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
Date: 1996-03-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: harmonisation of standards, satellite communications, technical regulations, telecommunications, telecommunications equipment

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 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1  Outline of the Report Structure 

3 

„5 

6 

2. THE MECHANISM OF THE DIRECTIVES 91/263/EEC AND 93/97/EEC Tr 

7 

2.1. The adoption of CTRs...... 

2.2 Progress Made to Date 

2.3  New Candidate CTRs 

2.4  Market Coverage 

2.5  Conformity Assessment Procedures 

2.6 

Specifics for the Satellite Earth Station Directive, 93/97/EEC 

2.7  Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) 

2.8  Relations with EFTA Countries 

3.  PROBLEMS  ENCOUNTERED  DURING  THE  IMPLEMENTATION  OF 

THE DIRECTIVE 

3.1  Experience on the Scope of Directive 91/263/EEC 

3.2  The coverage of radio equipment.... 

3.3  Marking Regime 

....:.: 

3.4  The slowness of the standardisation process..... 

3.5  Experiences in the Elaboration of TBRs 

3.6  Harmonised standards and.CTRs.. 

: 

3.7  Competition amongst Designated Laboratories 

3.8  Responsiveness of Processes Supporting the Directives 

3.9  Assessment of Conformity:. 

4. PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FUTURE....... 

4.1  Essential Requirements 

1 

1.8 

9 

17 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

23 

23 

25 

.26 

..........27 

'..'.29 

30 

31 

31 

32 

.....33 

33 

4.2  Conformity assessment procedures: The time for simplification 

4.3  Modifications of the scope of the Directive 

4.4  The Rationale for a Radio Equipment Directive 

4.5  Relations with ETSI 

4.6  Liberalisation of Infrastructure 

5.  CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

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 

34 

35 

35 

.' 

35 

36 

38 

38 

41 

43 

44 

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. 

ii. 

Relaxation of the procedures applied by the notified  bodies for  conformity 
assessment, 
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, 
Improvement to guidance of a regulatory nature given to ETSI, 

iv. 
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. 

for  Regulations 

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 
European 
Telecommunications  Standards 
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. 

(TBRs).  Alternatively, 

(ETS),  mandated 

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 
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. 

consultation  with 

elaborated  with 

have  been 

additional 

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 

in 

required 

equipment  Directive 
As 
(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 

telecommunications 

terminal 

the 

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 
to  accommodate  such  "deltaH 
recognition  provisions  has  been  agreed 
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: 

Pan-European  Cellular Digital Mobile  Communications 

i 

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 

-•*% ^Xh 

for  non-speech 

A  CTR  for  non-voice  PSTN  Attachments  is  intended  to  regulate  the  essential 
requirements 
the  public 
analogue 
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. 

attachments 

to 

' 

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) 

in 

commercial 

A  CTR  on  for  TFTS  would  harmonise  airborne terminal  equipment  capable  of 
allowing  passengers 
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. 

aircraft 

access 

to 

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. 

12 

• «TS-YT v - f ' . - v" ^ p*  —'f  < ':•*;-•  !•> .*>;.•"».•• —» —|-•• 
.•••V:--''- *::  ::?*;'\.r  * •  '••  «'..'.•' 

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 
safety 
international  roaming  agreements  between 
organisations.  The  police  forces  are,  for  example,  considering  basing  their 
communications  systems  on  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  relevant  TETRA 
standards 

the  national  public 

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 C T RS  ADOPTED OR UNDER  DEVELOPMENT 

CTR 
Number 

NET 
Equivalent 
(if  applicable) 

Area  of  Harmonisation 

CTR1 

NET1 

X.21 Network Access 

CTR 2 

NET 2 

. 

X.25 Network Access 

Adoption  Date of 
CTR  measures 

expected  12/95 

expected 08/96 

CTR 3 

NET 3 

ISDN Basic Access (Bridging Measure) 

"adopted 20/12/94 

CTR 4 

NET 5 

ISDN Primary Rate Access (Bridging Measure) 

adopted 20/12/94 

CTR 5 

-  NET 10 

GSM (Phase  1) Access Requirements 

adopted 21/01/94-  . 

CTR 6 

CTR 7 

-

-

DECT Access Requirements 

adopted 29/07/94 

ERMES Receive Only Access 

adopted 2/8/95 

CTR 8 

NET 33 

Digital Telephony over ISDN 

expected  11/95 

CTR 9 

CTR 10 

CTR 11 

CTR  12 

CTR 13 

CTR 14 

-

-

-. 

