COMMISSION DECISION
of 7 April 2008
on harmonised conditions of spectrum use for the operation of mobile communication services on
aircraft (MCA services) in the Community
(notified under document number C(2008) 1256)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2008/294/EC)
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 regulatoryframework for radio spectrum policy in the EuropeanCommunity (the Radio Spectrum Decision) (
1), and in particular
Article 4(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The i2010 —European Information Society strategic
framework (2)—promotes an open and competitive
digital economy in the European Union and emphasisesICT as a driver of inclusion and quality of life. Develop-
ment of additional means of communicating could be
beneficial for work productivity and for growth in themobile telephony market.
(2) Airborne connectivity applications are, by nature, pan-European as they will be used mostly for cross-borderflights within the Community and beyond. A coordinatedapproach to regulate mobile communication services onaircraft (MCA services) will support the objectives of theSingle Market.
(3) Harmonisation of the rules on the use of radio spectrumacross the Community will facilitate timely deploymentand uptake of MCA services within the Community.
(4) Commercial operation of MCA services is currentlyconsidered only for GSM systems operating in the1 710-1 785 MHz band for uplink (terminal transmitand base station receive) and the 1 805-1 880 MHzband for downlink (base station transmit and terminalreceive), in accordance with ETSI standards EN 301 502and EN 301 511. However, in the future it may beextended to other terrestrial public mobile communi-cation systems, operating in accordance with other
standards and in other frequency bands.
(5) Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Decision No 676/2002/EC,the Commission has given a mandate (
3) to the European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Adminis-trations (hereinafter the CEPT) to undertake all activitiesrequired to assess specific issues concerning technicalcompatibility between the operation of airborne GSM1800 systems and a number of radio services potentially
affected. This Decision is based on the technical studies
undertaken by the CEPT under the EC mandate, aspresented in CEPT Report 016 (
4).
(6) The MCA system considered in the CEPT report consistsof a network control unit (NCU) and an aircraft base
transceiver station (aircraft BTS). The system is designed
to ensure that signals transmitted by ground-basedmobile systems are not detectable within the aircraftcabin and that the user terminals on the aircraft onlytransmit at a minimum level. The technical parametersfor the NCU and aircraft BTS were derived from theor-etical models.
(7) Spectrum use by terrestrial mobile electronic communi-cation networks is outside the scope of this Decision.They will be addressed, inter alia, by a CommissionDecision on the harmonisation of the 900 MHz and1 800 MHz frequency bands for terrestrial systemscapable of providing pan-European electronic communi-cation services.
(8) Authorisation terms and conditions for MCA services arealso outside the scope of this Decision. Coordination ofnational authorisation conditions for MCA services isaddressed by Commission Recommendation2008/295/EC (
5) pursuant to Directive 2002/21/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework forelectronic communications networks and services (theFramework Directive) (
6).EN 10.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 98/19
(1) OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 1.
(2) COM(2005) 229 final, 1.6.2005.(3) Mandate to the CEPT on mobile 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 on board aircraft
(MCA), 30.3.2007.
(5) See page 24 of this Official Journal.
(6) OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33. Directive as amended by Regulation
(EC) No 717/2007 (OJ L 171, 29.6.2007, p. 32).(9) Equipment for MCA services covered by this Decision
falls within the scope of Directive 1999/5/EC of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council of 9 March1999 on radio equipment and telecommunicationsterminal equipment and the mutual recognition of theirconformity (
1). Presumption of conformity with the
essential requirements of Directive 1999/5/EC forequipment used for MCA services in the European
Union may be demonstrated by compliance with ETSI
Harmonised Standard EN 302 480 or by using the otherconformity assessment procedures set out in Directive1999/5/EC.
(10) Issues relating to air safety are of paramount importanceand no provision in this Decision should be contrary tomaintaining optimum air safety conditions.
(11) MCA services may be provided only on condition thatthey fulfil air safety requirements via appropriateairworthiness certification and other relevant aeronauticalprovisions, together with electronic communicationrequirements. Airworthiness certificates valid for thewhole Community are issued by the European AviationSafety Agency (EASA) pursuant to Commission Regu-lation (EC) No 1702/2003 of 24 September 2003laying down implementing rules for the airworthinessand environmental certification of aircraft and relatedproducts, parts and appliances, as well as for the certifi-cation of design and production organisations (
2).
(12) This Decision does not address spectrum issues relatingto the communication links between the aircraft, thesatellite space station and the ground which are alsorequired to provide MCA services.
