Council Directive

of 25 June 1987

on the frequency bands to be reserved for the coordinated introduction of public pan-European cellular digital land-based mobile communications in the Community

(87/372/EEC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2,
Whereas recommendation 84/549/EEC3 calls for the introduction of services on the basis of a common harmonized approach in the field of telecommunications;

Whereas the resources offered by modern telecommunications networks should be utilized to the full for the economic development of the Community;

Whereas mobile radio services are the only means of contacting users on the move and the most efficient means for those users to be connected to public telecommunications networks;

Whereas mobile communications depend on the allocation and availability of frequency bands in order to transmit and receive between fixed-base stations and mobile stations;

Whereas the frequencies and land-based mobile communications systems currently in use in the Community vary widely and do not allow all users on the move in vehicles, boats, trains, or on foot throughout the Community, including on inland or coastal waters, to reap the benefits of European-wide services and European-wide markets;

Whereas the change-over to the second generation cellular digital mobile communications system will provide a unique opportunity of establishing truly pan-European mobile communications;

Whereas the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) has recommended that frequencies 890-915 X1and 935-960 MHz be allocated to such a system, in accordance with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Radio Regulations allocating such frequencies to mobile radio services use as well;

Whereas parts of these frequency bands are being used or are intended for use by certain Member States for interim systems and other radio services;

Whereas the progressive availability of the full range of the frequency bands set out above will be indispensable for the establishment of truly pan-European mobile communications;

Whereas the implementation of Council recommendation 87/371/EEC of 25 June 1987 on the coordinated introduction of public pan-European cellular digital land-based mobile communications in the Community4, aiming at starting a pan-European system by 1991 at the latest, will allow the speedy specification of the radio transmission path;

Whereas on the basis of present technological and market trends it would appear to be realistic to envisage the exclusive occupation of the 890-915 and 935-960 MHz frequency bands by the pan-European system within 10 years of 1 January 1991;

Whereas Council Directive 86/361/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the initial stage of the mutual recognition of type approval for telecommunications terminal equipment5 will allow the rapid establishment of common conformity specifications for the pan-European cellular digital mobile communications system;

Whereas the report on public mobile communications drawn up by the Analysis and Forecasting Group (GAP) for the Senior Officials Group on Telecommunications (SOG-T) has drawn attention to the necessity for the availability of adequate frequencies as a vital pre-condition for pan-European cellular digital mobile comunications;

Whereas favourable opinions on this report have been delivered by the telecommunications administrations, by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) and the telecommunications equipment manufacturers in the Member States,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

F1Article 1

1.

Member States shall make the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands (the 900 MHz band) available for GSM and UMTS systems, as well as for other terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services that can coexist with GSM systems, in accordance with technical implementing measures adopted pursuant to Decision No 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (Radio Spectrum Decision) 6 .

2.

Member States shall, when implementing this Directive, examine whether the existing assignment of the 900 MHz band to the competing mobile operators in their territory is likely to distort competition in the mobile markets concerned and, where justified and proportionate, they shall address such distortions in accordance with Article 14 of Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) 7 .

F1Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

  1. (a)

    ‘ GSM system ’ shall mean an electronic communications network that complies with the GSM standards, as published by ETSI, in particular EN 301 502 and EN 301 511;

  2. (b)

    ‘ UMTS system ’ shall mean an electronic communications network that complies with the UMTS standards as published by ETSI, in particular EN 301 908-1, EN 301 908-2, EN 301 908-3 and EN 301 908-11.

F1Article 3

1.

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 9 May 2010 . They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures and a correlation table between those measures and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

F2Article 4

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Article 5

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.