Helsinki hosted last 18-21 September 2007 a meeting of the working group on Regulatory Affairs (WG RA) of the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC), in which more than 20 administrations took part, as well as representatives of the European Radiocommunications Office (ERO) and the European Commission.
The meeting highlighted the continued preparation of the decision on the use of GSM on board vessels (GSMOBV), namely inclusion of the 900 MHz band in the said decision.
It also saw the approval for public consultation of the decision to revoke ERC/DEC(98)23 on the ERMES pan-European messaging service, as well as the revision of Decision ERC/DEC(95)01 on the free movement of radio equipment in CEPT member countries. The potentials of electronic media in the decision-making process was also largely debated, as well as their inevitable impact, with a view to their suitable inclusion in the ECC?s rules of procedure and working methods.
Agreement was also reached on the methodology for revising decisions currently in force, in order to ensure their regulatory consistence and enhance the feasibility of their implementation. In this regard, a number of changes to be introduced in ECC decisions were also debated and agreed upon, specifically vis-à-vis references to corresponding European Commission decisions, so as to highlight their relationship.
Various aspects associated with preliminary decision impact assessments and their relevance to CEPT's work were debated and analysed. Also significant was the holding of a second workshop led by PT RA1 and the ERO and counting the participation of OFCOM, on the subject of electronic market monitoring, given the increasing sales of equipment via the internet and the new challenges this poses for the national regulatory authorities.
WG RA will next meet from 29 January to 1 February 2008, in the Swiss city of Basel.
