 2014/61/EU, ensure that operators have the right to access any physical infrastructure controlled by national, regional or local public authorities, which is technically suitable to host small-area wireless access points or which is necessary to connect such access points to a backbone network, including street furniture, such as light poles, street signs, traffic lights, billboards, bus and tramway stops and metro stations. Public authorities shall meet all reasonable requests for access on fair, reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, which shall be made public at a single information point.

5. Without prejudice to any commercial agreements, the deployment of small-area wireless access points shall not be subject to any fees or charges going beyond the administrative charges in accordance with Article 16.