Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999, concerning radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity, reflects the evolution of telecommunications with the emergence of new technologies, market expansion and legislation on networks.
This Directive was transposed into the national legal order by Decree-Law no. 192/2000 of 18 August, which stipulates the new regime for the free movement, market placement and entrance into service in national territory of radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment, as well as the regime for the respective evaluation of conformity and dialling.
This new regime centres on the responsibilities of market players, who must via the conformity evaluation and dialling procedures guarantee compliance with the applicable requirements and conditions. In this context, market inspection actions play an important role, with the aim of allowing economic agents to fulfil the said legal provisions, guaranteeing protection of consumers.
ICP-ANACOM was granted powers to ensure compliance with this regime, without jeopardising the possibility, in this or any other justifiable situation, of requesting collaboration from the Inspectorate General of Economic Activities (IGAE ? Inspecção-Geral das Actividades Económicas) and the Directorate General of Customs and Special Taxes on Consumption (Direcção-Geral das Alfândegas e dos Impostos Especiais sobre o Consumo).
Equipment covered by this regulatory framework is as follows:
- Radio equipment that uses radio frequencies (radio spectrum), containing a transmitter and or receiver. Such is specifically the case of mobile telephones (GSM), satellite terminals, CB (citizen?s band) equipment, maritime phones, wireless phones, and low-power short-range equipment (bluetooth applications, remote controls ? wireless alarms, devices to open garage doors, wireless LANs and remote control toys);
- Telecommunications terminal equipment linked to the public telecommunications network by an interface (public GSM networks, analogic or digital telephone networks and data networks). Such is specifically the case of telephones, telexes, answering machines, modems and GSM equipment (simultaneously radio equipment).
Market supervision involves three procedures whose aim is to assess the conformity of equipment placed on the market, namely:
- Procedure 1 ? direct inspections (physical presence, also carried out by catalogue and via the Internet) of economic agents (distributors, importers, merchants);
- Procedure 2 ? market monitoring actions, by means of laboratory trials and studying technical documentation to verify equipment conformity;
- Procedure 3 ? market monitoring actions, by studying technical documentation to verify equipment conformity.
In the case of radio equipment that uses frequency bands whose use is not harmonised throughout the European Union, communication to ICP-ANACOM became necessary by imposition of Decree-Law no. 192/2000 of 18 August. This should precede market placement by four weeks and is always subject to study by ICP-ANACOM. Non-compliance with ICP-ANACOM?s indications concerning such equipment may lead to restrictions on its placement in service.
Activity pursued in 2002
Regarding inspection of the market for radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment, ICP-ANACOM has followed the three above-mentioned procedures.
In the context of procedure 1, a total of 932 radio equipment items and telecommunications terminals were inspected in 2002; 85 percent of the actions involved physical presence (in shops or other commercial spaces) and 15 were done through the Internet and catalogues.
When carrying out procedure 2, the choice of the category of radio equipment to be tested was made taking into account licence exemption, the likelihood of interference and the possibility of laboratory trials, involving the testing of 20 equipment items.
In the context of procedure 3, the technical and administrative requirements were verified, namely by studying the equipment?s statement of conformity in its complete format and also the remaining technical documentation; 20 such actions were carried out.
Regarding the type of unconformities detected by the three aforementioned procedures, the following results were verified:
| No. | |
|---|---|
| General description of the equipment | 2 |
| Plans and manufacturing designs, component schemes, subsets, circuits, among others | 2 |
| Description and explanations needed to understand the said designs and working schemes of devices | 2 |
| Bloc diagram and component list | 1 |
| List of harmonised standards applied in full or in part, as well as a description and explanation of the solutions adopted to comply with essential applicable requirements, in cases where such standards were not applied or do not exist | 2 |
| The CE logo does not include designation of the notified body | 1 |
| Declaration issued by the notified body | 1 |
| Declaration of conformity in complete format (should mention designation of the contacted notified body) | 1 |
| Declaration of conformity that does not mention the model in question | 1 |
| Declaration of conformity that does not mention that it complies with Directive 1999/5/EC | 1 |
| Results of calculation of projects carried out and of tests realised, among others | 2 |
| Reports of trials carried out | 2 |
Source: ICP-ANACOM
Note: the same equipment may have more than one inconformity.
Some 1,747 radio equipment notifications were received, of which 291 were correct and 1,456 incorrect. The following distribution was verified regarding the typology of the incorrect radio equipment notifications:
| % | |
|---|---|
| Absence of notified body | 2,7 |
| Absence of European contact point | 26,8 |
| Indication of frequency band assigned exclusively to other services (eg. broadcasting - 175 kHz; aero-models - 34.990-35.230 MHz; military management; medical implants; wireless audio; inductive applications; emitting microphones for non-professional use) | 16,1 |
| Excessive duty cycle limits (eg. the duty cycle should be less than 10% or 1%) | 8,0 |
| Non-indication of the value for magnetic field intensity | 1,5 |
| Incorrect aspects vis-à-vis equipment antennas (eg. antennas cannot be external, integrated or dedicated antenna required) | 26,4 |
| No audio and voice signals allowed in the frequency band in question | 5,7 |
| Bands not adopted in Portugal | 3,8 |
| Indication of maximum power limit | 7,7 |
| Indication of the value of maximum power spectrum density | 1,1 |
Source: ICP-ANACOM
Lastly, the current situation was studied with respect to fulfilment of the obligation of public telecommunications network operators to report to ICP-ANACOM the technical specifications of interfaces, and to collect information and analysis of technical documentation, in order to update the information content available on the ICP-ANACOM website in the R&TTE section and concerning the ?publication of technical specifications?.
