COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 27.03.1996 
COM(96) 114 final 
PROGRESS REPORT 1995 
ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES 
CONCERNING TELECOMMUNICATIONS TERMINAL EQUIPMENT, 
INCLUDING THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF THEIR CONFORMITY 
SUPPLEMENTED IN RESPECT OF SATELLITE EARTH STATION 
EQUIPMENT 
(Presented by the Commission) 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 
1. INTRODUCTION „5 
1.1 Outline of the Report Structure 6 
2. THE MECHANISM OF THE DIRECTIVES 91/263/EEC AND 93/97/EEC Tr 7 
2.1. The adoption of CTRs...... 1.8 
2.2 Progress Made to Date 9 
2.3 New Candidate CTRs 17 
2.4 Market Coverage 17 
2.5 Conformity Assessment Procedures 18 
2.6 Specifics for the Satellite Earth Station Directive, 93/97/EEC 19 
2.7 Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) 20 
2.8 Relations with EFTA Countries 21 
3. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
THE DIRECTIVE 23 
3.1 Experience on the Scope of Directive 91/263/EEC 23 
3.2 The coverage of radio equipment.... 25 
3.3 Marking Regime ....:.: .26 
3.4 The slowness of the standardisation process..... ..........27 
3.5 Experiences in the Elaboration of TBRs '..'.29 
3.6 Harmonised standards and.CTRs.. : 30 
3.7 Competition amongst Designated Laboratories 31 
3.8 Responsiveness of Processes Supporting the Directives 31 
3.9 Assessment of Conformity:. 32 
4. PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FUTURE....... .....33 
4.1 Essential Requirements 33 
1 
4.2 Conformity assessment procedures: The time for simplification 34 
4.3 Modifications of the scope of the Directive 35 
4.4 The Rationale for a Radio Equipment Directive 35 
4.5 Relations with ETSI .' 35 
4.6 Liberalisation of Infrastructure 36 
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 38 
RECOMMENDATIONS 38 
ANNEX 1 PROCESS FOR THE ADOPTION OF CTRS 41 
ANNEX 2 NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN EUROPE 43 
ANNEX 3 LIST OF NOTIFIED BODIES............!. 44 
ANNEX 4 OFFICIAL JOURNAL REFERENCES TO ADOPTED CTRS 48 
\ \ 
0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
This is the first Progress Report which has been prepared for submission to the 
Council and the European Parliament in accordance with Article 15 of the 
Council Directive 91/263/EEC of 29 April 1991 on the approximation of the 
laws of the Member States concerning telecommunications terminal equipment, 
including the mutual recognition of their conformity and in accordance with 
Article 17.1 of the Council Directive 93/97/EEC of 29 October 1993 
supplementing Directive 91/263/EEC in order to include satellite earth station 
equipment. 
These Directives aim to provide the regulatory framework appropriate to a single 
market for all types of telecommunications terminal equipment ranging from 
simple telephones to the most sophisticated multimedia terminals required by the 
information society. This single market requires free circulation of these terminals 
throughout the union, ability to connect to any network and a single, streamlined 
Approval procedure. The Directives specify a harmonised system for 
conformance testing and provide a framework for the application of harmonised 
European standards as Common Technical Regulations(CTRs) which specify the 
requirements that are essential to ensure compatibility between terminals and 
networks. This harmonisation of terminal equipment must be achieved within the 
context of telecommunications networks which, themselves, are far from 
harmonised. 
The report highlights the specific nature of these two New Approach Directives 
which implement a dual approach utilising reference to harmonised standards for 
safety and electromagnetic compatibility requirements and mandatory 
requirements for certain specific telecommunications requirements. 
These Directives combine in a simplified regime the placing on the internal 
market of telecommunications terminal equipment and satellite earth stations and 
the right of connection/usage of such goods without further administrative 
procedures. The key objective is to have a one-stop regime in this area. 
So far 9 Common Technical Requirements (CTRs), which specify the mandatory 
essential requirements, have been adopted covering the key areas of GSM, 
DECT, ERMES, EURO ISDN and ONP leased lines. A further batch of 29 
CTRs, covering Data Networks, Analogue PSTN, TFTS, etc., are in the process 
of being adopted. While these CTRs provide for the harmonisation of some 
significant markets such as GSM handsets, large market segments such as 
PABXs, key telephone systems and simple telephones are yet to be significantly 
addressed. 
The report identifies the problems encountered in particular regarding the long 
delays in the preparation of the technical specifications and test suites required 
for type approvals. 
Industry, in particular, has expressed the view that the current regime is a too 
heavy and bureaucratic instrument to harmonise the .telecommunications 
equipment market. 
Based on experience gained so far and an analysis of the scope of the Directives, 
the following actions are seen to be necessary : 
i. Relaxation of the procedures applied by the notified bodies for conformity 
assessment, 
ii. Extension of the scope of the Directives to cover all • types of 
telecommunication equipment using the radio frequency spectrum, 
iii. Fundamental review of the regulatory framework and, in particular of the 
two Directives, in order to adapt to the new dynamics of the market place 
and the future needs of the European Information Society, 
iv. Improvement to guidance of a regulatory nature given to ETSI, 
v. , Improvement to ETSI TC and STC working practices in the area of 
mandated work of a regulatory nature, 
vi. Reduction of the period between the approval of a proposed measure by 
ACTE and the publication of the CTR in the Official Journal. 
These recommendations have been included in Section 5 of the Report. 
IrrrRobucnoN 
One of the objectives set out by the Green Paper for the development of a 
Common Market for telecommunications services and products in Europe (1987) 
was the liberalisation of terminal equipment. Up to that day, the supply of 
terminal equipment in most Member States was monopolised by the state owned 
telecom operator who argued that this was justified by the need for a co­
ordinated function between the network and the equipment. 
Following the issuing of the Green Paper and the major recent developments in 
communications technology the liberalisation of the terminal equipment market 
became feasible. The need for a co-ordinated function between the network and 
the equipment could be fully satisfied through type approval procedures which 
would check compliance of the terminal with technical specifications. 
Council Directive 86/361/EEC on the initial stage of the mutual recognition of 
type approval for telecommunications terminal equipment constituted a first step 
towards the establishment of a single market in this sector. Under the regime laid 
down by this Directive, a manufacturer or distributor could have their product 
tested against the relevant NET (Norme Européenne de Télécommunication) at 
any laboratory recognised by the national body and notified to the Commission. 
A certificate of Conformity and a Test Report were provided by the laboratory 
which could be submitted to other national bodies in place of further testing in 
each country. This arrangement is referred to as mutual recognition of test 
results. To obtain type approval applications had nevertheless to be submitted to 
authorities in each country. In this way, Council Directive 86/361/EEC 
incorporated the principle of the "mutual recognition of the results of tests of 
conformity with common conformity specifications" and contributed to the 
establishment of a common market in this sector. 
This First Phase Directive was repealed in November 1992 with the entering into 
force of the Telecommunications Terminal Directive 91/263/EEC. This Directive 
established a one stop type approval procedure including the right of connection 
so that equipment approved in one Member State can be immediately placed on 
the market and put into service in all other Member States without the need for 
additional administrative procedures. Furthermore, the Directive lays down a 
number of definitions of the essential requirements necessary to provide 
safeguards due to the technical characteristics of the public networks. With the 
adoption of Directive 93/97/EEC the scope was further enhanced to cover 
satellite earth stations. 
These Directives aimed to make the establishment of internal market in the 
telecommunications terminal equipment sector a reality. Furthermore, the 
Directives provided for the possibility for the Community to negotiate Mutual 
Recognition Agreements with third countries, and thereby extending the one stop 
approval and connection system beyond the physical boundaries of the EEA This 
would give EU manufacturers the opportunity to reap the benefits of economies 
of scale and compete on an equal basis in the world markets. 
The principal objective of the progress report is to give a first assessment of the 
regime established by the two Directives on the basis of the experience gained 
during the first year of implementation. This includes the progress made on 
drawing up the relevant harmonised standards and transforming these into 
technical regulations as well as the problems encountered by the relevant 
authorities within the Member States during the course of implementation of the 
Directives. 
1.1 Outline of the Report Structure 
The report is produced in accordance with Article 15 of Council Directive 
91/263/EEC and Article 17.1 of Directive 93/97/EEC. The report is structured 
as follows: 
Chapter 2: outlines the principles and the conformity assessment procedures 
applied and includes the progress achieved. 
Chapter 3: analyses the functioning of the Directive and puts forward an 
assessment of the problems encountered. • 
Chapter 4: makes a number of proposals regarding the scope of the Directives, 
possible relaxation of procedures and a call for preparation of a 
Radio Equipment Directive. 
Chapter 5: contains the conclusions and four recommendations. 
ANNEX 1. Process for the adoption of CTRs 
ANNEX 2. Numbers of People with Special Needs in Europe 
ANNEX 3. List of Notified Bodies 
ANNEX 4 Official Journal references to Adopted CTRs 
••VÎT 
2. THE MECHANISM OF THE DIRECTIVES 91/263/EEC AND 93/97/EEC 
The technical divergence between the various telecom networks in the EU meant 
that the simple mutual recognition of the national type approval of terminal 
equipment was not possible. The "free circulation of terminal equipment" could 
only be achieved by a common type approval regime based on harmonised 
standards and/or specifications. To this end, the Directive 91/263/EEC was 
issued. 
The Directive follows the model of the New Approach1 Directives. It lays down 
a list of essential requirements and it entrusts to standardisation bodies the task 
of drawing up the technical specifications under mandates issued by the 
Commission These technical specifications which are elaborated, usually by 
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), are in the form of 
Technical Basis for Regulations (TBRs). Alternatively, European 
Telecommunications Standards (ETS), mandated to become harmonised 
standards under Directives 91/263/EEC and 93/97/EEC can be used to specify 
the essential requirements. At the same time, it requires national authorities to 
recognise that products manufactured in conformity with harmonised standards 
are presumed to comply with the "essential requirements" established by the 
Directive. Further to a conformity assessment procedure, products which comply 
with the requirements of the Directive can carry the CE marking and circulate 
freely in the EU. 
However the provisions of Directive 91/263/EEC diverge in some respects from 
the model of the New Approach. According to Article 6 of the Directive, 
harmonised standards which implement the essential requirements2 (c), (d), (e), 
1 The fundamental principles of this New Approach were set out in Council Resolution 85/C 136/01 of 
the 7th May 1985 (OJ Reference C 136 of 4th June 1985) and they can be summarised as follows: 
legislative harmonisation is limited to the adoption of the essential safety requirements (or other 
requirements in the general interest). 
the task of drawing up the technical specifications is entrusted to organisation competent in the 
standardisation area. 
at the same time national authorities are obliged to recognise that products manufactured in 
conformity with harmonised standards are presumed to comply with the "essential requirements" 
established by the Directive. 
2 Article 4 of Directive 91/263 states that "Terminal equipment shall satisfy the following essential 
requirements: . * ' ' • 
a) user safety, in so far as this requirement is not covered by Directive 73/23/EEC; 
b) safety of employees of public telecommunications network operators, in so far as this requirement is 
not covered by Directive 73/23/EEC; 
c) electromagnetic compatibility requirements in so far as they are specific to terminal equipment; 
d) protection of the public telecommunications network from harm; 
7 ' 
(f), and (g) shall be transformed into Common Technical Regulations (CTRs), 
compliance with which shall be mandatory. This divergence is due to the fact that 
it is not in general possible to comply with the interworking requirements for 
access and/or for end-to-end communications other than by the application of 
unique technical solutions. 
