The ECC held its 48th meeting in Rome last 3-6 July, attended by about 100 participants representing 34 administrations, the European Commission (EC), the European Communications Office (ECO) and observers.
The ECC finalised a set of decisions concerning fifth generation mobile (5G) as well systems such as Earth stations in motion (ESIMs) and ultrawide band (UWB).
After lengthy analyses, studies were also completed on harmonised technical conditions for mobile/fixed communication networks (MFCNs) in the 3.4-3.8 GHz and 24.25-27.5 GHz bands in the 5G context. Regarding the 3.4-3.8 GHz band, the current framework was revised, making it appropriate for 5G implementation. As for the 24.24-27.5 GHz (26 GHz) band, the ECC approved a new ECC Decision (18)06 containing the technical and operational conditions aiming for the CEPT objective of harmonising in Europe the 26 GHz band for 5G. The studies done for this band were very complex, due to the need to consider compatibility and protection of existing services. The results of the various studies on the 3.5 and 26 GHz bands are contained in two CEPT reports produced in response to the EC mandate on 5G.
With respect to ESIMs, the ECC adopted two ECC decisions for the 10.7-12.75 GHz (space-Earth) and 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-space) frequency bands in the scope of fixed satellite service (FSS). ECC Decision (18)04 hence covers ESIMs operating with FSS networks in geostationary orbit and ECC Decision (18)05 concerns ESIMs operating with FSS networks in non-geostationary orbit. ESIMs offer the possibility of implementing a wide range of satellite communication services, especially broadband communication services. Finally, mention must be made of UWB, as the ECC has approved for publication CEPT Report 69, in response to the EC mandate on technical conditions for harmonised introduction of UWB applications. The report includes a set of proposals which will enable the updating of current technical conditions in the European Union for such systems, as per Decision 2007/131/EC.
