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"B DECISION No 710/97/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 24 March 1997
on a coordinated authorization approach in the field of satellite personal-communication services in the
Community
(OJ L 105, 23.4.1997, p. 4)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Decision No 1215/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 16 May 2000 L 139 1 10.6.20001997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 1
DECISION No 710/97/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND
OF THE COUNCIL
of 24 March 1997
on a coordinated authorization approach in the field of satellite
personal-communication services in the Community
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in
particular Articles 57, 66 and 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal of the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the
Treaty (3),
(1) Whereas on 7 December 1993 the Council adopted a resolution on the
introduction of satellite personal-communications services in the
Community (4); whereas in that resolution the Council recognized the
desirability of coordinated action to allow the introduction of satellite
personal-communications services in the Community, taking full
account of the global nature of such services; whereas the Councilstressed the importance of developing an effective policy and asked theCommission to study the matter, monitor international developments
and propose appropriate measures and/or actions;
(2) Whereas on 19 May 1995, the European Parliament adopted a
resolution on mobile and personal communications in the European
Union (
5) in which it considered it a priority objective to establish a
harmonized licensing approach for satellite-based mobile and personal
communications and, on that basis, to initiate procedures for licensing
such systems at an early stage; whereas, according to that resolution,that approach should have been implemented by 1 January 1996 inorder to take account of the rapid development of such services at
global level and of their potential in both social and commercial terms;
(3) Whereas on 29 June 1995 the Council adopted a resolution on the
further development of mobile and personal communications in the
European Union (
6) in which it considered it a priority objective to
ensure, before 1 June 1996, the specification of a harmonized licensingapproach for satellite-based mobile and personal communications,
after investigation by the European Committee for Telecommuni-
cations Regulatory Affairs (Ectra);
(4) Whereas on 18 June 1996 the Council adopted common position No
34/96 with a view to adopting the Directive of the European Parliamentand of the Council on interconnection in telecommunications with
regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through
application of the principles of open network provision (ONP) (
7),
hereinafter referred to as ‘the interconnection Directive’; whereasprinciples to govern the interconnection of mobile services which
include satellite personal-communications services with separate
telecommunications networks are set out in this Directive;
(5) Whereas on 6 December 1995 the Commission submitted a proposal
for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relatingto telecommunications terminal equipment and satellite earth-station
equipment, including the mutual recognition of their conformity
(consolidated version);!B
(1) OJ No C 15, 20. 1. 1996, p. 6, and OJ No C 350, 21. 11. 1996, p. 14.
(2) OJ No C 204, 15. 7. 1996, p. 8.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 19 June 1996 (OJ No C 198, 8. 7. 1996, p.
93), Council common position of 9 December 1996 (OJ No C 41, 10. 2. 1997, p.
37) and Decision of the European Parliament of 20 February 1997 (OJ No C 85,17. 3. 1997). Council Decision of 6 March 1997.
(
4) OJ No C 339, 16. 12. 1993, p. 1.
(5) OJ No C 151, 19. 6. 1995, p. 473.
(6) OJ No C 188, 22. 7. 1995, p. 3.