2.1. The adoption of CTRs 
In order for a CTR to be adopted the Commission submits a scope statement for 
the development of a CTR for an identified type of terminal equipment to the 
Approvals Committee for Terminal Equipment (ACTE). This scope statement 
will have been elaborated with additional consultation with the 
Telecommunications Regulations Application Committee (TRAC). The opinion 
of ACTE regarding this draft scope statement is asked for according to the rules 
described in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. 
The Commission, formally, issues a mandate to the recognised standardisation 
bodies ETSI/CEN/CENELEC and in most cases it will be ETSI which is 
entrusted to develop the corresponding harmonised standard, the so called 
Technical Basis for Regulation (TBR). In practice, mandates may be given 
before the consultation process on the scope statement has been completed, in 
order to speed-up the process. When complete, the TBR is delivered to the 
Commission. TRAC will advice the Commission on the technical suitability of 
the TBR. The Commission then prepares a draft measure for a CTR comprising 
of regulatory aspects and the TBR. In this process additional consultations are 
made. The opinion of ACTE is then sought. If the opinion of ACTE is 
favourable, the Commission renders the TBR mandatory by transforming it into 
the CTR to be published in the Official Journal (OJ). The CTR then becomes EU 
law. If the opinion of ACTE is not favourable, or if no opinion is delivered, the 
e) effective use of the radio frequency spectrum, where appropriate; 
f) interworking of terminal equipment with the public telecommunications network equipment for the 
purpose of establishing, modifying, charging for, holding and clearing real or virtual connection; 
g) interworking of terminal equipment via the public telecommunication network, in justified cases. 
The cases where terminal equipment supports: 
(i) reserved service according to Community law, 
(ii) a service which the Council has decided that there should be Community-wide availability, 
are considered as justified cases and the requirements concerned are determined in accordance with 
the procedure provided for in Article 14 (reference to ACTE). 
In addition, after consultation of representatives of the bodies referred to in Article 13 (3) and taking due 
account of these consultations, the Commission may propose that this essential requirement is recognized 
as being justified for other terminal equipment in accordance with the procedure provided for in 
Article 14. 
8 
,.,,;w.r>7». 
Commission shall submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measure to be 
taken3. 
On no occasion, since the establishment of the committee, has it been necessary 
to refer a decision to the Council 4. 
The overall process including consultations is described in more detail in 
Annex 1. 
2.2 Progress Made to Date 
Adopted CTRs 
This section describes the status of all CTRs that have been adopted by the 
Commission on the advice of ACTE. The current status of all CTRs and 
proposed CTRs is summarised in Table 1. 
Pan-European Cellular Digital Mobile Communications 
The TBRs for GSM Phase 1 5Access and Telephony Application Requirements 
were adopted by the Commission on the advice given by ACTE in September 
1993. These were published in the Official Journal6 and came into force on 1 
January 1994. This ended the interim type approval regime and type approval 
against CTRs 5 and 9 can now be achieved at a number of Notified Bodies. The 
testing and subsequent approval allows GSM equipment to be placed on the 
market and put into service in any Member State or EFTA country. 
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Access and Telephony 
-CTR3.4&8 
As required in the telecommunications terminal equipment Directive 
(91/263/EEC), CTRs 3,4 and 8 are currently being drafted to replace NETs 3, 5, 
and 33 respectively. NET 3, 5 and 33 were European standards for ISDN Basic 
3 Article 14.4 of Directive 91/263/EEC 
Since the inaugural meeting in July 1991, in total 27 meetings have been held: 
September 1991, October 1991, December 1991, January 1992, February 1992, April 1992, May 
1992, June 1992, September 1992, October 1992, November 1992, December 1992, January 1993, 
March 1993, April 1993, May 1993, June 1993, September 1993, October 1993, December 1993, 
February 1994, April 1994, May 1994, June 1994, September 1994, and November 1994. 
1 Phase 1 GSM covers full type approval to the original specification whereas Phase 2 GSM covers new 
features such as 12.5kHz voice codecs and enhanced supplementary services. 
6 Commission Decision 94/11/EEC, OJ No. L8, 12.1.94, p. 20 and Commission Decision 94/12/EEC, 
OJN0.L8, 12.1.94, p. 23. 
* X 
Access, Primary Rate7 Access and 3.1 kHz Telephony Requirements. These 
NETs have been published by ETSI in the form of ETSs and have been referred 
to in the Official Journal in accordance with the provisions laid down in the First 
Phase Terminal Equipment Directive (86/361/EEC). 
It became clear to the Commission Services that the forecast dates for 
development of the CTR 3 and CTR 4 were slipping significantly. Despite 
additional funding to ETSI little improvements in dates was envisaged. The 
following approach was therefore adopted due to the urgent need to have EURO 
ISDN placed on the market and thereby ensuring that EURO ISDN would take 
off. The approach was to reassess NET3 and NET5, to reduce the requirements 
to the exact match with the essential requirements of Council Directive 
91/263/EEC and to produce cross references to the test suites which had been 
recently developed. The objective of the cross reference lists is to establish a 
presumption of conformity with the appropriate essential requirements. The 
Commission was therefore capable of presenting draft measures to ACTE on 
EURO ISDN basic access and primary rate access. A favourable opinion was 
reached in April 1994. The two Commission Decisions, commonly referred to as 
the bridging measures, were published in the Official Journal in December 1994. 
It should be noted that France and Germany have additional requirements beyond 
the bridging measures. A simplified administrative procedure, including mutual 
recognition provisions has been agreed to accommodate such "deltaH 
requirements. 
A draft measure relating to ISDN telephony has been presented to ACTE and a 
favourable opinion was obtained in September 1994. 
Digital European Cordless Telephony (DECT), CTRs 6,10 & 11 
The draft measures for DECT Access Requirements and DECT Telephony 
Application Requirements were presented to ACTE in December 1993. A 
positive opinion was given and these two CTRs were published in the Official 
Journal in July 1994. 
The DECT Public Access Profile was ready for submission to ACTE in the final 
form of a draft measure in September 1994. The ACTE opinion was positive. 
At the June ACTE meeting it was agreed to extend the scope of CTR 6 and 10 
to include DECT repeaters. 
Public Land-Based European Radio Message System (ERMES), CTR 7 
The ERMES TBRs delivered by ETSI have been ready for some time. However 
from a regulatory point of view, the essential requirements to be tested were felt 
to go beyond what was required for a receive-only terminal type. Following 
consultation with the ACTE Head of Delegations, the Commission was capable 
ISDN Basic access provides two 64kb/s communication channels and one 16kb/s control channel. 
Primary rate access provides thirty 64kb/s communication channels and one 64kb/s control channel. 
10 
of proposing a draft measure covering ERMES which was adopted in August 
1995. 
ONP leased lines 2048 Kbit/s unstructured and 64 Kbit/s, CTRs 12 and 14 
The draft measure for ONP leased liens 2048 Kbit/sec received a favourable 
opinion by ACTE in December 1993. The corresponding CTR, i.e. CTR 12 was 
published in July 1994. The draft measure for ONP leased lines 64 Kbit/sec 
received a favourable opinion from ACTE in April 1994 and was adopted in 
December 1994. 
Proposed CTRs 
In addition, twelve draft CTRs are under preparation. These draft CTRs for 
which scope statements ACTE has given a favourable opinion and mandates 
given to ETSI are as follows: 
i 
Pan-European Cellular Digital Mobile Communications 
In order to expedite type approvals for GSM Phase 2 terminals, the Commission 
Services have already prepared draft Measures for CTRs 19 and 20 and have 
consulted ACTE thereon. As soon as the relevant harmonised standards, TBRs 
19 and 20, are available the formal opinion will be requested from ACTE. 
X. 21 Network Access, CTR 1 
The technical basis for regulation completed ETSI vote in July 1995. ACTE 
expressed a favourable opinion on the draft measure in September 1995. It has 
been agreed that only layer 1 should be included in the CTR. Layers 2 and 3 are 
considered to be harmonised standards. 
X.2S Network Access, CTR 2 
As in the case of X.21 above, it has been agreed that only layer 1 should be 
included in the CTR. Layers 2 and 3 are considered to be harmonised standards. 
The public enquiry phase has been passed. The draft Measure is therefore to be 
presented to ACTE during 1995. 
EURO ISDN Basic Access and Primary Rate Access, CTR 3&4 
As mentioned earlier, these CTRs will replace the current CTR 3 and CTR 4 
(bridging measures). Expected date of coming into force is 1996 before the 
expiry of the bridging measures (November 1996). A scope statement has been 
agreed for Packet Mode Bearer Service access for both primary and basic rate. 
ONP 2 Mbit/sec structured leased lines, CTR 13 
The technical basis for regulation is currently in thé Public Enquiry phase and the 
ETSI vote result is expected before the end of 1995. The draft measure will be 
very close to the text of already adopted ONP CTRs. 
11 
PSTN non-voice attachments, CTR 21 
A CTR for non-voice PSTN Attachments is intended to regulate the essential 
requirements for non-speech analogue attachments to the public 
telecommunications network. This would include, in particular, modems. This, is 
an important problem for the European telecommunications terminal industry. At 
present there axe a number of national approval regimes in place to test modems 
and other non-voice PSTN attachments in each of the Member States 
individually. This is a lengthy and expensive process for manufacturers and 
distributors. ' 
However modems from markets other than the European market are being 
connected to all analogue networks currently existing in the Member States. 
Many of these modems are US sourced. This has created a 'grey1 market in these 
non-voice attachments which can be connected to the network without being 
approved for marketing or connection in the Member States. 
A draft scope statement has been elaborated, on which ACTE has delivered a 
favourable opinion and a mandate has been given to ETSI. The standardisation 
work is in progress and the draft TBR should complete Public Enquiry by 
November 1995. 
Terrestrial Flight Telephone Systems (TFTS) 
A CTR on for TFTS would harmonise airborne terminal equipment capable of 
allowing passengers in commercial aircraft access to the public 
telecommunications networks. The European Radiocommunications Committee 
(ERC) has allocated the 1670-1675 MHz and 1800-1805 MHz bands for this 
service. Additional approval or certification procedures would probably be 
needed to supplement the proposed CTR to ensure compliance of the equipment 
with the general safety aspects of the aircraft. These would be under the 
jurisdiction of the Civil Aviation Authorities. 
The scope statement for TFTS has been elaborated. A mandate has been placed 
with ETSI. Standardisation work is in progress and the draft TBR is expected to 
go for Public Enquiry by February 1996. 
ONP Analogue Leased Lines 2 and 4 wires, CTRs 15 & 17 
These two ONP leased line CTRs both have-scope statements, mandates have 
been placed with ETSI, the vote result is expected in December 1995. 
DECT Generic Access Profile, CTR 22 
To further enhance the connectivity of DECT to different networks, the current 
Public Access Profile needs to be broadened. Therefore a scope statement has 
been elaborated defining the requirements for a Generic Access Profile. A 
mandate has been given to ETSI, standardisation work is in progress and the 
completion of the ETSI voting procedure is expected in March 1996. -•*% ^Xh 
12 
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Trans-European Trunked Radio (TETRA) 
This is a technology for Private Mobile Radio (PMR) communications. It allows 
speech and data communication within a closed user group and could be used to 
connect to the public telecommunications network. 
