ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ECC Decision
of 5 July 2002
on the designation and availability of frequency bands
for railway purposes
in the 876-880 and 921-925 MHz bands
(ECC/DEC/(02)05)
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1 INTRODUCTION
This ECC Decision addresses the use of the bands 876-880 MHz and 921-925MHz, covered by ERC Recommendation 25-09, which are planned for railway operational applications on a European wide basis.
These systems will support railway operations and especially those in accordance with the EC Directive on the Interoperability of High Speed railway networks 1996/48/EC and the EC Directive 1999/569/EC concerning frequencies for railways.
2 BACKGROUND
The CEPT/ERC Recommendation T/R 22-01 details the allocation of frequencies in the 450MHz band for railway applications and the CEPT/ERC Recommendation T/R 25-09 details the allocation of frequencies for railway applications in the 900MHz band. This Decision has been developed to provide for the Recommendation T/R 22-01 on the use of the 450MHz allocation to be phased out and, following the DSI III, Recommendation T/R 25-09 covering the 900MHz allocation to be replaced by the present ECC Decision.
This ECC Decision covers exclusively the designation and especially the availability of frequency bands for duplex operation, single frequency simplex operation and frequency planning for railways. This means the relevant bands should be designated in the national frequency usage tables and should be made available by the administrations. As the railway equipment is designed to cover the frequency band 876-915 and 921-960MHz, additional allocations may be made on a national basis. The current software controlled radio equipment technology offers the flexibility with regard to different frequency availability situations within the CEPT member countries, which allows easily a European frequency planning. Separate ECC Decisions may be required to deal with the licence (telecommunications/service licence and/or radio licence) related matters and for the carriage and use of equipment throughout Europe.
DMO (Direct Mode Operation) is an additional simplex service for terminals operating in a GSM-R network. Information regarding the compatibility of UIC-DMO with GSM-R, TETRA and E-GSM can be found in ERC Report 86 of June 2000 ("Adjacent band compatibility of UIC direct mode with UIC GSM and 900 MHz TETRA - An analysis completed using a Monte Carlo based simulation tool").
To achieve the aim of taking a new step towards harmonisation and implementation of frequency spectrum for Railway Operational Applications, it has been decided to develop this Decision. The harmonisation on a European Basis would ease the implementation of Directives 1999/5/EC (the R&TTE Directive), 1996/48/EC (Interoperability of high speed railway networks), 2001/16/EC (Interoperability of conventional railway networks) and 1999/569/EC (Frequencies for railway operations).
3 REQUIREMENT FOR AN ECC DECISION
The allocation or designation of frequency bands for use by a service or system under specified conditions in CEPT member countries is laid down by law, regulation or administration action. It is considered necessary to designate and implement frequency bands for Railway Operational systems. Only the real availability of an appropriate amount of radio spectrum and not only the designation within the national frequency usage tables encourage manufacturers and operators to make the necessary investments in this radio communication technology. A commitment by CEPT member countries to implement an ECC Decision will provide a clear indication that the required frequency bands will be made available on time and on a European-wide basis. The dates of availability will be reviewed from time to time.
ECC Decision
of 5 July 2002
on the designation and availability of frequency bands
for railway purposes in the 876-880 MHz and 921-925 MHz bands
(ECC/DEC/(02)05)
“The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations, considering
a) that railway organisations are making increasingly extensive use of radio communications to facilitate the managing and operating of railway traffic and increase its safety; especially in accordance with the European Rail Traffic Management System and the European Directives 1996/48/EC and 2001/16/EC;
b) that it is essential to be able to use common railway radio equipment in different countries in a common frequency band as well as for border crossing traffic;
c) that the advanced frequency economic digital radio system developed by the Union Internationale des Chemins de fer (UIC) should cover the international requirements without excluding national requirements for non public radiocommunication of the railways and will replace most of the current analogue systems by 2010;
d) that the amount of frequency spectrum required for railway purposes is different in different countries;
e) that the introduction by the railways of this radio system will liberate frequencies presently used by railways; enabling CEPT Recommendation T/R 22-01 (2 x 0.5 MHz in the 450 MHz band for international railways without excluding national requirements) to be withdrawn in 2005;
f) that the equipment must be capable of operating over the designated frequency band;
g) that multilateral/bilateral agreements on frequency coordination in border areas can have an influence on the availability of radio spectrum;
h) that European-wide harmonised use of frequencies would ease the implementation of Directive 1999/5/EC (the R&TTE Directive);
i) that the equipment referred to in this ECC Decision should comply with the relevant European Telecommunication Standards (EN 301 502 and EN 301 419-7 for GSM-R , EN 300 086 for Direct Mode Operation (DMO));
j) that the CEPT Recommendation ERC/REC 74-01 defines spurious emission limits for radio communication equipment;
k) that in addition to the need for network interoperability, there is also a need for interoperability in the direct mode operation (DMO);
l) that the systems operate in 200 kHz (within the GSM-R network) or 12.5 kHz (DMO) channel spacing;
m) that not all of these frequencies will be available in some CEPT countries before the year 2005;
n) that Administrations have the right to exercise frequency management which may affect the number of service suppliers, in conformity with their international trade obligations and to European Community legislation as far as EU Member States are concerned;
o) that allocation, assignment and technical co-ordination of frequencies must be done in an objective, timely, impartial, transparent and non-discriminatory manner, and should not be more burdensome than necessary under international rules, in particular, to ensure the efficient use of frequency spectrum.
DECIDES
1. that the frequency requirements for international and national railway operations shall be met within the bands
- 876-880 MHz (mobile station transmit) paired with 921-925 MHz (base station transmit) with a duplex separation of 45 MHz for duplex operation
Centre frequency Mobile TX (MHz) /Centre Frequency Base Tx (MHz)
876.2000 921.2000
876.4000 921.4000
876.6000 921.6000
876.8000 921.8000
877.0000 922.0000
877.2000 922.2000
877.4000 922.4000
877.6000 922.6000
877.8000 922.8000
878.0000 923.0000
878.2000 923.2000
878.4000 923.4000
878.6000 923.6000
878.8000 923.8000
879.0000 924.0000
879.2000 924.2000
879.4000 924.4000
879.6000 924.6000
879.8000 924.8000
880.0000 Note 1) 925.0000 Note 1)
Note 1) The frequency 880.0000 MHz paired with 925.0000 MHz may be considered as guard channel to other
services in adjacent bands.
- 876.000 – 876.100 MHz for direct mode operation (DMO) using single frequency mode. The frequency spacing for DMO is 12.5 kHz.
Centre frequency Mobile TX/Rx (MHz)
876.0125
876.0250
876.0375
876.0500
876.0625
2. that these frequencies shall be made available according to requirements of the railways as soon as possible, but at least before 2006;
3. that this Decision will enter into force on 05 July 2002;
4. that CEPT Administrations shall communicate the national measures implementing this Decision to the ECC Chairman and the Office when the Decision is nationally implemented.”
Note:
Please check the CEPT web site (http://www.CEPT.orghttps://www.cept.org/) for the up to date position on the implementation of this and other ECC and ERC Decisions.