(7) OJ No C 220, 29. 7. 1996, p. 13.1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 2
(6) Whereas the European Parliament and the Council are examining a
common position with a view to the adoption of the Directive of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council on a common framework forgeneral authorizations and individual licences in the field of
telecommunications services (
1), hereinafter referred to as ‘the
licensing Directive’; whereas, given the urgency of these mattersand the fact that no such authorization measures have been adopted orimplemented, the area of satellite personal-communications services
therefore requires action at Community level in accordance with this
Decision; whereas that action should be of limited duration;
(7) Whereas, having considered the telecommunications, trade and
industry aspects as well as the frequency and standardization aspects
of satellite personal communications and having consulted theindustryconcerned, the Commission has submitted a proposal for a
decision and the related timetable with the aim of harmonizing the
authorization of satellite personal-communications services on thebasis of a common approach;
(8) Whereas, in accordance with Commission Directive 94/46/EC of 13
October 1994 amending Directive 88/301/EEC and Directive
90/388/EEC in particular with regard to satellite communications (
2),
market entry for satellite personal communications space-segment
operators can be restricted only on the basis of objective, transparent,
proportionate and non-discriminatory selection criteria relating to theavailability of scarce resources; whereas if spectrum is not availablefor the accommodation of all candidate systems, decisions on such
restrictions should be coordinated;
(9) Whereas there is an urgent need for harmonization of the use of
frequency bands for satellite personal-communications services, which
for the purposes of this Decision are defined as those operating in the
1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.9/2.1 GHz frequency bands; whereas the MemberStates’ final assignment of frequencies to individual systems shouldcomply with established International Telecommunication Union
procedures;
(10) Whereas each country has the sovereign right to decide whether and
how to participate in satellite personal-communications systems and to
determine the terms and conditions of access to such systems from its
territory, known as uplinks, and satellite personal-communicationsservices operators are required to operate at the point of delivery underthe legal, financial and regulatory requirements of the Member State
within the territory of which those services are authorized; as a
consequence, satellite personal-communications services operators areconcurrently subject to the jurisdictions of the notifying adminis-
trations for the satellite personal-communications systems and to those
of the countries in which services are authorized;
(11) Whereas, despite the priority at present given to services operating in
the aforementioned 1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.9/2.1 GHz frequency bands,
Member States recognize the possible need to harmonize the use ofother satellite frequency bands, in particular those corresponding to‘small LEOs’ (non-vocal, non-geostationary satellite mobile-tele-
communications systems);
(12) Whereas, since satellite personal communications by their nature
primarily address the needs of mobile users travelling between
Member States and especially outwith the Community, diverging
national laws, regulations and administrative provisions would hinderor even prevent the provision of Community-wide satellite personal-communications services, the free movement of related equipment and,
as a consequence, the successful introduction of satellite personal-
communications services on the internal market;
(13) Whereas the freedom to provide satellite personal-communications
services and the free movement of related equipment on the internal
market requires the approximation of national regulations andadministrative provisions;
(14) Whereas, owing to the need for the widest possible territorial coverage
by satellite personal-communications systems, Member States shouldaim at the rapid and simultaneous introduction of compatible satellite!B
(1) OJ No C 41, 10. 2. 1997, p. 48.
(2) OJ No L 268, 19. 10. 1994, p. 15.1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 3
personal-communications services in the Community on the basis of
internal market principles by means of a coordinated approach;
(15) Whereas, given the timetable laid down for the implementation of
satellite personal-communications systems, this Decision is intended
to ensure that, within its limited duration, appropriate regulatorymeasures are taken in the Community to achieve the harmonizedprovision of satellite personal communications, taking due account of
the international dimension and its consequent requirements;
(16) Whereas it is necessary to determine whether the scarcity of
frequencies in the 1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.9/2.1 GHz frequency bands
represents a constraint on the number of satellite personal-communi-cations services which can be provided in the Community in thesebands shared among candidate systems; whereas, to prevent the
emergence of ‘paper satellite systems’ due account must be taken of
the advanced stage of development of those systems;
(17) Whereas the principle of transparency should apply at all stages of the
procedure to any measure adopted pursuant to this Decision without
prejudice to the legitimate right to confidentiality;
(18) Whereas authorizations are granted pursuant to the national regimes
applicable in accordance with Directive 94/46/EC;
(19) Whereas measures adopted by the European Radiocommunications
Committee (ERC) and Ectra are, if consistent with Community law, a
basis for the use of the relevant frequencies by and for the preparationof the criteria for the authorization of satellite personal-communi-cations services;
(20) Whereas European standardization bodies such as the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the EuropeanCommittee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee
for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) may be called upon in
due course to prepare the necessary standards in this area;
(21) Whereas the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations (CEPT), Ectra and ERC in particular will also begiven mandates to harmonize authorization conditions and procedures;
(22) Whereas to facilitate the granting of satellite personal-communications
services authorizations to undertakings in more than one MemberState, a ‘one-stop-shopping procedure’ should be established; whereasthat one-stop-shopping procedure should be implemented without
prejudice to national provisions relating to the language used in the
relevant procedures;