In particular it can form the basis of a trans-European network including 
international roaming agreements between the national public safety 
organisations. The police forces are, for example, considering basing their 
communications systems on the principles laid down in the relevant TETRA 
standards 
Problems have also been encountered in the harmonisation of the frequency 
bands to be used in this system. This is because the bands most suitable for 
TETRA are currently reserved for military and police applications in the EU 
Member States. Discussions are being carried out with the relevant authorities to 
attempt to free these bands for civilian applications. 
A scope statement has been agreed which asks ETSI to elaborate the 
requirements for emergency services use of TETRA, taking into account the 
issues identified above and without, prejudice to the applicability of Directive 
91/263/EEC for this class of equipment. 
Digital Cellular System (DCS 1800) 
The Digital Cellular System is essentially a modification to the GSM specification 
to support operation in the 1800 MHz band. The lower power used and the use 
of frequencies in the higher band imply small coverage but support higher traffic 
densities. ETSI has already developed standards for DCS 1800 systems and 
terminals. DCS 1800 systems are also commonly referred to as the Personal 
Communications Network (PCN). 
Scope statements for DCS 1800 Access and DCS 1800 Telephony have been 
agreed. Problems have been encountered in the harmonisation of the frequency 
bands to be used by DCS 1800 due to the current usage of the allocated bands by 
non-public services. Two draft measures are currently under preparation which 
duly take this issue into account. 
DECT/GSMAccess 
At the June ACTE meeting a scope statement was agreed for equipment that 
uses DECT frequencies and protocols for access to the GSM network. 
Satellite Earth Stations 
Scope statements were agreed at the June ACTE meeting for the following 
classes of satellite earth stations :-
L-Band low data rate land mobile satellite earth stations. 
Ku-Band TVRO satellite earth stations. 
Ku-Band VSAT satellite earth stations. 
13 
Ku-Band land mobile satellite earth stations. 
Ku-Band satellite news gathering transportable earth stations. 
PSTN Voice Access and Analogue Handset Telephony 
The market for analogue PSTN terminal equipment is still the major portion of 
the total telecommunications terminal equipment sales. Despite the rapid 
introduction of newer technologies, this situation is likely to remain unchanged 
for several years. The domestic user market for analogue equipment continues to 
expand with the use of second and third fixed phones or with cordless 
technologies. The business market also continues to expand. In addition the life 
span of analogue equipment has reduced dramatically with the development of 
new features necessitating new models. All these factors imply a continuing 
requirement for analogue terminal approvals. 
In addition to the immediate market needs, the liberalisation of voice telephony 
service and the liberalisation of telecommunications infrastructure are foreseen 
for 1998 onwards. The regulatory framework for the post 1998 environment is 
currently being developed, but it is already clear that the concept of Universal 
Service is crucially important and that the definition of Universal Service will 
include, as a minimum, a Universal Voice Telephony Service. At the same time 
as encouraging competition for services and for infrastructure, we must carefully 
safeguard the harmonisation objectives in the terminal equipment market. 
Scope statements for PSTN Voice Access and Analogue Handset Telephony 
were given a favourable opinion at the September ACTE meeting. ETSI have not 
yet given estimates for the completion dates. 
For the purpose of giving an overview of the CTRs adopted or under 
development, please refer to Table 1. 
The relevant Official Journal references are given in Annex 4 
14 
.*•••"*"'>*«'•? 
>>#-£ 
TABLE 1: STATUS OF CTRS ADOPTED OR UNDER DEVELOPMENT 
CTR 
Number 
CTR1 
CTR 2 
CTR 3 
CTR 4 
CTR 5 
CTR 6 
CTR 7 
CTR 8 
CTR 9 
CTR 10 
CTR 11 
CTR 12 
CTR 13 
CTR 14 
CTR 15 
CTR 17 
CTR 19 
CTR 20 
CTR 21 
CTR 22 
CTR 23 NET 
Equivalent 
(if applicable) 
NET1 
NET 2 . 
NET 3 
NET 5 
- NET 10 
-
-
NET 33 
-
-
-. 
-
-
- -
-
-
-
. v - •'•'•" 
-
-Area of Harmonisation 
X.21 Network Access 
X.25 Network Access 
ISDN Basic Access (Bridging Measure) 
ISDN Primary Rate Access (Bridging Measure) 
GSM (Phase 1) Access Requirements 
DECT Access Requirements 
ERMES Receive Only Access 
Digital Telephony over ISDN 
GSM (Phase 1) Telephony Attachment 
Requirements 
DECT Telephony Terminal Requirements 
DECT Public Access Profile (PAP) 
ONP Leased Lines: 2048 Kbit/s Unstructured 
ONP Leased Lines: 2048 Kbit/s Structured 
ONP Leased Lines: 64 Kbit/s 
ONP Leased Lines: Ordinary and special 
quality voice - 2 wire 
ONP Leased Lines: Ordinary and special 
quality voice - 4 wire 
GSM (Phase 2) Access Requirements 
GSM (Phase 2) Telephony Attachment 
Requirements 
Analogue PSTN Non-Voice Access 
DECT Generic Access Profile 
TFTS Adoption Date of 
CTR measures 
expected 12/95 
expected 08/96 
"adopted 20/12/94 
adopted 20/12/94 
adopted 21/01/94- . 
adopted 29/07/94 
adopted 2/8/95 
expected 11/95 
adopted 12/01/94 
adopted 29/07/94 
expected 11/95 
adopted 29/07/94-
expected 03/96 
adopted 29/12/94 
expected 04/96 
expected 04/96 
expected 06/96 
expected 06/96 
expected 8/96 
expected 07/96 
expected 03/97 
15 
••'AT .).- —-
CTR 
Number 
CTR 24 
CTR 25 
CTR 26 
CTR 27 
CTR 28 
CTR 29 
CTR 30 
CTR 35 
CTR 36 NET 
Equivalent 
(if applicable) 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Area of Harmonisation 
Leased lines D34U/D34S 
Leased lines D140U/S 
L-band low data rate mobile earth stations 
Ku-band earth stations 
Ku-band VSATs 
Ku-band TVROs 
Ku-band SNG 
TETRA "Emergency accessH 
DECT/GSM Radio Adoption Date of 
CTR measures 
expected 09/96 
expected 09/96 
expected 10/97 
expected 10/97 ' 
expected 10/97 
expected 10/97 -
expected 10/97 
expected 3/98 
expected 10/97 
16 
•:•"- -'«••«^p'rv^'^T-
V T.-.v„-
2.3 New Candidate CTRs 
ACTE is considering the treatment of the following classes of terminal but is yet 
to take a position : 
Personal Satellite Communications Network (PSCN) 
A CTR for PSCN would cover terminal equipment capable of being connected to 
the public telecommunications network via low earth orbit satellites. This is 
considered to be a large market for future mobile telephony and falls within the 
scope of the Satellite Earth Station Equipment Directive and thus within the 
CTR regime. 
ETSI have been given a mandate. This standardisation mandate (M/057) calls for 
harmonised standards to be adopted by end 1995. 
Terminals for People with Special Needs 
There is a growing awareness, recognised by regulators, that elderly arid disabled 
people have the right to expect the same standard of service and access as every 
other member of the public. The numbers of people involved is indicated in 
Annex 2. 
The Commission has consequently tabled a number of contributions at the most 
recent ACTE meetings and it has been decided to make an in-depth analysis on 
the needs of this group and the extent to which these needs can be met within 
current legislative framework on type approvals. 
It is remains to be seen whether a scope statement for a CTR will be possible. 
DECT 
Consideration is being given" to the need for scope statements on DECT/GSM 
Dual Mode and DECT/ISDN profile CTRs. 
2.4 Market Coverage 
For The following high value segments of the terminal equipment market no 
single market exists yet: 
- Simple telephones 
-Key Systems 
-PABXs 
- Private Networks (apart from leased lines) 
17 
'yy'j'yt «••r--*-^--;:^~ '• 
2,5 Conformity Assessment Procedures 
According to Article 3 of the Directive 91/263/EEC, terminal equipment can only 
be placed on the market and put into service if it complies with the requirements 
laid down in the Directive. The verification of equipment's conformity to these 
requirements is tested during the Conformity Assessment Procedures. 
The Conformity Assessment Procedures are used to test equipment's conformity 
to the essential requirements of the Directive. The onus is placed on the 
manufacturer to gain certification and approval prior to the affixingof the CE 
marking and the subsequent placing of the product on the market. 
Under the 91/263/EEC Directive, a manufacturer can choose between a number 
of Conformity Assessment Procedures any of which is sufficient to result in 
approval of the equipment for European market entry, and to allow the 
manufacturer to affix the CE marking: 
• the full quality assurance procedure (module H), where the manufacturer 
who operates an approved quality system, subject to surveillance by a 
notified body, is enabled to certify that the products concerned satisfy the 
requirements of the Directive that apply to them. 
• the type examination procedure (module B), where the manufacturer 
requests a Notified Body to ascertain that a specimen meets the provision of 
the Directive that apply to it and issue the relevant EC type-examination 
certificate. Subsequent to this certificate, the manufacturer has two options: 
L to issue a Declaration of Conformity to Type (module C), subject to 
- control by a notified body using random product checks, or 
ii. to implement a production quality assurance programme (module D) 
subject to surveillance by a notified body and ensure in a written 
declaration of conformity to type that the products concerned are in 
conformity with the type as described in the EC type-examination. 
Once the procedures-described above are completed, the notified bodies shall 
issue an administrative approval for the connection of the concerned terminal 
equipment to the public telecommunications network. Under the Council 
Decision 93/465/EEC, the CE marking must be affixed during the production 
control phase. This can only take place after the administrative approval has been 
issued. It follows that the administrative approval must be issued from the 
notified body chosen for the production control phase. It is this notified body, 
responsible for issuing the administrative approval and the last body to intervene 
in the process, whose identification number is used for the CE marking. 
The complexity of the mechanism of the conformity assessment procedures has 
been criticised as non proportional to the objective aimed at. While these 
procedures were appropriate when they were formulated, the change in 
circumstances since then could mean that review is now required. 
18 
•'..••.'*" *v ^ * - .. . * 
2.6 Specifics for the Satellite Earth Station Directive, 93/97/EEC 
The satellite earth station Directive extends the Terminal Equipment Directive to 
include Satellite Earth Stations. The purpose of this Directive is to lay down a 
mechanism which will permit the effective use of orbital resources in conjunction 
with the radio frequency spectrum and avoidance of harmful interference 
between space-based and terrestrial communications systems and other systems. 
Therefore this Directive focuses on the space interface of the satellite earth 
station equipment. 
The satellite earth station Directive lays down the type approval procedures for 
equipment which is capable of being used either for transmission only, or for 
transmission and reception, or for reception only of radio-communication signals 
by means of satellites or other space-based systems. These type approval 
procedures aim at safeguarding the following main objectives: 
- the public telecommunications network 
- the effective use of the frequency spectrum 
- the effective use of orbital resources and the avoidance of harmful 
interference between space-based and terrestrial communications systems 
and other systems. 
