The 11th ECC meeting was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on 20-24 June. In particular, final approval was obtained for the following:
- Decision on the ?availability of frequency bands for high density applications in fixed-satellite service (space-to-earth and earth-to-space)?;
- Revision of Annex 1 of decision ECC/DEC(04)10 of 12 November 2004 on the designation of frequencies for the temporary introduction of automobile radars, i.e., updating the list of radio-astronomy stations in the relevant band;
- Decision on the ?free circulation and use of earth stations on board vessels operating in fixed satellite service networks in the frequency bands 5925-6425 MHz (earth-to-space) and 3700-4200 MHz (space-to-earth)?;
- Decision on the ?free circulation and use of earth stations on board vessels operating in fixed satellite service networks in the frequency bands 14-14.50 GHz (earth-to-space), 10.7-11.7 GHz (space-to-earth) and 12.5-12.75 GHz (space-to-earth)?;
- Decision on the ?free circulation and use of aircraft earth stations (AES) in the frequency bands 14.0-14.5 GHz (earth-to-space), 10.7-11.7 GHz (space-to-earth) and 12.5-12.75 GHz (space-to-earth)?;
- CEPT report replying to the European Commission (EC) Mandate on the terrestrial flight telecommunication system (TFTS), i.e., harmonised use of the 1670-1675 MHz and 1800-1805 MHz frequency bands.
Participants in this meeting also decided to go ahead with the public consultation process for the ECC reports on ?Access to Emergency Calls based on Voice over IP? and ?A Model for Interconnection in IP-based Networks?, and on Annex 12 of recommendation ERC/70-03, which included FM micro-transmitters with power up to 50 nW. Agreement was also reached to begin producing ECC decisions on the following subjects:
- ?Use of the bands 1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz (JPT MSS 2 GHz)? ? preparation of a decision on this issue will have to be reconsidered at the next meeting, in light of the new information requested from the Frequency Management group (WG FM) and the Regulatory Affairs group (WG RA) about the complementary ground component (CGC) and as per the Commission?s advice on competition;
- ?Exemption from individual licensing of low e.i.r.p. satellite terminals (LEST) operating within the frequency bands 10.70-12.75 GHz or 19.7-20.2 GHz space-to-earth and 14.00-14.25 GHz or 29.50-30.00 GHz earth-to-space?;
- ?Exemption from individual licensing of SITs, SUTs, VSATs with e.i.r.p. above 34 dBW 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?;
- ?GSM on board vessels? ? still open is the possibility of originating a recommendation instead of a decision.
A number of other issues were also discussed, specifically:
- The interest in maintaining the current ECC decisions on free circulation and the consequent continuation of this activity;
- The limits to place on ultra wide band (UWB) in the 3.1-5 GHz band ? most administrations prefer to maintain the more restrictive limit of ?70 dBm/MHz as long as the efficiency of mitigation techniques is not proven;
- Results of the last CEPT Assembly, specifically the performance of the current Romanian presidency assisted by Switzerland and Germany ? on this point the situation that occurred at the last Assembly was harshly criticised;
- Summary of regulatory activity at ECC level ? this issue merits further attention and should be decided at the next ECC meeting.
The ECC plenary session also approved the following decisions:
- Decision on a proposed basis for the relationship between ECC decisions and EC decisions to be presented at the next meeting with the Commission;
- Decision to ask PT7 to debate the various points concerning the rules of procedure (RoP) and working methods (WMs), specifically a proposal to clarify one of the standard clauses to apply in ECC decisions, which Portugal had submitted to WG FM;
- Decision to expand the scope of ECC/PT1 work regarding with the decision ERC(99)25, in order to include all TDD (time division multiplexing) bands;
- Decision on suspension of the administration and registration activities of the European telephone numbering space (ETNS) and the sending of a warning letter to the Commission about the project?s current status, indicating the problems outside the scope of the ECC which, in the Committee?s opinion, will cause this initiative to fail ? consequent suggestion that the respective groups/ committees should examine these issues;
- Decision to modify/ include in the terms of reference (ToR) of PT2 (Technical Aspects of Interconnection), so that this project team can begin the public consultation process associated with the approval of ECC reports ? it was nevertheless decided that final approval will always be the responsibility of the ECC plenary session.
The activities and status of all the groups that report to the ECC were also noted, namely, and besides WG FM and WG RA, the Spectrum Engineering Group (WG SE), the Numbering, Names and Addressing group (WG NNA), the preparatory group for the second session of the 2006 Regional Radiocommunications Conference (WG RRC06), the Conference Preparatory Group (CPG) and the project teams PT1-UMTS/IMTS-2000, PT2-Technical Regulations for Interconnection Standards, PT7-ECC Strategic Issues, PT8 ? Introducing Flexibility in Frequency Management and TG3-UWB; the ECC working programme was also approved.
The ECC will next meet on 24-28 October in Cascais.