(23) Whereas the global dimension of satellite personal-communications
systems and services and the related global regulatory structure under
which they are provided play an important role in the Community’sdeliberations; whereas the Commission should monitor developments,
particularly in respect of the regulatory process, outwith the
Community and, if appropriate, consult with third countries on thecoordinated introduction of satellite personal communications atglobal level; whereas this action at Community level should permit
the Community and its Member States to exert greater influence on the
worldwide development of mobile and personal communications;
(24) Whereas the inherent global nature of satellite personal-communi-
cations services may require the conclusion of a substantial number of
agreements with third countries on, inter alia , interconnection, the free
movement and use of equipment, satellite-system and satellite-control
operations, access to gateway stations and access to third countries’
markets; whereas those agreements are closely related to marketaccess arrangements;
(25) Whereas Community undertakings should have effective and com-
parable access to third countries’ markets and enjoy treatment in thirdcountries similar to that offered in the Community to undertakingsowned wholly, controlled through majority ownership or effectively
controlled by nationals of the third countries concerned;
(26) Whereas, therefore, the Commission may start multilateral and
bilateral negotiations on those aspects of satellite personal communi-
cations on the basis of specific mandates from the Council, which
should make it possible to conclude balanced agreements ensuring in!B1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 4
particular effective and comparable access for Community operators in
third countries;
(27) Whereas the results of international consultations and other changes in
the situation may require that decisions taken pursuant to this Decision
be amended or other appropriate measures be undertaken;
(28) Whereas Member States should take all appropriate measures to
implement this Decision and decisions arising therefrom in due course
and communicate all national implementation measures to the
Commission;
(29) Whereas the industry concerned should be requested to cooperate
closely with the Commission and national regulatory authorities in the
implementation of this Decision;
(30) Whereas the nature of the information provided by applicants and by
other representatives of the industry concerned may be of a
commercially confidential nature; whereas the utmost discretion
should be exercised in connection with that information,
HA VE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Scope
The aim of this Decision shall be to facilitate the rapid introduction of
compatible satellite personal-communications services in the Community onthe basis of internal-market principles within a comparable time-frame by
means of a coordinated approach.
Article 2
Coordinated authorization approach
1. When preparing and applying their authorization systems Member States
shall ensure that the provision of satellite personal-communications servicesis organized in frequency bands which are harmonized by CEPT in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 3.
2. If it is established, in accordance with Article 3 and in conjunction with
CEPT, that it is necessary to limit the number of satellite personal-
communications services authorizations owing to the scarcity of the
frequency spectrum available, Member States shall coordinate their auth-orization procedures with a view to authorizing the same satellite personal-communications services throughout the Community.
3. Member States may attach the conditions listed in Annex I to
authorizations.
Those conditions may be imposed even if no part of the satellite
personal-communications systems concerned is located within the territory
of a Member State.
4. Member States shall take all technical and other appropriate measures to
ensure the free movement of technical equipment within their territories in
accordance with European harmonized standards and common technicalregulations (CTRs).
Article 3
Cooperation with CEPT
1. The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 7, give CEPT/Ectra and CEPT/ERC mandates to harmonize frequency
use and the conditions attached to general authorizations for satellitepersonal-communications services, without prejudice to the scope established
in the licensing Directive for individual licences. Those mandates shall define
the tasks to be performed and lay down a timetable.
2. The timetable for the first mandates shall be as set out in Annex II.
3. On the completion of the mandates it shall be decided in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 6 whether the result of the work donepursuant to the mandates shall be made applicable in the Community.!B1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 5
4. Notwithstanding Article 2 (1), if the Commission or any Member State
considers that work done pursuant to the mandate given to CEPT/Ectra orCEPT/ERC is not progressing satisfactorily having regard to the timetable laiddown, it may refer the matter to the committee provided for in Article 5,
which shall act in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6.
Article 4
One-stop-shopping procedure
1. Where appropriate and in conjunction with CEPT/Ectra and CEPT/ERC,
the Commission shall take the steps necessary for the operation of a
one-stop-shopping procedure for the grant of individual licences and, in thecase of general authorizations, for notification procedures, including suitablearrangements for its administration, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 6. Information on that one-stop-shopping procedure shall be
published in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
2. The one-stop-shopping procedure shall comply with the following
conditions:
(a) it shall be open to all undertakings wishing to operate telecommuni-
cations services in the Community;
(b) the submission of applications and notifications shall be possible and one
or more bodies to which applications and notifications may be submittedshall be designated;
(c) in the case of individual licences, applications shall be passed to the
national regulatory authorities concerned, within seven working days of
formal receipt, by the bodies to which they were submitted.
In the case of general authorizations, notifications shall be passed to the
national regulatory authorities concerned, within two working days offormal receipt, by the bodies to which they were submitted;
(d) in the case of individual licenses, the national regulatory authorities
concerned shall decide within a reasonable time whether to grant them;inter alia , they shall inform the applicants of their decisions as soon as
possible but not more than six weeks after receiving the applications.