In view of these main objectives the Directive makes the following distinctions 
with respect to the conformity assessment procedures to which satellite earth 
station equipment are subject to: 
i. Transmit or transmit-receive satellite earth station equipments this 
equipment may affect the use of the frequency spectrum and the orbital 
resources and therefore should always be type approved according to the 
conformity assessment procedures, laid down by the Directive 91/263/EEC, 
regardless of its intended use. 
However, if the equipment is not intended to be connected to the public 
telecommunications network, the conformity assessment procedure need not 
be applied to its terrestrial interface provided that the manufacturer or the 
.supplier fills in the appropriate declaration of intended use, mentioned in 
Article 2 of the Directive 91/263/EEC and Article 11 of the Directive 
93/97/EEC 
ii. Receive only satellite earth station equipment: this equipment, although it 
also makes use of the frequency spectrum and orbital resources, does not 
have the capability to affect the use or provoke harmful interferences 
between space-based and terrestrial communications systems and other 
systems. Therefore the principle of proportionality imposes that with respect 
to the space interface of this equipment, it is upon the manufacturer to 
choose either the classical conformity assessment procedures or the 
Community internal production control procedures set out in the Annex of 
the Directive 93/97/EEC, the latest being a simple self declaration. 
Nevertheless, the interface to the terrestrial network of the receive only 
equipment is subject to the same rules as terminal equipment and it therefore 
has to be duly type approved whenever it is intended to be connected to the 
19 
public network or accompanied by the manufacturer's declaration whenever 
it is capable to be connected but not intended for such a purpose. 
2.7 Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) 
The seventh recital of the Directive 91/263/EEC states: 
M....real, comparable access to third country markets for European 
manufacturers should preferably be achieved through multilateral 
negotiations within GATT, although bilateral talks between the 
Community and third countries may also contribute to this process.... "* 
This statement gives the foundation for third country negotiations both within the 
scope of GATT and on an individual country by country basis. In the course of 
such negotiations the Commission must ensure that the opening up of the 
Community market in terminal equipment is not unilateral or without full 
reciprocity. 
The Council adopted a negotiating mandate for the mutual recognition of 
conformity assessment procedures between the EU and certain third countries on 
21 September 1992. 
The MRAs are expected to include fields such as pharmaceuticals, medical 
devices, chemicals and telecommunications. The main areas of interest in the 
telecommunications sector prior to and during negotiations includes the 
following: 
• agreement on sectors for inclusion in the MRA and precise definition of 
these sectors; 
• legal framework regarding market access for third country 
manufacturers, including any tariff origin or technical barriers; 
• conformity assessment procedures including mechanisms, bodies and 
standards within the negotiating countries and the criteria used for 
evaluation of test files from third country testing agencies; 
• the essential requirements governing equipment eligible for conformity 
assessment; and 
• the bodies responsible for the formulation of standards for conformity 
v . assessment. 
In addition there are several horizontal issues that must be addressed in an MRA. 
These include intellectual property rights, product liability laws (as applied to the 
manufacturer, the certification body, the accreditation authority, the importer, 
and the distributor) and origin rules. 
* Council Directive 91/263/EEC, OJ No L 128, 23.5.1991, p. 2. 
,- - 20 
w:^<r;^ 
The Commission began negotiations with the US., Canada, Australia and New 
Zealand in 1994, these being the priority countries for the conclusion of Mutual 
Recognition Agreements with the European Union. For each of these countries, 
telecommunications terminal equipment is regarded as a a priority sector. 
In the case of Australia and New Zealand, encouraging progress has been made 
in drafting the telecommunications part of the agreement. Both of these countries 
are willing to base an agreement on full mutual recognition including the function 
of certification. 
Progress has been slower with USA and Canada because both countries would 
prefer to use an approach which first would conclude an agreement on mutual 
recognition of test results. The European approach is to pursue an agreement 
based on full mutual recognition of testing and certification. 
In addition to continuing discussions with the first four priority countries, 
negotiations will begin in 1995 with Japan and Switzerland. 
A difficulty which needs to be overcome is that a substantial proportion of the 
European telecommunications terminals market is not yet harmonised. Particular 
examples are PSTN voice terminals and certain classes of radio equipment. These 
areas continue to be subject to national regulation. In many of the national legal 
systems it is not currently possible to transfer national rights to a third country to 
work as a notified body. 
2.8 Relations with EFTA Countries 
The European Union enjoys close co-operation with the EFTA countries in 
telecommunications. As a result it is the Commission's policy to extend the 'one 
stop approval' market to include the EFTA nations, within the framework of the 
European Economic Area (EEA). EFTA Member State delegations currently 
attend the ACTE meetings, but they have only observer status and are therefore 
not entitled to express their opinion on draft measures. The EFTA Secretariat 
and the EFTA Surveillance Authority are also. represented with observer 
delegations. This participation by EFTA is in accordance with the procedure 
adopted by the Commission on 1 June 19949. 
The EFTA countries and the EU Member States have, through the Agreement 
establishing the European Economic Area (EEA), extended the principle of the 
four freedoms (free movement of goods, persons, services and capital) of the 
single market to cover all 17 countries. The EEA Agreement entered into force 
on 1 January 1994. The EEA, which is based on EC legislation existing on that 
date, provides for the legislative framework in terms of trade market access and 
competition rules throughout the region. The EFTA countries have accepted the 
Community acquis in the field of technical harmonisation and the principle of a 
single mutually recognised testing and certification regime and a single CE 
marking regime within the EEA The general principles on the free movement of 
goods as expressed in Articles 30 and 36 (Articles 11 and, 13 of the EEA 
9 Procedure d'information et de consultation pendant la période de pre-adhesion, SEC (94) 909 et /2. 
21 
Agreement) and the relevant rulings of the EC Court of Justice are also 
applicable in the EFTA countries (Article 6 of the EEA Agreement). 
Switzerland, although a member of EFTA, has not joined the EEA but will 
nevertheless implement the technical part of the CTRs. The operation of this 
unique arrangement has not yet been finalised. Liechtenstein has formally ratified 
the EEA Agreement in May 1995 following modification of their customs union 
with Switzerland . 
The EFTA countries have taken the necessary institutiorial measures to ensure 
the good functioning of the EEA by setting up the Standing Commitfee of the 
EFTA State, the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court. Joint 
EFTA-EU institutions have also been created such as the EEA Joint Committee, 
which is responsible for taking decisions regarding the development of the EEA 
to new EU legislation and its homogeneous application throughout the EEA. 
The modus operandi of the CTR regime within the EEA has not yet been 
finalised. Under the EEA, any new EU legislation must be ratified by the 
EU/EFTA Joint Committee. Following this ratification, each of the EFTA-EEA 
Member States transposes this new legislation into national law. In the EU 
Member States, power can be transferred from the Member States and the 
Council of Ministers to a Committee (in the case of the CTR regime, this is 
ACTE) in order to be adopted. 
This difference in procedure, brought about because CTRs are considered as new 
legislation and not as acquis communitaire to the 91/263 or the 93/97 Directives, 
could result in the EFTA-EEA Member States erecting barriers to trade by 
delaying the adoption of the CTR into their national law, while having full access 
to the markets in other EEA Member States. 
Following the accession to the European Union of Austria, Finland and Sweden, 
the relationship between the EU and EFTA under the EEA framework will have 
to adapt to the new situation. 
22 
3. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIRECTIVE 
The following sections examine a number of issues that have arisen during the 
application of the Directive. 
3,1 Experience on the Scope of Directive 91/263/EEC 
The following issues relating to the scope, of the Directive have been identified. 
Equipment not intended to be connected to the network: Can a grey market 
develop?. 
The Directive 91/263/EEC concerns telecommunications equipment capable of 
being connected to the public telecommunication network in order to send, 
process or receive information. A critical principle of the Directive is that all 
equipment with the physical characteristics of telecommunications equipment 
must have affixed a marking which will indicate whether or not it can be 
connected to a public network. The marking thus, serves two purposes: it enables 
a surveillance authority to easily identify the approval status of the equipment 
while at the same time informing the user of the intended purpose of the 
equipment. 
The Directive distinguishes between equipment intended to be connected to the 
public telecommunications network and equipment not intended for such a 
purpose and provides that it is only the first one which should be type approved. 
In 1991, when the Directive was adopted, it was quite clear that the main 
prerequisites of the type approval procedures were the protection of the public 
network and the interoperability of the terminal equipment with the public 
network or via the public network. Accordingly, to the extent that these 
objectives were met, there was no need for further regulation. Consequently, 
equipment having the physical characteristics of terminal equipment but not 
intended to be connected to the public network did not need any further 
regulation. 
Given the construction of the present Directive this approach undoubtedly has a 
solid logical basis. The Directive imposes mandatory CTRs to terminal 
equipment intended to be connected to the public network. The extension of 
these mandatory standards to all equipment with the physical characteristics of 
terminal equipment, disregarding its use, could not be justified by the aims of the 
Directive. 
It has however been argued that the distinction between equipment intended to 
be connected to the network and equipment not intended to be connected may 
permit the creation of a "grey" market. Manufacturers could declare that then-
product is not intended to be connected to the public network and thus avoid the 
cumbersome procedures of type approval. In this way providers would be able to 
place their equipment in the market at a considerably lower cost than if the 
equipment was type approved. If the user connected this unapproved equipment 
to the network, he would assume all risks and responsibilities thereof. The 
possible solutions are the following: 
23 
i. Amend the Directive in such way that all equipment capable for being 
connected directly or indirectly to the network will have to be type approved: 
This solution would prevent the creation of a "grey" market but at the same 
time it would not be in line with the principle of proportionality. The theory 
of New Approach Directives is that legislative harmonisation should be 
limited to the adoption of those essential requirements with which products 
put on the market must conform10. The essential requirements which one 
should safeguard in the area of terminal equipment are the safety of the 
network and interoperability (safety of user and of employees are adequately 
regulated by Directive 73/23/EEC, EMC by Directive 89/336/EEC). 
However if a terminal is not connected to the public network, none of these 
essential requirements are in issue any more and therefore there is no 
justification for a type approval procedure. 
ii. Provide for national measures which will deter the fraud in an efficient way. 
The Directive requires Member States to lay down efficient mechanisms for 
this purpose. This could be achieved by drawing the attention of the users 
to their responsibilities in case of misuse of the terminal equipment. 
Manufacturers, in particular, have expressed the view that there must be a 
balance between regulation and surveillance in order to deter grey importers 
while not overly penalising legitimate manufacturers. This implies some 
harmonisation of surveillance between Member States. 
The user should be adequately informed about the significance of the 
markings as well as the possible penalties and other consequences in case of 
a misuse of the equipment. 
iii. Simplify the requirements to reduce costs of approval and minimise time to 
market. 
This would reduce the relative advantage that the grey market has compared 
to manufacturers who follow the correct regulatory route. It should also 
reduce the cost of products and improve the responsiveness to the market 
place. 
The risk is that problems may arise with compatibility between the terminal 
equipment and the networks to which they are connected. 
Equipment indirectly connected to the public network: do personal computers 
and other IT equipment fall within the scope of this definition ? 
As mentioned above, the Directive only regulates the placing on the market and 
connection to the network of equipment intended to be connected to the public 
network. This can only be equipment directly connected to the termination of the 
public network or equipment which interworks with a public telecom network 
10 Council Resolution of 7 May 1985 on a new approach to technical harmonisation and standards 
(85/C136/01). 
