02018D1538 — EN — 09.02.2022 — 001.001

This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document

►B COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2018/1538 of 11 October 2018 on the harmonisation of radio spectrum for use by short-range devices within the 874-876 and 915-921 MHz frequency bands (notified under document C(2018) 6535) (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 257 15.10.2018, p. 57)

Amended by:









▼B

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2018/1538

of 11 October 2018

on the harmonisation of radio spectrum for use by short-range devices within the 874-876 and 915-921 MHz frequency bands

(notified under document C(2018) 6535)

(Text with EEA relevance)







Article 1

This Decision harmonises the frequency bands and the related technical conditions for the availability and efficient use of spectrum for short-range devices within the 874-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz frequency bands.

▼M1

Article 2

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

1. ‘short-range device’ means a radio device which provides either unidirectional or bidirectional communication and which receives and/or transmits over a short distance at low power;

2. ‘non-interference and non-protected basis’ means that no harmful interference may be caused to any radio communication service and that no claim may be made for protection of these devices against interference originating from radio communication services;

3. ‘category of short-range devices’ means a group of short-range or networked short-range devices that use spectrum with similar technical spectrum access mechanisms or based on common usage scenarios.

▼B

Article 3

1. Member States shall designate and make available, on a non-exclusive, non-interference and non-protected basis the frequency bands for the types of short-range devices and networked short-range devices, subject to the harmonised technical conditions and by the implementation deadlines set out in the Annex.

2. Member States may take appropriate measures to protect existing use in the 874-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz spectrum to the extent necessary and where no alternative protective solution may be found through coordination of the various types of uses in those bands. This may include the imposition of additional technical, geographic or operational requirements for the use of the band while complying with the harmonised technical conditions for spectrum access set out in the Annex.

3. Member States may allow the use of the frequency bands covered by the Annex under less restrictive conditions or for short-range devices which are not part of the harmonised category. This holds as long as it does not prevent or reduce the possibility for short- range devices of the harmonised category to rely on the appropriate set of harmonised technical conditions allowing the shared use of a specific part of the spectrum on a non-exclusive basis and for different purposes by short-range devices of the same category.

4. Member States shall refrain from introducing new uses in the 874,4-876 MHz and 919,4-921 MHz sub-bands until such time as harmonised conditions for their use are adopted under Decision No 676/2002/EC.

Article 4

Member States shall monitor the use of the 874-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz frequency bands, including the potential use of the 874,4-876 MHz and 919,4-921 MHz sub-bands for the future railway mobile communications system (FRMCS), and report their findings to the Commission upon request or at their own initiative in order to allow regular and timely review of the Decision.

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

▼M1









ANNEX

Frequency bands with corresponding harmonised technical conditions and implementation deadlines for short-range devices

The following table specifies different combinations of frequency band and category of short-range devices (as defined in Article 2(6)), and the harmonised technical conditions for spectrum access and implementation deadlines applicable thereto.

General technical conditions applicable to all bands and short-range devices that fall in the scope of this Decision:

— Member States must allow the usage of spectrum up to the transmit power, field strength or power density given in this table. In accordance with Article 3(3), they may impose less restrictive conditions, i.e. allow the use of spectrum with higher transmit power, field strength or power density, provided that this does not reduce or compromise the appropriate coexistence between short-range devices in bands harmonised by this Decision;

— Member States may only impose the ‘ additional parameters (channelling and/or channel access and occupation rules)’ identified in the table, and shall not add other parameters or spectrum access and mitigation requirements. Less restrictive conditions within the meaning of Article 3(3), mean that Member States may completely omit the ‘additional parameters (channelling and/or channel access and occupation rules)’ in a given cell or allow higher values, provided that the appropriate sharing environment in the harmonised band is not compromised.

— Member States may only impose the ‘ other usage restrictions ’ identified in the table and shall not add additional usage restrictions unless the conditions mentioned in Article 3(2) apply. As less restrictive conditions may be introduced within the meaning of Article 3(3), Member States may omit one or all of these restrictions, provided that the appropriate sharing environment in the harmonised band is not compromised.

Terms used:

‘Duty cycle’ is defined as the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of Σ(Ton)/(Tobs) where Ton is the ‘on’ time of a single transmitter device and Tobs is the observation period. Ton is measured in an observation frequency band (Fobs). Unless otherwise specified in this technical annex, Tobs is a continuous one hour period and Fobs is the applicable frequency band in this Annex. Less restrictive conditions within the meaning of Article 3(3), mean that Member States may allow a higher value for ‘duty cycle’.