Member States may extend that time limit to up to four months inobjectively justified cases which are defined specifically in the provisions
adopted to implement the licensing Directive. In the case of comparative
bidding procedures in particular, Member States may further extend thattime limit by up to four months. Those time limits shall be withoutprejudice to any applicable international agreements relating to inter-
national frequency and satellite coordination.
Within one week of taking their decisions, national regulatory authorities
shall inform both the applicants and the bodies to which the relevant
applications were submitted accordingly.
In the case of general authorizations, the national regulatory authorities
concerned may require the applicants to wait for up to four weeks afterthe authorities’ formal receipt of all the information required, before
starting to provide the services covered by the general authorizations;
(e) the bodies to which applications and notifications may be sumbitted shall
report annually to the Commission on the operation of the one-stop-
shopping procedure, including information on refusals of applicationsand objections raised to notifications;
(f) the bodies involved in the one-stop-shopping procedure shall undertake to
observe the level of confidentiality prescribed in Article 11.
Article 5
The committee
1. In the implementation of this Decision the Commission shall be assisted
by the Licensing Committee set up by the licensing Directive. The LicensingCommittee shall proceed in accordance with Articles 6 and 7.
2. In view of the urgency of these matters and until the committee referred
to in paragraph 1 is set up, the Commission shall be assisted by an interim ad
hoc committee which it shall convene when necessary and which shall
proceed in accordance with Articles 6 and 7.!B1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 6
Article 6
Committee procedure II b (1)
1. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a
draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on
the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to
the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laiddown in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which theCouncil is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of
the representatives of the Member States within the committee shall be
weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
2. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately.
However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the
committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Councilforthwith. In that event:
— the Commission shall defer application of the measures which it has
decided for a period of three months from the date of communication;
— the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision
within the time limit laid down in the first indent.
Article 7
Committee procedure I (
1)
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of
the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the
urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition each Member State
shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.
The Commission shall take the utmost possible account of the opinion
delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in
which its opinion has been taken into account.
Article 8
Exchange of information
1. The Commission shall regularly inform the committee of the outcome of
consultations with the representatives of telecommunications organizations,
users, consumers, manufacturers, service providers and trade unions.
2. The committee shall, taking into account the Community’s telecom-
munications policy, encourage the exchange of information between the
Member States and the Commission on the situation and the development of
regulatory activities regarding the authorization of satellite personal-com-munications services.
Article 9
International aspects
1. Member States may inform the Commission of any general difficulties
encountered, de jure orde facto , by Community organizations on the
introduction of satellite personal-communications services in third countrieswhich have been brought to their attention.
2. Whenever the Commission is informed of such difficulties it may, if
necessary, submit a proposal to the Council for an appropriate mandate fornegotiation with the aim of ensuring effective and comparable access for
Community organizations in those third countries. The Council shall decide
by qualified majority.
3. Measures taken pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be without prejudice to the
Community’s and Member States’ obligations pursuant to relevant inter-
national agreements.!B
(1) Procedures set out in Council Decision 87/373/EEC of 13 July 1987 laying down
the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the
Commission (OJ No L 197, 18. 7. 1987, p. 33).1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 7
Article 10
Notification
Member States shall give the Commission such information as it may require
for the purpose of verifying the implementation of this Decision.
Article 11
Confidentiality
1. Neither the Commission nor the national regulatory authorities shall
disclose any information covered by the obligation of professional secrecy, inparticular information about undertakings, their business relations or their
cost components.
2. Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the right of national regulatory
authorities to undertake disclosure where it is essential for the purposes of
fulfilling their duties, in which case such disclosure shall be proportionate andshall have regard to the legitimate interests of the undertakings in theprotection of their business secrets.
3. Paragraph 1 shall not preclude the publication of information on
licensing conditions which does not include information of a confidential
nature.
Article 12
Duration
This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day after its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities
"M1and shall remain in
force until 31 December 2003. 3
Article 13
Report
The Commission shall keep developments in the field of satellite personal
communications under review and report to the European Parliament and to
the Council on the effectiveness of action taken pursuant to this Decision aftertwo years.
Article 14
Implementation
Member States shall take all measures necessary, by law or administrative
action, for the measures provided for in, or agreed on pursuant to thisDecision to be implemented.