24 
. ••M»«>.-,>|,^«»i 
•vrv.' 
being connected directly or indirectly to the network in order to send, process or 
receive information. 
It follows from this definition that only equipment capable of interworking with 
the network can fall within the scope of the Directive. The term interworking 
contains a clear element of interaction with the network which limits the scope of 
the Directive only to equipment which has this capability. 
Therefore in the case of IT equipment, it is the network interface circuitry , 
integrated or not in the IT equipment, which ensures the interworking of the IT 
with the network and which therefore has to be type approved together with the 
software drivers responsible for initiating, terminating or modifying the call. 
An in-depth analysis of the objectives of the Directive will lead to the same 
conclusion. The Directive mainly aims at ensuring the protection of the network 
and the interoperability of the terminal with the network or via the network. It 
would not therefore be reasonable to impose type approval procedures on IT 
equipment on the basis of this Directive as far as this equipment functions 
independently from the network. 
There is considerable variation across Member States on the approach on 
indirectly connected terminals. These approaches vary from having no 
requirements for such equipment beyond that required for directly connected 
equipment to having a range of requirements for the indirectly connected 
terminals themselves as well as the switching equipment such as PABX or key 
systems. These requirements include such aspects as the protection of privacy 
and the provision of facilities for users with special needs e.g. Visually 
Handicapped Operators Consoles. There is an urgent need to resolve this issues 
since private switching equipment represents one of the largest markets for 
telecommunications terminal equipment in Europe. 
There is considerable support for the view that Article 2, referring -to equipment 
which is capable but not intended for connection to the public network is 
confusing and of little practical benefit. It would also remove the requirement for 
negative marking which is not found to be helpful by many parties (see Para 3*3). 
Classes of equipment wtiich could fall under this article are modems used only for 
private network links but it is difficult for a manufacturer to confirm the 
"intention of a user of such a portable item. Another example is radio equipment 
not intended for connection but the considerations in Para 3.2 below should 
cover concerns in this area. 
3.2 The coverage of radio equipment 
There is ambiguity on which radio equipment is covered by the Directive 91/263. 
The ambiguity relates to whether or not the radio frequency spectrum is part of 
the "public telecommunications network" due to the fact that it is a limited 
natural resource accessible to all, including the fixed public telecommunications 
network. If the spectrum is regarded as part of the public network, any terminal 
equipment which makes use of a system of communication employing the radio 
frequency spectrum would be presumed to be intended for connection to the 
public telecommunications network. 
25 
On the other hand, if the spectrum is not regarded as part of the network 
infrastructure, only radio terminal equipment which is intended to interwork with 
the fixed telecommunications network would be covered by the Directive. 
The Commission believes that the intention of the Council was to include the 
radio frequency spectrum which is allocated to public telecommunications within 
the definition of public network infrastructure and that terminal equipment 
capable of making use of this spectrum would fall under the TTE Directive. This 
intention would be made unambiguous by introducing the following alternative 
text in Article 1.3 of the Directive : "However, equipment which is capable of 
connection to the public telecommunications network and which uses the radio 
frequency spectrum for connection and/or communication is equipment for which 
the procedures of article 2 may not be applied." 
3.3 Marking Regime 
A series of Directives, designed to remove technical barriers to trade, provided 
for the affixing of the CE marking. Each one of these Directives sets forth its 
own rules for the use and the design of the CE marking. In the interest of 
simplifying Community legislation and making it more consistent, the Council 
adopted Directive 93/68/EEC which aims to replace the various provisions of all 
these Directives with uniform prescriptions. However, the Directive remains 
optional until 1st January 1997 so that manufacturers will be able to adjust 
gradually to the new situations and to sell their stocks of products manufactured 
in line with the rules that were previously in force, bearing the non-harmonised 
markings. 
When the manufacturer follows the harmonised regime and affixes the EC 
marking on the terminal equipment as described in Directive 93/68/EEC, this 
marking indicates that the equipment is also presumed to conform to the 
provisions of all other Directives that may be applicable to it. With respect to 
terminal equipment, the Directives that may be applicable are the 91/263/EEC 
TTE Directive, the 73/23/EEC Low Voltage Directive and the 89/336/EEC 
Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive. 
The aspect of dual marking appears in some cases where the manufacturer may 
have an interest in placing on the market terminal equipment which complies at 
the same time with national requirements and to a CTR. This could be the case, 
for instance, with EURO ISDN terminal equipment which also is designed to 
conform to additional national sets of requirements. In this case, two different 
markings need to be affixed to the equipment. This is acceptable if the 
documentation accompanying the equipment explicitly indicates the meaning of 
each of the markings affixed. 
The practical application of the marking regime has necessitated many 
discussions with industry representatives. This, in turn, has led to clarifications 
being given concerning the marking of the equipment for which neither CTRs nor 
harmonised standards exist; for indirectly connected equipment and for 
equipment consisting of sub assemblies need only have marks placed on the 
telecommunications related elements. For example, communications software 
26 
which can be loaded into a personal computer can only convey marking 
information in the literature supplied with the product. 
Industry and some regulators have expressed concerns regarding the 
effectiveness of negative marking according to Annex VII of Directive 91/263, as 
a mechanism to control the grey market and they have proposed that negative 
marking should be abandoned. . It should be noted, however, that the intention of 
the negative marking was more to open up markets for off-network equipment 
rather than to specifically control the grey market. 
3.4 The slowness of the standardisation process 
The implementation of Directive 91/263/EEC and its amending Directives has 
been hampered, among other things, by the delays in standardisation of the 
technical areas within ETSI where deliverables have often been over a year late. 
This has resulted in late availability of TBRs to be adopted as CTRs and 
therefore of harmonised technical regulations governing particular equipment 
types. Some of the problems encountered have stemmed from inaccurate 
forecasting of the work involved at the outset, with subsequent pressure to 
maintain the optimistic deadlines. 
The choice of approval procedure to be followed within ETSI needs to be clearly 
agreed at an early stage. The normal practice is to avoid the use of accelerated 
procedures for regulatory documents. In principle, the accelerated procedures 
exist to speed up the approval of 'non-contentious' issues. However because of 
the need to generate and adopt the TBRs quickly, the accelerated procedures 
have been used in an attempt to speed up the elaboration of TBRs which may 
contain contentious issues. This can result in failed votes which require reference 
back and consequently result in no saving of time. 
The lack of TBRs and CTRs for particular equipment types has meant that, in 
practice, some of these areas have been governed by the NET regime. This has 
caused confusion for manufacturers and suppliers, particularly those new to the 
European market, in that under the NET regime, approval must be applied for in 
each of the Member States, but under the CTR regime, now governing 
equipment types for which CTRs exist, approval need only be granted in one 
Member State for the product to be placed on the market throughout the EU. 
The delays during the production of European Telecommunications Standards 
have been particularly noticeable in the ISDN and DECT cases. 
The delays to the DECT standards were partly caused by the lack of personnel 
wjthin ETSI and the manufacturers to develop these standards because a greater 
emphasis was placed on the development of standards for GSM. This point is 
specifically mentioned in the recent Green Paper on Mobile Communications: 
"DECT has [...] faced a number of issues during development 
[including] competition from investment in the development of GSM, 
resulting in a shortage of manpower for the development of the 
27 
>••"> v~- • 
f -• 
standard [and] as with GSM, there have been delays in getting CTRs 
approved in good time. "l l 
The delays in development of the TBRs within ETSI stem partly from the way in 
which ETSI itself operates. It has to be noted that the right level of resources, is 
not always put at the disposal of the recognised standardisation organisations, in 
particular in the case of ETSI, by the ETSI members themselves. It is essential 
to have the timely availability of experts whereby work on the identified technical 
basis for regulations can be effected speedily and within the time schedule 
envisaged. It may be that the non-availability of experts is due to the relative 
priority of the class of terminals being addressed with respect to market needs. 
Where this is the cause, this should be made clear. 
In addition, experience has shown that when ETSI needs help on interpretation 
of the essential requirements laid down by both Directives, this guidance is not 
communicated in an effective way to ETSI. The current procedures of 
requesting help and receiving a response via a chain involving the ETSI TBR 
manager, an ETSI rapporteur, a TRAC correspondent and thence reporting back 
to the Commission Services have great scope for improvement. A direct route of 
communication between the Commission services and ETSI TCs and STCs is 
available by the use of Commission Counsellors but a lack of resources on the 
part of the Commission Services has reduced the effectiveness of this mechanism. 
Delays have also been introduced by the lack of clear guidance from the 
regulators. In some cases it has taken a number of ACTE meetings to resolve 
certain issues e.g. the X.25 layer issue, the ERMES CTR issue/the coverage of 
TETRA by 91/263, indirectly connected terminals. 
Having regard to the timely development of TBRs experience has also shown 
that the ETSI TC/STC working practices, in particular regarding the consensus 
making process and the resolution procedures following a Public Enquiry, are 
too slow and cumbersome. It is believed that considerable time could be saved 
if, from the beginning of the TBR work, the working practices would take into 
account for agreement at the final voting stage. 
The need for a review of the working procedures of European standards 
organisations in the development of harmonised standards is urgent as indicated 
by the recent Bangemann Group Report: 
"The Group recommends a review of the European standardisation 
process in order to increase its speed and responsiveness to markets. "n 
T^his report highlights three levels at which action should be taken to rectify the 
present situation: operators, investors and public procurement offices should 
establish an MoU to set specification requirements which would provide input to 
11 COM (94) 145. 27.04.1994, Towards a Personal Communications Environment: Green Paper on a 
Common Approach in the field of mobile and personal communications within the European Union, 
Annex A Section 2.2. 
12 "Europe and the global information society: Recommendations to the European Council", The 
Bangemann High-Lcvel Group on the Information Society, 26 May 1994, p. 14. 
28 
'J."> - * * ».•'." '• '••.--. 
the recognised standardisation bodies as a way of increasing market 
responsiveness; the European standards institutes should be encouraged to 
establish their work programmes on the basis of market priorities. 
3.5 Experiences in the Elaboration of TBRs 
There have been a number of problems encountered within ETSI during the 
course of elaboration of the CTRs requested by the Commission. These problems 
have slowed down the production of the TBRs or have stifled debate on technical 
issues. Frequently, the standards upon which the TBRs are based prove not to be 
fit for the purpose and result in much more work being required than was 
originally predicted. The resulting delays are not highlighted early enough and 
therefore not reflected in the workplan. 
The Commission also believes that work on regulatory standards should 
concentrate on what is 'essential' in some technical areas. For example, no firm 
position has been reached concerning the inclusion of all three layers in TBR2 
(X.25 Network Access) despite several attempts at reaching agreement. This has 
resulted in ETSI developing full three layer13 documents when only Layer 1 
could be required14. A similar problem occurred with the TBR 9 (GSM Phase 1 
Telephony Attachment Requirements) and its 'bis', 'ter* and 'quad* extensions. 
Subsequently, the *bis', 'ter" and 'quad' extensions have not been adopted as CTRs, 
but considered as voluntary standards. These types of problems result in 
significant delays due to the extra work involved. 
There are problems in developing the TBRs as ETSI is frequently lacking a well 
defined interpretation of the applicability of the Directives. To take a recent 
example, it is still unclear how satellite networks will be regulated. The question 
arises as to whether or not the satellite network is part of the infrastructure as 
defined under 91/263/EEC and as to which side of the satellite is considered as 
the Network Termination Point for the purposes of developing a TBR. Clear and 
consistent guidance by the Commission must be given to ETSI in this area. 
