The Radio Spectrum Committee (RSC) of the European Commission (EC) held its 32nd meeting last 7-8 July in Brussels.
The following stand out among the issues dealt with at the meeting:
- Implementation of Commission Decisions – The European Communications Office (ECO) report on information contained in the EFIS database in July 2010 was presented, with discussion of questions involving the information member States should submit with respect to radio interfaces and usage rights. The member States will also report on the progress of implementing the revision of the GSM Directive and the Commission Decision on 900 and 1800 MHz. Belgium (IBPT) also gave a presentation on potential aeronautic radar interference in the 2.7 GHz band; this issue was placed on the October RSC meeting agenda;
- SRD – The RSC delegates were informed about the positive result of the Regulatory Opinion on the third modification of Decision 2006/771/EC Commission on SRD. On 30 June 2010 the Commission had adopted Decision 2010/368/EC, modifying Decision 2006/771/EC, concerning harmonisation of radio spectrum for use by short range devices;
- Decision 2008/671/EC on ITS – The Commission’s services presented a monitoring document on the implementation and operation of infrastructure based on intelligent transport systems (ITS) in the 5.9 GHz band, including an update of the work accomplished to date by the IIWG working group set up by the eSafety Forum. Some member States provided information about their regulatory actions and other activities in the scope of ITS. On the other hand, the member States should complete as soon as possible the work on implementing and making available the ITS band, since improved safety on European roads continues to be a major EU policy goal;
- Short range radars (SRRs) – The final reports in response to Parts 1 and 2 of the EC mandate to CEPT on SRR were presented. The Commission made a number of observations about the content of the two CEPT reports. It also regretted that the conclusions of Report 37 responding to Part 2 of the mandate did not reflect the technical content of said report. This subject will be considered again at the next RSC meeting in October, when the Commission services will indicate what measures will be put forward to follow up on revision of the 24 GHz Decision. Note that the Short Range Automotive Radar Frequency Allocation Group (SARA) had already presented its annual report on SRR use of the 24 GHz frequency band;
- PPDR – The results of a study on capacity requisites for PPDR operations were presented, along with intermediate results of a study on proposals for possible harmonised PPDR frequency bands. Both studies were commissioned by the German government. The presentations are posted on the CIRCA and RSC website;
- PMSE – The Commission services presented an informative note on the possibilities of spectrum harmonisation for applications used in program making and special events (PMSE) production. A Commission-organised workshop on the long-term approach to PMSE spectrum needs is planned for October 2010;
- Wireless Access Policy for Electronic Communications Services (WAPECS) – The draft final reports were presented in response to the EC mandates to CEPT on the 900/1800 MHz and 2 GHz bands. The Commission wants to update the appendix to Decision 2009/775/EC on the 900/1800 MHz band to enable the use of LTE and WiMAX in those bands, after final approval of the CEPT report which is expected to take place in November 2010;
- 800 MHz band – Results of the workshop on cable interference held last 30 June in Brussels were discussed. The Commission acknowledged the technical work carried out jointly by ETSI and CENELEC and noted the consensus on immunity levels with a view to reducing the risk of interference between broadband wireless networks and cable TV to an acceptable level;
- Decision 2008/411/EC on the 3.4-3.8 GHz band – The Commission services informed the RSC about a new autonomous document concerning the effective implementation of Decision 2008/411/EC and a revised version of the joint document SAP REG and WiMAX Forum, published following discussions at the previous RSC meeting;
- Protection of the 1400-1427 MHz band – A joint contribution from France, Spain and the ESA was presented, concerning interference affecting the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite operating in the 1400-1427 MHz frequency band allocated to (passive) EESS and the subject of footnote 5.340 of the ITU RR. The member States should cooperate with a view to removing the harmful interference.
The next RSC meeting will be held in Brussels this coming 6-7 October.
