NoC 193/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 7. 89 
FIGURE 1 
Schedule for the completion of pan-European paging specification by the CEPT and service provision, 
by the telecommunications administrations 
Year/ month 
MM J MM MM MM MM 
A. SERVICE AND FACILITIES 
B. SYSTEM SPECIFICATION 
C. RADIO SUBSYSTEM 
a) Decide Subsystem 
b) Optimization 
D. RECEIVER AND TRANSMITTER 
SPECIFICATIONS 
E. START OF SERVICE 
F. PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION 
COVERED 
30% COVERAGE 
60% COVERAGE 
80% COVERAGE lllllllllmTifl 
Proposal for a Council Directive on the frequency bands to be reserved for the coordinated 
introduction of pan-European land-based public radio paging in the Community 
COM(89) 166 final — SYN 193 
(Submitted by the Commission on 12 May 1989) 
(89/C 193/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100A 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee, 
Whereas Council recommendation 84/549/EEC (!) calls 
for the introduction of services on the basis of a common 
harmonized approach in the field of telecommunications; 
(!) OJ No L 298, 16. 11. 1984, p. 49. Whereas the resources offered by modern telecommuni­
cations networks should be utilized to the full for the 
economic development of the Community; 
Whereas radio paging services are the only low cost means 
of alerting and/or sending messages to users on the move; 
Whereas radio paging services depend on the allocation 
and availability of frequency bands in order to transmit and 
receive between fixed-base stations and radio paging 
receivers respectively; 
Whereas the frequencies and land-based public radio 
paging systems currently in use in the Community vary 
widely and do not allow all users on the move to reap the 
benefits of European wide services and European wide 
markets; 
31. 7. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 193/13 
Whereas the change-over to the more advanced radio 
paging system codenamed European Radio Messaging 
System (ERMES) being specified by the European Con­
ference of Postal and Telecommunications Adminis­
trations (CEPT), will provide a unique opportunity of 
establishing a truly pan-European radio paging service; 
Whereas CEPT has identified the unpaired frequency band 
169.4 to 169.8 MHz as the most suitable band for public 
radio paging; 
Whereas parts of the frequency band are being used or are 
intended for use by certain Member States for other radio 
services; 
Whereas the progressive availability of the full range of the 
frequency band set out above will be indispensable for the 
establishment of a truly pan-European radio paging 
service; 
Whereas the implementation of Council recommendation 
...on the coordinated introduction of pan-European land-
based public radio paging in the Community will ensure the 
start of a pan-European system by 1 January 1992 at the 
latest; 
Whereas, on the basis of present technological and market 
trends, it appears realistic to envisage the exclusive 
occupation of the 169.4 to 169.8 MHz frequency bands by 
the pan-European public radio paging system by 1 January 
1995; 
Whereas Council Directive 86/361/EEC of 24 July 1986 on 
the initial stage of the mutual recognition of type-approval 
for telecommunications terminal equipment (*) will allow 
the rapid establishment of common conformity speci­
fications for the pan-European land-based public radio 
paging system; 
Whereas the report on public mobile communication 
drawn up by the Analysis and Forecasting Group (GAP) for 
the Senior Officials Group of Telecommunications (SOG-
T), strongly recommends that administrations reach an 
agreement to use the same radio frequencies as a 
precondition for pan-European public radio paging (2); 
Whereas favourable opinions on this report have been 
delivered by the telecommunications administrations and 
by CEPT; 
Whereas radio paging is a particularly spectrum-efficient 
communications method for alerting and/or sending 
messages to users on the move, 
(!) OJ No L 217, 5. 8. 1986, p. 21. 
(2) Proposals by the Analysis and Forecasting Group (GAP) for the 
Coordinated Introduction of Public Mobile Communications 
in the Community of 5 December 1985. HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
For the purposes of this Directive, pan-European land-
based public radio paging service shall mean a public radio 
paging service based on a terrestrial infrastructure, 
provided in each of the Member States to a common 
specification which allows persons wishing to send and/or 
receive an alert and/or numeric or alphanumeric messages 
anywhere within the coverage of the service in the 
Community. 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall ensure that the band 169.6 to 
169.8 MHz is reserved exclusively and is made available for 
use by the pan-European land-based public radio paging 
service by 1 January 1992. 
2. The Commission, after consulting Member States, 
shall take a decision defining a further block of 200 kHz 
within the band 169 to 170 MHz by 1 January 1990 atfhe 
latest to be reserved exclusively for the pan-European land-
based public radio paging service. 
3. Member States shall ensure that the 200 kHz block of 
frequencies defined in paragraph 2 is made available for the 
exclusive use of the pan-European land-based public radio 
paging sevice by 1 January 1995. 
Article 3 
The Commission shall report to the Council on the 
implementation of this Directive not later than the end of 
1996. 
Article 4 
1. Member States shall bring into force the provisions 
necessary to comply with this Directive by 1 January 1990 
for Article 2, paragraph 1 and by 1 January 1993 for 
Article 2, paragraph 3. They shall forthwith inform the 
Commission thereof. 
The provisions adopted pursuant to the first subparagraph 
shall make express reference to this Directive. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission 
the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt 
in the field governed by this Directive. 
Article 5 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.