After à slow start, in some areas, ETSI has learnt that better structuring of the 
test parts is a key factor in speeding-up the production and improving the quality 
of the TBRs. As a consequence, the new TBRs 19 & 20 (GSM Phase 2) should 
provide a significant improvement to the testing regime for GSM 
The Commission believes that there should be more involvement of technical 
experts during the planning phases of TBR production, so that more realistic and 
accurate time scales and resource predictions are indicated from the beginning of 
the work. 
A particular problem has been the delays resulting from the requirement to 
translate the TBRs into all Union languages. This problem has been made worse 
by the enlargement of the Union. The use of harmonised standards may alleviate 
this problem. 
13 i.e. including only the three lowest layers of the ISO Open Systems Interconnect 7 Layer Model. 
14 ACTE has issued an informal opinion that only level 1 should be regulated. 
29 
There have been difficulties with the maintenance of CTRs following adoption. 
Formally amendments cannot be made without following a process which is 
equivalent to adopting anew CTR. A pragmatic solution has been adopted by the 
issuing of Advisory Notes which clarify the ISDN and GSM CTRs. However, 
there is no legal status for these notes. Consideration should be given to an 
efficient process whereby CTRs can be maintained in a controlled manner in the 
light of experience. A possible solution could be based upon the official 
corrigendum procedure. 
3.6 Harmonised standards and CTRs 
Directive 91/263/EEC has been based on the principles laid down by the Council 
resolution of 7 May 1985 on the New Approach to technical harmonisation and 
standards. According to these principles, the legislative harmonisation should be 
limited to the adoption of the essential requirements in the general interest. The 
elaboration of these essential requirements into harmonised standards is entrusted 
to the standardisation bodies. Compliance with these harmonised standards gives 
presumption of conformity to the relevant essential requirements. 
The Directive 91/263/EEC diverges from the classical New Approach model by 
imposing mandatory standards CTRs for reasons explained the recitals of the 
Directive: 
"whereas in respect of the essential requirements related to 
interworking with public telecommunications networks and in cases 
where it is justified, through such networks, it is generally not possible 
to comply with such requirements other than by the application of 
unique technical solutions; whereas such solutions shall therefore be 
mandatory. " 
While this recital suggests that interworking of the equipment with the network 
can be achieved only through a unique technical solution, the qualification Min 
generaT implies that exceptions of this general rule are possible. 
This position is reinforced by Article 6 par. 2 of the Directive where it is 
provided that: 
" the Commission shall... adopt... the measure identifying the type of 
terminal equipment for which a common technical regulation is 
required..." 
It follows that terminal equipment is the subject of CTR only if this is considered 
necessary. It is for the Commission to identify in which cases the interworking of 
terminal equipment with the network can only be achieved through a unique 
technical solution and propose the corresponding CTRs to the ACTE committee. 
In all other cases, the principles of the New Approach apply in their entirety. 
Where delay in the production of a CTR is prejudicing the development of the 
European Type Approval regime the Commission can propose the use of 
harmonised standards. 
30 
«»-i>«t-r-*T>**-f«e,?»i-^'"> • 'r' w.rç~-:r" 
\- ** -. .-* 
Consequently it is the Commission Services position that :- In the absence of a 
CTR but in the presence of a relevant harmonised standard whose reference has 
been published in the EU Official Journal, compliance of terminal equipment to 
the essential requirements laid down in Article 4 of Directive 91/263/EEC will be 
presumed. Terminal equipment compliant with these essential requirements can 
be affixed the EC marking and circulate freely in the EU. The absence of the 
CTR may either be due to delay in its production or to the fact that a CTR is not 
required. 
Notwithstanding the clear Commission Services position on this matter, certain 
Member States believe that, due to the nature of the transposition of the 
Directive into national law and their interpretation of European law. harmonised 
standards may not be used as described above. Furthermore, doubts have been 
expressed as to the practicality of using harmonised standards in a consistent 
manner. The Member States who have reservations of the use of harmonised 
standards believe it is most important to ensure that there is no ambiguity in any 
new legislation. 
3.7 Competition amongst Designated Laboratories 
Member States are in the process of notifying to the Commission not only the 
national notified bodies but also the designated laboratories. It would be useful 
for Member States to also notify organisations which are accredited to make 
audits for the approval of quality assurance systems according to Annex III and 
IV of Directive 91/263/EEC. 
Regarding Notified Bodies, a list has been published in the Official Journal15. 
This list contains 18 entries covering 10 of the then Member States plus Austria, 
Finland, Norway and Sweden. 
Laboratories may be designated either with respect to CTRs or TBRs once they 
have passed the adoption procedure. 
Given that manufacturers also can choose Notified Bodies, competition has 
therefore started between both laboratories and Notified Bodies. It is most 
important that laboratories are truly independent, including lack of subsidy as 
part of a larger organisation and cross subsidy from other work. In order to give 
confidence to the market, the need for full independence and transparency is 
particularly important where an designated test house has in the past been within 
a network operator's overall organisation. The Commission will also ensure that 
in practice mutual recognition of approvals and results will operate fairly and 
with full reciprocity between all Member States. 
3.8 Responsiveness of Processes Supporting the Directives 
The speed of resolution of issues relating to the implementation of the directives 
has been criticised. This is, in part, due to the complexity of the subject and the 
many different interest groups both within and between Member States. An 
15 OJNo. C203, 23.07.1994 
31 
example of this complexity is the process whereby the specification of what is 
truly an "essential" requirement as defined under article. 4 of the Directive 
involves technical, regulatory, marketing, legal and testing considerations as well 
as a full understanding of the intentions of the Directives. All this has to be 
resolved in an environment where technology, markets and regulatory policy are 
all changing rapidly. 
Issues such as the above example are resolved by the various bodies described in 
Annex 1 and co-ordinated by Commission Services having consulted ACTE. 
Since most of the bodies involved are representative for all the regulatory and 
economic players, the process can become cumbersome resulting in slowness 
and, in some cases, loss of focus. 
Further delays can be introduced following the resolution of issues due to the 
nature and performance of the instruments used to implement decisions such as 
Commission Decisions. Often legal opinion is sought which can introduce further 
delays. 
While many of the delays experienced in the resolution of problems may be 
inevitable, it is suggested that in any review of the current Directives the 
following issues should be considered:-
The task being tackled seems too complex and should be simplified. 
The right balance between the extent of the requirements, the heaviness of the 
regulation and the extent of the surveillance should be established. 
The processes should be improved, perhaps by applying techniques such as 
Business Process Re-engineering. 
3.9 Assessment of Conformity 
Concerns have been expressed on the difficulties experienced in ensuring 
consistency in the application of the procedures of the Directive between 
Member States. In order to ensure that there is a consistent interpretation of the 
Directive the European Organisation of Testing and Certification has been 
mandated to produce the "Handbook on Implementation of Conformity 
Assessment Procedures relating to Directive 91/263/EEC". This handbook has 
been prepared by the ADLNB members. In general the Handbook is seen as a 
useful clarification of the Directive. There was a general belief that the 
interpretation included in Annex 2 of the Handbook was too onerous. 
Consequently this part of the handbook has been redrafted to meet these 
concerns. 
32 
4. PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FUTURE 
The regime has been criticised as extremely rigid and it has been argued that in practice 
the Directives have not always equally met the requirements of all parties i.e. residential 
customers, business customers, terminal manufacturers, network equipment 
manufacturers, new operators, established operators, regulators. Manufacturers have been 
arguing that the telecommunications industry has changed to such an extent that there is 
no longer a need for such a stringent type approval regime. This may be true. .It has also 
been noted that large sectors of the market are not yét addressed e.£ analogue telephones 
and PABX. The experience gained by the implementation of the present Directive and the 
comments that the Commission has received from the various interested parties lead the 
Commission to the conclusion that the following points may require reconsideration: 
4.1 Essential Requirements 
According to one of the fundamental principles of the new approach, the 
legislative harmonisation shall be limited to the adoption of the essential safety 
requirements (or other requirements in the general interest). 
One of the essential requirements laid down by Directive 91/263/EEC is the 
interoperability of the terminal with the network and in justified cases the 
interoperability of the terminals via the network. There is however a concern 
whether interoperability ought to be retained as an essential requirement in the 
present Directive. 
On the one hand the TransEuropean Network provision of Articles 129 b), 129 
c), and J 29 i), calls for deriving the full benefits of TENs and by "promoting 
interconnection and interoperability of national networks as well as access to 
such networks". These objectives would be enhanced if they were complemented 
by a single European market for compatible terminals. The changes in the 
regulatory environment and markets for new network providers means that the 
old definition of the term "public network" is becoming more and more 
impractical for this purpose. Interconnection and inter-operability requirements 
may have an effect-on any re-definition of the currently defined essential 
requirements. .'...-
In addition, due account should be taken of the Civil Protection Code. For 
example, the European Emergency number "112" can only be used if a 112 call 
can be made, if the Emergency Centre can be reached, if the type of 
distress/emergency situation can be communicated and repeated and if 
instructions can be received by the caller. Other references could be given to 
tracing or erroneous call, to interception, and to the public security exemption 
clause of Article 36 of the Treaty. 
On the other hand, other Approval regimes such as the US appear to function 
well with a much more limited definition of what is "essential" and there is a 
general desire to reduce the complexity and cost of type approvals. 
These issues along with others like the potential regulation of aspects such as the 
regulation of terminals for people with special needs suggest that a fundamental 
33 
review is required of the definition of what is truly "essential" and of the 
mechanisms that ensure compliance to those requirements, in particular, the 
CTRs and the use of harmonised standards. The Commission has started work on 
this review. 
4.2 Conformity assessment procedures: The time for simplification. 
The conformity assessment procedures of the Directive have been criticised as 
complex, lengthy and costly. Furthermore it can be argued that the complexity of 
these procedures may favour the development of the grey market. 
These concerns could be addressed in two different ways: 
Firstly, the principle of using the models of the Global Approach already referred 
to in the Directives should be maintained. However, each of the procedures 
could be revisited for the purpose of relaxing the requirements as contained in the 
current annexes. It would, in addition, be highly desirable to scrutinise the 
rationale for the test cases themselves. Furthermore, a number of identified test 
suites could be entrusted to a manufacturers declaration according to Module A. 
In this process the Notified Bodies would still maintain the principle of safe­
guarding appearing in an a priori assessment. Such a three step relaxation is in 
fully line with the spirit of the Directives. 
Secondly, a procedure totally relying on full confidence in a manufacturers 
declaration is theoretically possible. 
This wouM imply that: 
- self declaration of the manufacturer or the importer: according to Module 
A the EC declaration of conformity certifies that the product concerned 
complies with the relevant CTRs or harmonised standards. A notified body 
should subsequently issue the administrative approval on the basis of this 
self declaration. The notified body should keep a register with these self 
declarations, available to all other notified bodies or national authorities. 
Further to this procedure, the manufacturer will be able to affix the CE 
marking of conformity on the terminal and place it on the market. 
- such an a posteriori philosophy would require intensive market surveillance 
and strict penalties should be provided for the manufacturer who has made a 
false declaration. Under most national laws, a false declaration to an 
authority may generate penal, administrative and civil responsibilities. 
