EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES  
Brussels,  
C (2008)  
  
Draft  
COMMISSION DECISION  
of […]  
on harmonised conditions of spectrum use for the operation of mobile communication 
services on aircraft (MCA services) in the Community  
EN  
EN 2   EN Draft  
COMMISSION DECISION  
of […] 
on harmonised conditions of spectrum use for the operation of mobile communication 
services on aircraft (MCA services) in the Community  
 
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,  
Having regard to Decision No 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European 
Community ( the Radio Spectrum Decision)1, and in particular Article 4(3) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) The i2010 – European Information Society strategic framework2 promotes an open 
and competitive digital economy in the European Union and emphasises ICT as a 
driver of inclusion and qua lity of life.  Development of additional means of 
communicating could be beneficial for work productivity and for growth in the mobile 
telephony market.  
(2) Airborne connectivity applications are, by nature, pan -European as they will be used 
mostly for cross -border flights within the Community and beyond.  A coordinated 
approach to regulate mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services) will 
support the objectives of the Single Market.  
(3) Harmonisation of the rules on use of radio spectrum across the Com munity will 
facilitate  timely deployment and uptake of MCA services  within the Community.  
(4) Commercial operation of MCA services is currently considered only for GSM systems 
operating in the 1710 -1785 MHz band for uplink (terminal transmit and base station 
receive) and the 1805 -1880 MHz band for downlink (base station transmit and 
terminal receive),  in accordance with ETSI standards EN 301 502 and EN 301 511. 
However, in the future it may be extended to other terrestrial public mobile 
communication systems, o perating in accordance with other standards and in other 
frequency bands.  
                                                
1 OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p.  1. 
2 COM (2005)229, 1.6.2005.   
EN 3   EN (5) Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Decision  676/2002/EC , the Commission has given a 
mandate3 to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications 
Administrations (hereinafter “the CE PT”) to undertake all activities required to assess 
specific issues concerning technic al compatibility between the operation of airborne 
GSM 1800 systems and a number of radio services  potentially affected . This Decision 
is based on the technical studies u ndertaken by the CEPT under the EC mandate , as 
presented in CEPT Report 0164.  
(6) The MCA system considered in the CEPT report consists of a network control unit 
(NCU) and an aircraft base transceiver station (aircraft BTS). The system is designed 
to ensure t hat signals transmitted by ground -based mobile systems are not detectable 
within the aircraft cabin and that the user terminals on the aircraft only transmit at a 
minimum level. The technical parameters for the NCU and aircraft BTS were derived 
from theore tical models.  
(7) Spectrum use by terrestrial mobile electronic communication networks is outside the 
scope of this Decision. They will be addressed, inter alia , by a Commission Decision 
on the harmonisation of the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands for terr estrial 
systems capable of providing pan -European electronic communication services . 
(8) Authorisation  terms and conditions for MCA services are also outside the scope of this 
Decision. Coordination of national authorisation conditions for MCA services is 
addressed by Commission Recommendation 2008/xx/EC pursuant to Directive 
2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a 
common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services  
(the Framework Directive)5. 
(9) Equipment  for MCA services  covered by this Decision falls within the scope of 
Directive  1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 
on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual 
recognition of their c onformity6. Presumption of conformity with the essential 
requirements of Directive 1999/5/EC for equipment used for MCA services in the 
European Union  may be demonstrated by compliance with ETSI Harmonised Standard 
EN 302 480 or by using the other conformi ty assessment procedures set out in 
Directive  1999/5/EC .  
(10) Issues relating to air safety are of paramount importance and no provision in this 
Decision should be contrary to maintaining optimum air safety conditions.  
(11) MCA services may be provided only on con dition that they fulfil air safety 
requirements via appropriate airworthiness certification and other relevant aeronautical 
provisions, together with  electronic communication requirements. Airworthiness 
certificates valid for the whole Community are issued  by the European Aviation Safety 
Agency (EASA) pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 of 24 September 2003 
laying down implementing rules for the airworthiness and environmental certification 
                                                
3 Mandate to  the CEPT on m obile communication services on board aircraft , 12.10.2006.  
4 Report from CEPT to the European Commission in response to the EC Mandate on mobile 
communication services onboard a ircraft (MCA) , 30.3. 2007.   
5 OJ L 108, 24.4. .2002, p. 33.  
6 OJ L 91, 7.4.1999.   
EN 4   EN of aircraft and related products, parts and appliances, as wel l as for the certification of 
design and production organisations7. 
(12) This Decision does not address spectrum issues relating to the communication links 
between the aircraft, the satellite space station and the ground which are also required 
to provide MCA s ervices.  
(13) For the purpose of ensuring th at the conditions specified in this Decision are still 
relevant and given the rapid changes in the radio spectrum environment, national 
administrations ought to monitor, where possible, use of the radio spectrum by 
equipment  for MCA services , in order to keep  this Decision under  active review. Such 
review should take into account technological progress  and verify that the initial 
assumptions concerning operation of MCA services are still relevant.  
(14) The measures provided  for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Radio Spectrum Committee,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  
Article 1  
The purpose of this  Decision is to harmonise the technical conditions for the availability and 
efficient use of radio spectrum for mobile communication services on aircraft in the 
Community.  
This Decision shall apply without prejudice to any other relevant Community provisions, in 
particular Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 and Commission Recommendation 2008/xx/EC . 
Article 2  
For the p urposes of this Decision:  
1. “mobile Communication services on aircraft (MCA services)” mean electronic 
communication services, as defined in Article 2(c) of Directive 2002/21/EC, 
provided by an undertaking to enable airline passengers to use public communica tion 
networks during flight without establishing direct connections with terrestrial mobile 
networks;   
2. “non -interference and non -protected basis” means that no harmful interference may 
be caused to any radiocommunication  service and that no claim may be ma de for 
protection of these devices against harmful interference originating from 
radiocommunication  services;  
3. “aircraft base transceiver station (aircraft BTS) ” means one or more mobile 
communication stations located in the aircraft supporting the frequenc y bands and 
systems specified in Table 1 in the Annex.  
                                                
