The 12th meeting of the ECC was held on 24-28 October in Cascais, with about 30 Administrations represented. The following items were approved (final decision) at this plenary session:
- Decision ECC/DEC/(05)12 concerning ?Harmonised frequencies, technical characteristics, exemption from individual licensing and free carriage and use of digital PMR446 applications operating in the frequency band 446.100 - 446.200 MHz?;
- New text for Annex 13 of Recommendation ERC/REC 70-03 on ?Wireless audio applications?, which includes low power emitters in the 87.5-108 MHz frequency band. After long discussion, the maximum power for these FM emitters was set at 50nW;
- ECC Reports on ?Access to Emergency Calls based on Voice over IP? and ?A Model for Interconnection in IP-based Networks?.
A decision was made to go ahead with the public consultation process on the:
- Proposed Decision on ?The harmonized conditions for devices using UWB technology in bands below 10.6 GHz?, one of the meeting?s most discussed issues, which led to the need to also approve an introductory note that will accompany the public consultation, in order to make clear that certain proposals in the decision are not consensual;
- Proposed Decision on ?The 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 is meant to replace existing decisions on IMT2000/UMTS;
- Proposed Recommendation on the inappropriate usage of numbering resources in the scope of Recommendation E.164;
- Draft Report on ?Enhancing harmonisation and introducing flexibility in the spectrum regulatory framework?.
In reply to European Commission (EC) Mandates, the following were approved:
- Final report in reply to the second Mandate on the harmonised use of spectrum for ultra wide band (UWB) systems in the European Union;
- Interim report on development of a strategy to improve the efficiency and flexibility of the spectrum available for short range devices (SRD).
Other issues were also debated and the respective decisions made, namely:
- The new framework for the Regulatory Affairs working group (WG RA), which aims to focus this group?s work on regulatory questions;
- The conditions for licensing specific UWB applications, in the wake of the approval for public consultation of the proposed Decision on UWB, as well as the submission of a final Report on this subject to the EC;
- The eventual suspension of the functions of the European Telephone Numbering Space (ETNS) registry, although it was decided to maintain the situation at least until the end of the contract with the company currently responsible for this registry and until all potential users are informed of this situation;
- The regulatory, numbering and technical issues inherent to the GSM on board aircraft project, a matter that will continue to be studied by the working groups on Regulatory Affairs (RA), Numbering, Names and Addresses (NNA) and Spectrum Engineering (SE);
- Progress in the work on harmonised European short codes (HESC), at both WG NNA and EC level; a decision was made to continue collaboration between the EC and NNA.
The NEMO (NEw geo-MObile) system was presented at this meeting. This was followed by study of the progress of work in JPT MSS 2GHz, the group in charge of introducing new MSS systems in the 2 GHz band and which presumes the use of Complementary Ground Components (CGC). Also considered was the issue of the Iridium system?s potential use of the 1618.25-1621.35 MHz extension band; it was noted that various CEPT administrations had issued temporary authorisations for the use of that sub-band until 31 December 2005.
The rules of procedure (RoP) were also revised, along with the ECC?s working methods (WM), specifically incorporating a proposal to clarify one of the standard clauses to apply in ECC Decisions, which had been submitted by Portugal. Also regarding the ECC RoP and WM, a decision was made that a new proposal from Portugal to clarify the procedure for revising ECC Decisions, Recommendations and Reports should be submitted to PT7 (ECC Strategy Issues) and that it will be considered again at the next plenary session.
Lastly, the activity and status of all groups that report to the ECC were highlighted, as well as revision of the working programme of that committee, which will next meet on 20-24 March 2006 in Helsinki, Finland.