There is however very different and strong views regarding a priori versus a 
posteriori assessments. In particular regarding radio communications it seems 
rather impossible to rely on a posteriori assessments. It should therefore be 
considered to further investigate the first route outlined above. 
It may well be necessary to improve the effectiveness of market surveillance 
carried out by the Member States in order to complement a possible 
simplification in conformity assessment procedures 
34 
v>sy *£*<«» 
4.3 Modifications of the scope of the Directive 
The current scope of the Directive distinguished' between terminal equipment 
intended to be connected to a public network versus equipment not intended to 
be connected to a public network. With the appearance of private 
telecommunications networks in particular in the business sector as described in a 
recent report presented to the ETSI Business Telecommunications Technical 
Committee (TC-BTC), due consideration needs to be taken of the existence of 
this large and quickly growing market .with respect to the objectives of the 
directives. 
4.4 The Rationale for a Radio Equipment Directive 
As already discussed certain types of radio equipment does not fall within the 
scope of the Directive. However the free circulation of this equipment can be 
lawfully impeded by national authorities on the grounds of possible harmful 
interferences. The radio spectrum is a limited natural resource and accordingly 
the effective use of radio frequency spectrum is an essential requirement which 
can justify the adoption of harmonisation measures at a Community level. 
Mobile telecommunications are currently the most flourishing sector in the whole 
telecommunication area. Private business gain every day efficiency by the 
introduction of radio closed user groups which permit the employees to move 
around while keeping permanently in touch with their offices. Consequently, 
manufacturers urgently need a harmonised and stable legal framework which will 
permit them to create strong economies of scale in this new strategic market. 
There is a clear preference for there not to be a separate Radio Directive but to 
include any radio terminal specific requirements within a single terminals 
directive. To this end, the Commission envisages the amendment of the 
Directives which would lay down a harmonised type approval scheme for 
communications terminal equipment making use of telecommunications allocated 
spectrum. Care will be necessary in defining the borderline between spectrum 
management and EMC. It is presumed that spectrum allocation aspects will 
continue to fall outside the scope of any terminals directive. 
4.5 Relations with ETSI 
The harmonised standards drawn up in respect of the essential requirements 
applicable is entrusted to the recognised standardisation bodies 
ETSI/CEN/CENELEC. Up until now most CTRs were based in their entirety 
upon TBRs produced and agreed by ETSI although CENELEC has been 
involved in some aspects of EMC. The relation with ETSI is therefore of 
particular interest. As the Commission has the special status of Councillor at 
ETSI the co-operation in the administrative level is recognised by both parties as 
being efficient, professional and satisfactory. At the technical level, and for a 
number of reasons covered in previous sections, ETSI has not been capable of 
finalising a number of deliverables at the point in time originally forecast. 
35 
The Commission believes that ETSI TC/STC working practices can be made 
more effective within the current ETSI Rules of Procedure. This proposal forms 
the basis of Recommendation Number 3. 
Furthermore, experience is proving that the maintenance of adopted TBRs needs 
to be addressed with high priority 
The Resolution recently adopted at the ETSI General Assembly upon a proposal 
from the High Level Task Force provides for an important restructuring within 
ETSI whereby the concerns above could be lifted. „ • • • 
4.6 Liberalisation of Infrastructure 
As already indicated the current type approval legislation has been built upon the 
concept of public telecommunications network. The security of this network as 
well as its harmonious function with connected equipment were considered a 
public concern justifying regulation, for it represented a huge investment serving 
special national interest. 
However, the definition given to this public infrastructure by the Directive clearly 
refers to the old telecommunications environment where the network was a state 
owned infrastructure. Although this has changed in some member states where 
the telecom infrastructure is liberalised or privatised, the definition has been 
accepted as still valid, the reasoning being that the term "public" does not refer to 
ownership but indicates the openness of the infrastructure to the public. 
Consequently, any telecommunication infrastructure which is open to all 
members of the public on the same basis (and on which ONP obligations are 
imposed) is considered as public telecommunications infrastructure deserving 
regulatoTy protection. 
However in view of the imminent liberalisation of the infrastructure, these 
definitions will need revision. The liberalisation regime will give rise to the 
emergence of a multitude of network operators not necessarily of the same size 
or with the same functions and subsequent obligations. The current regulatory 
environment will require substantial modification to handle this situation. 
V 
The present definition of terminal equipment relies on the existence of 
harmonised public networks. If this notion disappears, it would be very difficult 
to make the distinction between a switch and a terminal since at the termination 
point of one network, may be the switching equipment of another network or 
service provider. The distinction between terminal equipment and infrastructure 
equipment is becoming increasingly difficult. 
The interconnection of all infrastructures and the interoperability of services and 
applications will become an increasingly important issue, since as already stressed 
in the Bangemann report, these two features are essential to the deployment of 
the information infrastructure. 
It is noteworthy that the ONP Directives, which under the present regime 
regulate the relation between the network operator and a service provider refer 
to a situation, where the network operator is a monopoly or holds a dominant 
position and therefore it is susceptible to impede competition by refusing access 
36 
to its network or by adopting technical specifications which do not permit 
interconnection of the networks or interoperability of services. 
In this liberalised environment, where many more players will provide an ever-
wider range of network services, the challenges presented to the establishment of 
a single harmonised telecommunications terminal market will be considerable . 
Harmonised standards will offer to all economic operators affected by 
telecommunications necessary safeguards that will enable them to benefit from 
the information society. However, under certain circumstances, conformity 
assessment can be equally well based upon compliance with the essential 
requirements in the absence of TBRs. Thus, the Notified Bodies nominated by 
the Member States should be encouraged to make use of this option where there 
is market demand and TBRs have not yet been developed. 
The future situation will multiple and competing network providers is believed to 
lead to the offering of new innovative services and intelligent use of the 
subscriber interfaces. In order to preserve a multi-vendor Community-wide 
equipment market "lock-in" or "bundling" of services and equipment has to be 
avoided. A balance will therefore have to be stuck between regulation and 
competition. The implementation thereof may be best assured through the future 
license regime. 
37 
•«• •f?»^*i'**^1"jf»-"'^v** T,r?'••'•• l*~*"N*»*pr''".''»'''-. * • -»• • . .-..-. ,.tr.., . - __.. -, •% • • -% *^"».»- ,^»-'"«;-
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
Directive 91/263/EEC established an internal market in the terminal equipment 
sector. 
Equipment duly type approved in one Member State can be freely 
commercialised and connected to the network in the rest of the Community. 
The adoption of 11 CTRs by the Commission enabled the achievement of a 
considerable harmonisation in the sector and that a further batch of 12 CTRs is 
under way is noted with satisfaction. 
In view of the recent developments in the sector, some aspects of the 
mechanisms of the Directive have been criticised as cumbersome and non 
proportionate to the objective aimed at. 
The regime would correspond better to the actual needs of the markets if: 
• essential requirements were reduced to the absolute minimum; 
- guidance regarding regulatory aspects were improved. 
- the consultation process were to become more effective. 
• the production of harmonised standards was accelerated; 
- leading to timely availability of relevant standards. 
• conformity assessment procedures were relaxed; 
- true cost-based type approval was a reality. 
- accreditation criteria were fully harmonised. 
• a regulatory framework for radio terminal equipment using 
telecommunications allocated spectrum established: 
- effective use of frequency spectrum became horizontal. 
- possibility to create strong economies of scales in this new strategic market 
was achieved. 
The first recommendation is that, given the extent of the issues identified above, 
it is recommended that the two Directives" are fundamentally reviewed and 
changed to adapt to the new dynamics of the market place and the future needs 
of the European Information Society. 
The other three recommendations aim to provide for an immediate improvement 
regarding the points addressed above, pending the fundamental review. 
38 
' •««•?• .;.-vt.- -: •-•- • * 
- •••••••V- <*,v.: 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
The extent of the issues identified in this progress report and the changes to the 
environment since the Directives were originally drafted, suggests the following 
recommendation: 
Recommendation N° 1: 
It is recommended that the two Directives are fundamentally reviewed and amended as 
necessary in order to adapt to the new dynamics of the market place and the needs of the 
European Information Society over the next ten years. Full account should be taken of 
current arid planned horizontal legislation as well as developments in the liberalisation of 
the'infrastructure. 
In the meantime, some of the more pressing issues can be addressed by the following 
shorter term actions. 
The following recommendations try to maximise the synergy between the directly 
involved players for the purpose of shortening the backlog which unfortunately exists 
today. These recommendations aim to achieve improvements which would have 
immediate effect. 
In the area of standardisation experience has shown that the regulatory requirements, 
which have a~Dne-to-one correlation with the essential requirements laid down by both 
directives, are not communicated in an effective way to the standardisation 
organisations, in particular to ETSI. The current procedures of entrusting the 
communication to a chain via the ETSI TBR manager, via an ETSI rapporteur, via a 
TRAC correspondent and then reporting back to ETSI Technical Assembly and to the 
Commission Services have a great scope for improvement. The considerable delay and 
scope for different interpretations would be reduced if a single management 
information point in the Commission was informed as soon as any relevant issue is 
identified. This observation leads to the following recommendation : 
Recommendation N° 2: 
For the purpose of improving the guidance to standardisation organisations, in particular 
to ETSI, in the area-of regulatory constraints, objectives and1 requirements, the current 
communication chain shall be replaced by a focal management information point within 
the Commission Services.; 
The Commission Services would, of course, continue to take into account the interests of 
all parties, industry, regulators and operators. 
• Having regard to the timely development of the Technical Basis for Regulations, 
experience has shown that the ETSI procedures, in particular regarding the consensus 
making process and the resolution procedures following a public enquiry, cause 
39 
'•••fjB* • 
> VV.fV^ •••.'• -;•**. >.';•• r: ;- > •-• •1IH' •'»•*»•< 
unnecessary delays. It is believed that much time could be saved if, from the beginning of 
the TBR mandate assignment, every decision at all levels with ETSI were to be made 
taking due account of the final voting. The whole process should be reviewed, from 
drafting of scope statements to publication in National Regulations. These aspects are 
covered by the following recommendation : 
Recommendation N° 3: 
Having regard to the considerable delays imposed by the current working methods applied 
in the elaboration of CTRs, a review should be carried out of the processes anï decision 
making at all levels in the development of the Common Technical Regulations should be 
carried out taking into account the need for agreement at the final voting stage and always 
limiting the scope strictly to the essential requirements applicable. 
• Observing that considerable time elapses between the adoption of the draft measures 
by the ACTE Committee and the publication of the measures in the Official Journal, it 
is understood that this delay is partly caused by the practice of having the Commission 
translation services translate, into all Community languages, the technical 
specifications referred to in the Decisions. The overall process would be significantly 
speeded up if only the Decision itself were translated. 
To improve this situation reference is given to recommendation N° 3, which has a direct 
parallel in the attached draft Council Resolution, (ref. draft Council Resolution, section 
"Invites the Commission", paragraph c): 
Recommendation N° 4: 
In order to accelerate the timely availability of Commission Decisions, the Commission 
Services should minimise the translation requirements to the Annexes of those decisions, 
while duly taking into account the legal obligations of the CTRs. 
