The 13th meeting of the ECC was held in Oulu, Finland, on 20-24 March, with nearly 30 administrations represented. The following were approved (final decision) at this plenary session:
- Decision ECC/DEC/(06)01 concerning ?Harmonised utilisation of spectrum for terrestrial IMT-2000 /UMTS systems operating in the bands 1900-1980 MHz, 2010-2025 MHz and 2110-2170 MHz?, which replaced the existing Decisions on IMT2000/UMTS;
- Decision ECC/DEC/(06)02 concerning ?Exemption from individual licensing of low e.i.r.p. satellite terminals (LEST) operating within the frequency bands 10.70-12.75 GHz or 19.70-20.20 GHz space-to-earth and 14.00-14.25 GHz or 29.50-30.00 GHz earth-to-space?;
- Decision ECC/DEC/(06)03 concerning ?Exemption from individual licensing of high e.i.r.p. satellite terminals (HEST) operating within the Frequency Bands 10.70-12.75 GHz or 19.70-20.20 GHz space-to-earth and 14.00-14.25 GHz or 29.50-30.00 GHz earth-to-space?;
- Decision ECC/DEC/(06)04 on ?The harmonised conditions for devices using UWB technology in bands below 10.6 GHz?, one of the issues which, along with the MSS (mobile satellite service) question, generated a great deal of discussion and almost completely monopolised the time of the meeting. Given the lack of consensus and the clear divergence of opinions about whether or not a phased solution in the 3.1-4.8 GHz band should be allowed, the approved Decision only envisages the long term solution; the proposal to establish a transition phase in the aforementioned band will be the subject of a new Decision, approved at this meeting for public consultation, which should be understood as complementing the Decision here approved;
- Reports 77, on ?Implementation of ACR supplementary service?; 78, on ?IPV6 - the next generation Internet Protocol?; 79, on ?High capacity DSL systems?; and 80, on ?Enhancing Harmonisation and Introducing Flexibility in the Spectrum Regulatory Framework?.
The following decisions were also made:
- To go ahead with the public consultation process for a decision containing a phased solution for UWB applications, i.e., for the 3.1-4.8 GHz band; the aim is for this new decision to be understood as a complement to Decision ECC/DEC/(06)04, approved at this meeting;
- To not go ahead, for now, with the public consultation process concerning the decision on MSS systems in the 2 GHz band (decision which implies once again setting a procedure to revise milestones); regarding this issue, a list of still open questions was drawn up, which will have to be clarified by the next meeting;
- To appoint Stelios Himonas of Cyprus as the new chairman of the working group on Regulatory Affairs (WG RA), who from that date assumes leadership of the group, which increasingly focuses on regulatory issues.
At the meeting other issues were discussed and decisions made, specifically:
- Technical, regulatory and numbering issues inherent to the project for ?GSM on board aircraft? - a matter that will continue to be examined by WG SE, WG RA and WG NNA;
- The progress of work in the 1800-1805 MHz band (ex-TFTS), a topic which is the subject of a Commission mandate;
- Preparatory work (analysis of interim report) envisaging a reply to the Commission Mandate concerning the information system on radio spectrum, as well as a reply to the mandate on MSS in the 2 GHz band;
- Preparatory work, also envisaging a reply to a Commission Mandate, in this case concerning the 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and 5.8 GHz band and meant for broadband radio access.
As a consequence of Report ECC 80, subsequent actions were identified. They specifically concern application of the concept of flexible bands contained in this Report. The current status of preparations for the upcoming ITU regional and global conferences - RRC-06 and WRC-07, respectively - was also presented, and it was noted that for RRC-06 various European common proposals have already been adopted and are currently in the phase of being signed by the administrations.
Due to the size of the agenda (which is partly due to the numerous groups that currently report to the ECC) and also to the extreme sensitivity of some of the topics dealt with, it was not possible to consider all points on the agenda. All issues concerning the activity of the support office (the European Radiocommunications Office (ERO) and of PT-7, the group in charge of strategy matters, were thus passed on to the next meeting.
The ECC will meet again on 3-7 July 2006 in Galway, Ireland.