Article 15
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.!B1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 8
ANNEX I
CONDITIONS THAT MAY BE ATTACHED TO AUTHORIZATIONS
1. Any conditions which are attached to authorizations must be consistent with the
competition rules of the Treaty.
2. Conditions which may be attached to all authorizations, where justified and
subject to the principle of proportionality:
2.1. Conditions intended to ensure compliance with relevant essential requirements.2.2. Conditions linked to the provision of information reasonably required for the
verification of compliance with applicable conditions and for statisticalpurposes.
2.3. Conditions intended to prevent anti-competitive behaviour in telecommunica-
tions markets, including measures to ensure that tariffs are non-discriminatory
and do not distort competition.
2.4. Conditions relating to the effective and efficient use of numbering capacity.
3. Specific conditions which may be attached to general authorizations for the
provision of publicly available telecommunications services and of public
telecommunications networks that are required for the provision of such
services, where justified and subject to the principle of proportionality:
3.1. Conditions relating to the protection of users and subscribers, in relation
particularly to:
— the prior approval of the national regulatory authority of the standard
subscriber contract,
— the provision of detailed and accurate billing,
— the provision of a procedure for the settlement of disputes,
— publication and adequate notice of any change in access conditions,
including tariffs, quality and the availability of services.
3.2. Financial contributions to the provision of universal service in accordance with
Community law.
3.3. Communication of customer-database information necessary for the provision
of universal directory information.
3.4. Provision of emergency services.3.5. Special arrangements for disabled people.3.6. Conditions relating to the interconnection of networks and the interoperability
of services in accordance with the interconnection Directive and obligationspursuant to Community law.
4. Specific conditions which may be attached to individual licences, where
justified and subject to the principle of proportionality:
4.1. Specific conditions linked to the allocation of numbering rights (compliance
with national numbering schemes).
4.2. Specific conditions linked to the effective use and efficient management of
radio frequencies.
4.3. Specific environmental and specific town and country planning requirements,
including conditions linked to the granting of access to public or private land
and conditions linked to collocation and facility sharing.
4.4. Maximum duration, which shall not be unreasonably short, in particular in order
to ensure the efficient use of radio frequencies or numbers or to grant access to
public or private land, without prejudice to other provisions concerning thewithdrawal or the suspension of licences.
4.5. Provision of universal service obligations in accordance with the interconnec-
tion Directive and Directive 95/62/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil of 13 December 1995 on the application of the principles of opennetwork provision (ONP) to voice telephony (
1).
4.6. Conditions applied to operators having significant market power, as notified by
Member States within the meaning of the interconnection Directive, intended toguarantee interconnection or the control of significant market power.
4.7. Conditions concerning ownership which comply with Community law and the
Community’ s commitments vis-à-vis third countries.!
B
(1) OJ No L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 6.1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 9
4.8. Requirements relating to the quality, availability and permanence of a service or
network, including the financial, managerial and technical competence of theapplicant and conditions setting a minimum period of operation and including,where appropriate and in accordance with Community law, the mandatoryprovision of publicly available telecommunications services and publictelecommunications networks.
4.9. Specific conditions relating to the provision of leased lines in accordance with
Council Directive 92/44/EEC of 5 June 1992 on the application of open networkprovision to leased lines (
1).
This list of conditions is without prejudice to:— any other conditions which are not specific to the telecommunications sector,
— measures taken by Member States in accordance with public interest requirements
recognized by the Treaty, in particular Articles 36 and 56, specifically in relation to
public morality, public security, including the investigation of criminal activities,and public policy.!
B
(1) OJ No L 165, 19. 6. 1992, p. 27. Directive as amended by Commission Decision 94/439/EC
(OJ No L 181, 15. 7. 1994, p. 40).1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 10
ANNEX II
TIMETABLE
1997
July Work on mandates on harmonization for the 1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.9/
2.1 GHz frequency bands
July One-stop-shopping procedure for services planning to operate in
the 1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.9/2.1 GHz frequency bands
July To determine if the limited number of frequencies in the 1.6/2.4
GHz and 1.9/2.1 GHz frequency bands represents a constraint onthe number of satellite personal-communications services whichcan be provided in those bands in the Community
September Harmonization of procedures for the authorization of systems
planning to operate in the 1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.9/2.1 GHz frequency
bands.!
B1997D0710 — EN — 13.06.2000 — 001.001 — 11