40 
ANNEX 1 PROCESS FOR THE ADOPTION OF CTRS 
The overall process including consultations is shown in the following diagram: 
The Players & the System 
OFFICIAL JOURNAU 
EQUIPMENT 
SUPPLIERS ETSI 
TECHNICAL 
COMMITTEES 
NETWORK 
OPERATORS] rzn REPORT TO 
EP& COUNCIL 
COMMISSION MEMBER STATE 
OR EFTA MEMBER 
ACTE 
TRAC NOTIFIED 
BODY 
DESIGNATED 
LABORATORY 
ACTE: The Approvals Committee for Terminal Equipment was set up under the 
/ Terminal Equipment Directive to advise the CEC in its drive towards 
harmonisation of technical standards for terminal equipment. ACTE is chaired 
by a representative of the Commission and comprises of delegations from each 
of the Member States. The Committee is of an advisory nature . The opinion 
of the Committee can be requested following two different approaches. 
Either an opinion of a general nature can be sought, if necessary by taking a 
vote. The opinion is recorded by simply reflecting the majority of a vote. 
Alternatively, in the particular case of identifying the type of terminals for 
which a CTR should be developed, and for the later opinion on the draft 
measures proposed by the representatives of the Commission, the opinion 
v shall be delivered by the majority as laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. 
TRAC, ETSI and the EFTA countries are invited to send observer delegations 
to ACTE. These delegations participate in all parts of ACTE's work except 
. the regulatory aspects. The Committee operates under the commitology rules 
that apply to all Commission chaired committees. These rules cover such 
aspects as voting procedures, representation, quora etc. 
ETSI: The European Telecommunications Standards Institute has over 300 members 
from all fields of the telecommunications sector and is open for membership to 
41 
all countries within the CEPT geographical area (continental Europe). Among 
other activities, ETSI produces TBRs according to mandates provided by the 
CEC and based on one or more European Telecommunication Standards 
(ETSs). ETSI has the responsibility of maintaining the standards referred to in 
the CTRs. 
TRAC: The Telecommunications Regulations Application Committee provides advice 
on request from the Commission to establish a technically consistent 
framework for CTRs and to assist with the elaboration of the scope 
statements for TBRs. The TRAC representatives generally are delegations 
from each of the Member States and from the EFTA and some other 
European countries representing regulators and operators. Other 
responsibilities of TRAC outside the scope of the CTR regime include 
advising ETSI on the work plan. 
ADLNB: The Association of Designated Laboratories and Notified Bodies is open for 
membership to all Designated Laboratories (DLs) and Notified Bodies (NBs). 
The DLs are responsible for testing and the NBs for type approval of 
telecommunications equipment under the relevant national legislation. The 
ADLNB provides the forum for the DLs and NBs to exchange information 
freely and to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the Conformity 
Assessment Procedures (see Section 3.1). 
MSs: The governments of the Member States are responsible for designating the 
Notified Bodies and Designated Laboratories, for the proper accreditations 
and for implementing the appropriate national legislation to ensure 
harmonisation of the Telecommunication Terminal Equipment market. They 
must ensure that national testing regimes as implemented by the NBs and DLs 
are limited to the essential requirements laid down in the CTRs. They are also 
responsible for market surveillance and ensuring that equipment is only placed 
on the market if it is appropriately marked. 
In order to comply with the international obligations stipulated by GATT, the 
Commission undertakes that they will carry out the notifications for every CTR 
ahead of its publication in the Official Journal. Notifications are addressed to the 
GATT Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade. Notifications are done under 
the GATT-TBT-Code Article 2.5.2 as the CTRs constitute a technical regulation 
"which may have a significant effect on trade of the other Parties". It should be 
noted that CTRs do not fall under the GATT-TBT-Article 4 on preparation, 
adoption and applications of standards. 
42 
ANNEX 2 NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN EUROPE 
In Europe there are about 100 million elderly people and 50 million who are 
disabled, according to "The forgotten Millions : Access to telecommunications 
for people with disabilities" (1994, Office for Official Publications of the 
European Communities, Luxembourg), where the following impairments are 
listed: ' 
Mobility impaired 
Wheelchair user 2,800,000 
Cannot walk without aid 45,000,000 
Hearing impaired 
Profoundly deaf 1,100,000 
Hard of Hearing 80,000,000 
Visually impaired 
Blind 1,100,000 
Low vision 11,500,000 
Speech and language impaired 
Speech 2,300,000 
Language 5,600,000 
Dyslexia 25,000,000 
Intellectually impaired 30,000,000 
Dexterity impaired 
Cannot use fingers 1,100,000 
Cannot use one arm 1,100,000 
Reduced strength 22,500,000 
Reduced co-ordination 11,500,000 
All the above impairments impact on the use of telecommunications services -
clearly, disabled people are a significant part of the telecommunications market. 
43 
•"f-Si*". a»""*' 
ANNEX 3 LIST OF NOTIFIED BODIES 
This list refers to the situation as reported up to 31 October 1995. Updated lists will be 
published from time to time in the Official Journal. The up to date situation with respect 
to both Notified Bodies and Designated Laboratories can be confirmed by reference to the 
appropriate Notified Body. 
LIST OF NOTIFIED BODIES 
Name and address 
NATIONAL STANDARDS 
AUTHORITY OF IRELAND 
Nsai, 
Gasnevin 
IRL - Dublin 9 
ISTITUTOITALIANO DEL 
MARCHIO DI QUALITA -
IMQ 
Slsfema CSQ 
V. Quintiliano 43 
I-20138Milano 
DIRECTION GENERALE 
DES POSTES ET 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
20 Avenue de Ségur 
F - 75700 Paris 
ISPETTORATO GENERALE 
DELLE 
TELECOMUNICAZIONI 
IGT 
Viale America 201 
I-00144 Roma 
HOOFDDIRECTIE 
TELECONJMUNICATIE EN 
POST - DIRECTE 
OPERATIONELE ZAKEN 
Postbus450 
NL - 9700 Al Groningen Identif-
cation 
number 
0050 
0051 
0165 
0166 
0167 Responsible for the 
following products 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and 
satellite earth station 
equipment Responsible for the 
following 
procedures/modules 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type Annexes ' 
of the 
Directives 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex in 
Annex IV 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex H 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex I 
Annex H 
44 
Name and address 
BRITISH APPROVALS 
BOARD FOR 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
BABT 
Claremont House, 34 Molesey 
Road, 
Hersham, Walton-on-Thames 
Surrey 
UK - KT12 4RQ 
TELESTYRELSEN 
Holsteinsgade 63 
DK-2100Kobenhavn 
BUNDESAMT FUR 
ZULASSUNGEN IN DER 
TELEKOMMUNIKATION 
BZT 
Postfach 10 04 43 
D - 66004 Saarbrûcken 
DELTA DANSK 
ELEKTRONIK, LYS & 
AKUSTIK 
Venlighedsvej 4 
DK - 2970 Horsholm 
DIRECCION GENERAL DE 
TELECOMUNICACIONES 
Plaza de la Cibeles 
S/N Palacio de 
Comunicaciones 
E-28014 Madrid 
KEMA NV Kwaliteitssystemen 
Postbus 9035 
Ultrechseweg310 
NL - 6800 Et Arnhem 
SWEDISH NATIONAL 
TESTING AND RESEARCH 
INSTITUTE 
SP 
Box 857 
S-501 15 Boras Identif-
cation 
number 
0168 
0170 
0188 
0199 
0341 
0344 
0402 
* Responsible for the 
following products 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and satellite earth 
station equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and satellite 
earth station 
equipment 
Tele Terminal 
Equipment for 
connection to public 
analogue 
network except 
PABX Responsible for the 
following 
procedures/modules 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type Annexes 
of the 
Directives 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex III 
Annex IV 
Annex EH 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex IH 
Annex IV 
Annex III 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex II 
45 
V4**'' t*l*f'<\:+.7rf. 
Name and address 
SIS CERTEFIERING AB 
Box 3295 
S - 103 66 Stockholm 
SEMKOAB 
Box 1103 
S-164 22Kista 
INSTITUTODAS 
COMUNICACOES DE 
PORTUGAL 
ICP 
Avenida José Malhoa, Lote 
16832 
P- lOOOLisboa 
SUOMEN 
STAND ARDISOIMISLHTTO 
SFS 
SERTIFIOINTIOSASTO 
(FINNISH STANDARDS 
ASSOCIATION 
SFS - CERTIFICATION 
DEPARTMENT 
Maistraatinportti 2 
FIN - 00240 Helsinki 
COMLAB 
Comlab 
P.O. Box 96 
NL - 2007 Kjeller Idcntif-
cation 
number 
0412 
0413 
0415 
0416 
0436 Responsible for the 
following products 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
Telefax machines and 
telefax modems 
Modems incl. stand 
alone, printed circuit 
cards in PC and lap 
top, Computer 
equipments with tele 
connections 
Alarm equipments 
with tele connections 
Remote-control-and 
control equipments 
with tele 
connections, 
Telefax switches, 
Terminals for the 
disabled, Number 
transmitters 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All ; 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment Responsible for the 
following 
procedures/modules 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Conformity to type 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type Annexes 
of the 
Directives 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex II 
Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex H 
46 
rtrr^r. '»}çr ^.T^ff^T :«'::*$-
:•£'•'%• 
Name and address 
ÔSTERREICHISCHER 
VERBANDFUR 
ELEKTROTECHNIK 
(ÔVE) 
Eschenbachgasse 9 
A-1010Wien 
INSTITUT BELGE DES 
SERVICES POSTAUX ET 
DES 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
IBPT 
Avenue de l'Astronomie 14 
Boîte 21 
B- 1030 Bruxelles 
SERVICE DE L'ENERGIE 
DE L'ETAT 
SEE 
B.P. 10 ' " " 
L - 2010 Luxembourg 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
ADMINISTRATION 
CENTRE 
TAC 
P.O. Box 53 
FIN-00211 Helsinki 
DANSK STANDARD 
Baunegardsvej 73 
DK - 2900 Hilierup 
NATIONAL 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
COMMISSION (NTC) 
60, Kiffisias Avenue 
GR- 15125 Maroussi Identif-
cation 
number 
0462 
0468 
0499 
0523 
0527 
0544 
J Responsible for the 
following products 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and satellite earth 
station equipment 
AU 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All-
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment Responsible for the 
following 
procedures/modules 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type Annexes 
of the 
Directives 
Annex I 
Annex H 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex H* 
Annex in 
Annex I 
Annex n 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annex n 
Annex in 
Annex IV 
Annex I 
Annexn 
47 
ANNEX 4 OFFICIAL JOURNAL REFERENCES TO ADOPTED CTRS 
GSM Access 
GSM Telephony 
DECT Access ' 
DECT Telephony 
ONP 2 Mbit/s Leased Line unstructured 
ONP 64 Kbit/s Leased Line 
ISDN Basic Access, Bridging Measure 
ISDN Primary Rate Access, Bridging Measure 
ERMES TBR 
TBR5 
TBR9 
TBR6 
TBR10 
TBR12 
TBR14 
TBR7 Official Journal Reference 
(OJL8 94/11/EC) 
(OJL8 94/12/EC) 
(OJL194 94/471/EC) 
(OJL194 94/472;EC) 
(OJL194 94/470/EC) 
(OJL339 94/821/EC) 
(OJL329 94/797/EC) 
(OJ L329 94/796/EC) 
(OJL182 95/290/EC) 
48 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(96) 114 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 15 06 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-127-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-01787-6 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg 
^°1