7 OJ L 234, 27.9.2003, p.6 -79.  
EN 5   EN 4. “network control unit (NCU) ” means equipment to be located in the aircraft that 
ensures that signals transmitted by ground -based mobile electronic communication 
systems listed in Table 2 in the Annex are not detectable within the cabin by raising 
the noise floor inside the cabin in mobile communication receive bands;  
Article 3  
As early as possible, an d no later than six  months following the entry in to force of this 
Decision, t he Member States shall  mak e the frequency bands listed in Table 1 in the Annex 
available for  MCA services on a non -interference and non -protected basis , provided such 
services meet the conditions  set out in the Annex . 
Article 4  
The Member States shall set the  minimum height above g round for any transmission from an 
MCA system in operation in accordance with section 3 of the Annex .  
Member States may impose greater minimum heights of MCA operation where justified by 
national topographical and ground network deployment conditions. This information, 
supported by appropriate justification, shall be notified to the Commission within four months 
of adoption of this Decision and shall be published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union.  
Article 5 
Member States shall keep use of spect rum by MCA services under scrutiny , in particular with 
regard to actual or potential harmful interference and to the continued relevance of  all the 
conditions specified in Article 3 , and shall report their findings to the Commission to allow a 
timely revie w of this Decision  if necessary .  
Article 6 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels, […] 
 For the Commission  
 […] 
 Member of the Commission   
EN 6   EN ANNEX  
1. FREQUENCY BANDS AND S YSTEMS ALLOWED FOR MCA  SERVICES  
Type  Frequency  System  
GSM1800  1710 -1785 MHz and 1805 -
1880 MHz (the “1800 MHz 
band ”) Complying with the GSM 
Standards  published by ETSI, 
in particular EN 301 502 , EN 
301 511  and EN 302 480, or 
equivalent specifications.  
Table 1 
2. PREVENTION OF CONNECT ION OF MOBIL E TERMINALS TO GROUN D NETWORKS  
During the period when operation of MCA services is authorised on an aircraft, mobile terminals receiving within the frequency bands listed in Table 2 
must be prevented from attempting to register with mobile networks on the ground.  
Frequency band (MHz)  Systems on the ground  
460–470 CDMA2000, FLASH OFDM  
921–960 GSM, WCDMA  
1805 –1880  GSM, WCDMA  
2110 –2170  WCDMA  
Table 2  
EN 7   EN 3. TECHNICAL PARAMETERS  
3.1. GSM1800 MCA systems  
(a) Equivalent isotropic radiated power (e.i.r.p.), outside the aircr aft, from the NCU/aircraft BTS  
The total e.i.r.p ., outside the aircraft , from the NCU/aircraft  BTS must  not exceed:  
Maximum e.i.r.p. density produced by NCU/aircraft BTS outside the aircraft  
460-470 MHz  921-960 MHz  1805 -1880 MHz  2110 -2170 MHz  Height above 
ground  
(m) dBm/1.25 MHz  dBm/200 kHz  dBm/200 kHz  dBm/3.84 MHz  
3000  -17.0 -19.0 -13.0 1.0 
4000  -14.5 -16.5 -10.5 3.5 
5000  -12.6 -14.5 -8.5 5.4 
6000  -11.0 -12.9 -6.9 7.0 
7000  -9.6 -11.6 -5.6 8.3 
8000  -8.5 -10.5 -4.4 9.5 
Table 3 
EN 8   EN (b) Equivalent isotropi c radiated power (e.i.r.p.), outside the aircraft, from the onboard terminal  
The e.i.r.p ., outside the aircraft, from the GSM mobile terminal transmitting at 0 dBm must  not exceed:  
Maximum e.i.r.p., outside the aircraft, from 
the G SM mobile terminal in dBm/channel  Height above 
ground  
(m) 1800 MHz  
3000  -3.3 
4000  -1.1 
5000  0.5 
6000  1.8 
7000  2.9 
8000  3.8 
Table 4  
(c) Operational requirements  
I. The minimum height above ground for any transmission from a GSM1800 MCA system in operation must  be 3000 metres.   
II. The aircraft BTS , while in operation,  must  limit the transmit power of all GSM mobile terminals transmitting in the 1800 
MHz band to a nominal value of 0 dBm at all stages of communication, including initial access.