(13) For the purpose of ensuring that the conditions specifiedin this Decision are still relevant and given the rapidchanges in the radio spectrum environment, nationaladministrations ought to monitor, where possible, useof the radio spectrum by equipment for MCA services,in order to keep this Decision under active review. Suchreview 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 Recommendation 2008/295/EC.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Decision:
1.‘mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services) ’
means electronic communication services, as defined inArticle 2(c) of Directive 2002/21/EC, provided by an under-taking to enable airline passengers to use public communi-cation networks during flight without establishing directconnections with terrestrial mobile networks;
2.‘non-interference and non-protected basis ’means that no
harmful interference may be caused to any radiocommuni-cation service and that no claim may be made for protectionof these devices against harmful interference originating fromradiocommunication services;
3.‘aircraft base transceiver station (aircraft BTS) ’means one or
more mobile communication stations located in the aircraft
supporting the frequency bands and systems specified in
Table 1 in the Annex;
4.‘network control unit (NCU) ’means equipment to be located
in the aircraft that ensures that signals transmitted byground-based mobile electronic communication systemslisted in Table 2 in the Annex are not detectable withinthe cabin by raising the noise floor inside the cabin inmobile communication receive bands.
Article 3
As early as possible, and no later than six months following the
entry into force of this Decision, the Member States shall makethe frequency bands listed in Table 1 in the Annex available forMCA services on a non-interference and non-protected basis,provided such services meet the conditions set out in theAnnex.EN L 98/20 Official Journal of the European Union 10.4.2008
(1) OJ L 91, 7.4.1999, p. 10. Directive as amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).
(2) OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, p. 6. Regulation as last amended by Regu-
lation (EC) No 287/2008 (OJ L 87, 29.3.2008, p. 3).Article 4
The Member States shall set the minimum height above ground
for any transmission from an MCA system in operation inaccordance with section 3 of the Annex.
Member States may impose greater minimum heights of MCA
operation where justified by national topographical and groundnetwork deployment conditions. This information, supported byappropriate justification, shall be notified to the Commissionwithin four months of adoption of this Decision and shall bepublished in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Article 5
Member States shall keep use of spectrum by MCA services
under scrutiny, in particular with regard to actual or potentialharmful interference and to the continued relevance of all theconditions specified in Article 3, and shall report their findings
to the Commission to allow a timely review of this Decision ifnecessary.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 7 April 2008.
For the Commission
Viviane REDING
Member of the CommissionEN 10.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 98/21ANNEX
1.FREQUENCY BANDS AND SYSTEMS ALLOWED FOR MCA SERVICES
Table 1
Type Frequency System
GSM 1800 1 710-1 785 MHz and 1 805-
1 880 MHz (the 1 800 MHz band)Complying with the GSM Standards
published by ETSI, in particular
EN 301 502, EN 301 511 and
EN 302 480, or equivalent specifi-
cations.
2.PREVENTION OF CONNECTION OF MOBILE TERMINALS TO GROUND 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 theground.
Table 2
Frequency band
(MHz)Systems on the ground
460-470 CDMA2000, FLASH OFDM
921-960 GSM, WCDMA
1 805-1 880 GSM, WCDMA
2 110-2 170 WCDMA
3.TECHNICAL PARAMETERS
3.1.GSM 1800 MCA systems
(a)Equivalent isotropic radiated power (e.i.r.p.), outside the aircraft, from the NCU/aircraft BTS
The total e.i.r.p., outside the aircraft, from the NCU/aircraft BTS must not exceed:
Table 3
Height above ground
(m)Maximum e.i.r.p. density produced by NCU/aircraft BTS outside the aircraft
460-470 MHz 921-960 MHz 1 805-1 880 MHz 2 110-2 170 MHz
dBm/1,25 MHz dBm/200 kHz dBm/200 kHz dBm/3,84 MHz
3 000 –17,0 –19,0 –13,0 1,0
4 000 –14,5 –16,5 –10,5 3,5
5 000 –12,6 –14,5 –8,5 5,4
6 000 –11,0 –12,9 –6,9 7,0
7 000 –9,6 –11,6 –5,6 8,3
8 000 –8,5 –10,5 –4,4 9,5EN L 98/22 Official Journal of the European Union 10.4.2008(b)Equivalent isotropic 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:
Table 4
Height above ground
(m)Maximum e.i.r.p., outside the aircraft,
from the GSM mobile terminal in dBm/channel
1 800 MHz
3 000 –3,3
4 000 –1,1
5 000 0,56 000 1,87 000 2,9
8 000 3,8
(c)Operational requirements
I. The minimum height above ground for any transmission from a GSM 1800 MCA system in operation must
be 3 000 metres.
II. The aircraft BTS, while in operation, must limit the transmit power of all GSM mobile terminals transmitting
in the 1 800 MHz band to a nominal value of 0 dBm at all stages of communication, including initial access.EN 10.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 98/23