The 36th meeting of the ECC was held in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca on 11-14 March 2014, attended by 73 participants representing 29 administrations, the European Commission (EC) and the European Communications Office (ECO) as well as seven observers.
The following decisions stand out among matters considered by the Committee:
- Final approval of amended Decision ECC/DEC/(11)06 on "Harmonised frequency arrangements for mobile/fixed communications networks (MFCN) operating in the bands 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz", based on results of the public consultation. All received comments were taken into account, even though the ones referring to channelling in the 3400-3600 MHz bands (in favour of frequency division duplex - FDD) were not considered given the ECC’s previous position. Although industry once again manifested its position of having no preference for any kind of channelling, the Committee confirmed its understanding from the previous plenary meeting to adopt time division duplex (TDD) channelling as preferential in the 3400-3600 MHz band, with channelling in FDD as an alternative. Note that a spectrum use in TDD mode is harmonised in the 3600-3800 MHz band. A total of 28 administrations, including Portugal, indicated that they intended to apply this decision, while four administrations (the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Russia) indicated that that they could only implement it partially.
- Final approval of amended Decision ECC/DEC/(06)07 on "Mobile Communication on Board Aircraft (MCA)", based on results from the public consultation. The only comment received in the consultation was included for the purpose of aligning footnote number 1 with the current community framework, namely Decisions 2008/294411/EC and 2013/654/EU and Recommendation 2008/295/EC. Note that this decision was subject to updating to include the 2 GHz band (UMTS) and 1800 MHz band (LTE) as 'connectivity' bands, thereby also enabling introduction of the network control unit (NCU) in 2.6 GHz by MCA operators on a voluntary basis until 1 January 2017. A total of 25 administrations, including Portugal, indicated that they intended to apply this decision.
- Approval of the interim report to be sent to the EC regarding the EC mandate in the 5 GHz band (Wireless Access Systems including Radio Local Area Networks in the bands 5350-5470 MHz and 5725-5925 MHz - extension bands for WAS/RLAN). Various contributions were considered regarding this agenda point and, based on a proposal from Germany, several guiding principles were agreed on, to be borne in mind in the sharing and compatibility studies to be conducted. Note that the main changes approved include reference to ongoing work in the Radiocommunication Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) regarding the update of Recommendation M.1638, the creation of a new section that describes other systems operating on a national basis in some CEPT countries in the 5915-5925 MHz bands and several clarifications concerning WAS/RLAN parameters used in studies carried out by the working group on Spectrum Engineering (WG SE).
- Results of the call for inputs regarding the response to the EC mandate "to undertake studies on the harmonised technical conditions for the 1900-1920 MHz and 2010-2025 MHz frequency bands (unpaired terrestrial 2 GHz bands) in the EU". It was noted that the studies about other compatibilities, beyond sharing between DA2GC and PMSE, will not be finished before May. This activity coordinated by Portugal will be posted on the ECC website, but only upon approval of the CEPT Report for this EU mandate, which envisages that it will be subject to consultation in June. The outline was approved, along with a letter to send to the EC, to be discussed at the next RSC. The two scenarios remain open: direct-air-to-ground communications (DA2GCS) FDD + digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT)/low power short range devices (SRD) + equipment for programme making and special events (PMSE)/public protection and disaster relief (PPDR), and DA2GCS TDD + DECT/SRD + PMSE/PPDR, in the 1900-1920 MHz and 2010-2025 MHz bands.
- The ECC vice-chair and coordinator of TG6 (Jaime Afonso of ANACOM), the task group created by the plenary meeting to reflect on and draw up a long term vision for the UHF band, especially for the 470-694 MHz frequency bands, reported that the group’s activity was progressing at a good pace. At the third meeting, held last February in Copenhagen, TG6 finished the list of scenarios that should be considered in the short term. Parallel to this, the group has noted activity at European Union (EU) level in this area: work carried out in the scope of the high level group (HLG) on future use of the UHF band (470-790 MHz), the study on "Challenges and opportunities of broadcast-broadband convergence and its impact on spectrum and network use" and coordination with the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG). The plenary session indicated several points the group should focus on, especially the economic value of spectrum, analysis of cross-border coordination, usage rights in the scope of the UHF band and recommendations. To speed completion of the report TG6 set up three working groups in the ECO Forum and will continue carrying out this activity by electronic means. TG6 will hold a physical meeting in April and May, before the next ECC plenary meeting.
- The ECC discussed developments in the scope of the EC mandate in the 700 MHz frequency band, an activity being overseen by ECC PT1 (IMT Issues) together with project team B (PT-B) of the Conference Preparatory Group (CPG). Additional information was requested from industry (mobile and broadcasting), which should be sent by 11 April. The administrations were asked to identify at the next plenary meeting their preference regarding the two open options for the frequency agreements contained in the interim report to the EC. The sub-options of option 1 will most likely still have to be decided when this CEPT report is forwarded for public consultation. WG SE should put forward a block edge mask (BEM) proposal in this band for wireless audio applications associated to PMSE. As for cross-border coordination with a view to designating broadcasting services in the 700 MHz band, ECO director Mark Thomas of the United Kingdom presented a proposal to create an online tool that administrations could use. It would consist of a database associated to a new ECC decision and endow the process with a more mandatory nature. This proposal was received with major reservations by the administrations. Portugal proposed that a questionnaire should be conducted beforehand and reiterated that it would be advisable to wait until a political or community decision was made on this subject. It was decided that TG6 would be mandated to evaluate the best way to gather information and for it to go ahead with a proposal by November 2014.
- The ECO director reported on the Office's communication and investigation activity. Regarding developments concerning the CEPT portal, he indicated that the email reflector and group membership functions were now being merged. Tests were conducted at TG6 level; a final version will soon be made available.
- The ECC approved the appointment of Sergey Pastukh of Russia as new vice-chair of the ECC, replacing Geir Sundal of Norway, who finished his second term. It also approved the appointment of Thomas Weilacher of Germany as new chair of the working group on Frequency Management (WG FM), replacing Sergey Pastukh, who likewise completed his second term.
The next ECC plenary meeting will be held this coming 24-27 June in Aarhus, Denmark.