-

-

GSM (Phase 1) Telephony Attachment 
Requirements 

adopted  12/01/94 

DECT Telephony Terminal Requirements 

adopted 29/07/94 

DECT Public Access Profile (PAP) 

expected 11/95 

ONP Leased Lines: 2048 Kbit/s Unstructured 

adopted 29/07/94-

ONP Leased Lines: 2048 Kbit/s Structured 

expected 03/96 

ONP Leased Lines: 64 Kbit/s 

adopted 29/12/94 

CTR 15 

- 

-

ONP Leased Lines: Ordinary and special 
quality voice - 2 wire 

expected 04/96 

CTR  17 

CTR 19 

CTR 20 

CTR 21 

CTR 22 

CTR 23 

-

-

-

ONP Leased Lines: Ordinary and special 
quality voice - 4 wire 

expected 04/96 

GSM (Phase 2) Access Requirements 

expected 06/96 

GSM (Phase 2) Telephony Attachment 
Requirements 

expected 06/96 

. 

v 

- 

• ' • ' •" 

Analogue PSTN Non-Voice Access 

expected  8/96 

-

-

DECT Generic Access Profile 

expected 07/96 

TFTS 

expected 03/97 

15 

••'AT 

.).-  —-

CTR 
Number 

NET 
Equivalent 
(if  applicable) 

CTR 24 

CTR 25 

CTR 26 

CTR 27 

CTR 28 

CTR 29 

CTR 30 

CTR 35 

CTR 36 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Area  of  Harmonisation 

Leased lines  D34U/D34S 

Leased lines  D140U/S 

Adoption  Date of 
CTR  measures 

expected 09/96 

expected 09/96 

L-band low data rate mobile earth stations 

expected  10/97 

Ku-band earth stations 

Ku-band VSATs 

Ku-band TVROs 

Ku-band  SNG 

TETRA "Emergency accessH 

DECT/GSM Radio 

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 

' y y ' 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 
includes  the 
telecommunications  sector  prior  to  and  during  negotiations 
following: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

agreement on sectors for inclusion in the MRA and precise definition  of 
these sectors; 

legal  framework  regarding  market  access 
manufacturers, including any tariff  origin or technical barriers; 

for 

third  country 

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 

• 
v . 

the  bodies  responsible  for  the  formulation  of  standards  for  conformity 
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, 
the  development  of  the 
resulting  in  a  shortage  of  manpower  for 

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 
responsiveness; 
establish their work programmes on the basis of market priorities. 

increasing  market 
the  European  standards  institutes  should  be  encouraged  to 

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. 

i.e. including only the three lowest layers of the ISO Open Systems Interconnect 7 Layer Model. 

13 
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: 

the  essential  requirements  related 

to 
"whereas  in  respect  of 
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.  P E R S P E C T I V ES  F OR  T HE  F U T U RE 

customers, 

terminal  manufacturers,  network 

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 
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 

the  definition  of  what  is  truly  "essential"  and  of  the 
review  is  required  of 
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 

is 

to 

the 

entrusted 

recognised 

standardisation 

The  harmonised  standards  drawn  up  in  respect  of  the  essential  requirements 
applicable 
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. 
infrastructure  which  is  open  to  all 
Consequently,  any  telecommunication 
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" j f » - " ' ^ 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 
commercialised  and connected  to the network  in the rest of the Community. 

in  one  Member  State  can  be  freely 

type  approved 

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. 

• 

regulatory 

a 
telecommunications allocated  spectrum  established: 

framework 

radio 

for 

terminal 

equipment 

using 

-  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 

'  •««•?• . ; . - v t .-  -: 

•-•- 

•  * 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

- 

•••••••V-  < * , v .: 

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 
in  an  effective  way  to  the  standardisation 
directives,  are  not  communicated 
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 
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 : 

interpretations  would  be  reduced 

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*  • 

• 1 I H' 

• ' » • * » •< 

>  VV.fV^  •••.'• 

- ; • * *.  > . ' ; ••  r:  ;-  > 

•-• 

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 
technical 
specifications  referred to in the Decisions.  The overall process would be  significantly 
speeded up if only the Decision itself were translated. 

into  all  Community 

languages, 

translate, 

the 

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  C T RS 

The overall process including consultations is shown in the following  diagram: 

The Players  & the  System 

OFFICIAL JOURNAU 

EP&  COUNCIL 

rzn REPORT TO 

EQUIPMENT 
SUPPLIERS 

ETSI 

COMMISSION 

ACTE 

TECHNICAL 
COMMITTEES 

NETWORK 
OPERATORS] 

TRAC 

MEMBER STATE 
OR EFTA MEMBER 

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 
regulators  and  operators.  Other 
European 
responsibilities  of  TRAC  outside  the  scope  of  the  CTR  regime  include 
advising ETSI on the work plan. 

representing 

countries 

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: 

for  implementing  the  appropriate  national 

The  governments  of  the  Member  States  are  responsible  for  designating  the 
Notified  Bodies  and  Designated  Laboratories,  for  the  proper  accreditations 
legislation  to  ensure 
and 
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 
Cannot walk without aid 

Hearing impaired 

Profoundly deaf 
Hard of Hearing 

Visually  impaired 

Blind 
Low vision 

Speech and language impaired 
Speech 
Language 
Dyslexia 
Intellectually impaired 

Dexterity  impaired 

fingers 

Cannot use 
Cannot use one arm 
Reduced strength 
Reduced co-ordination 

2,800,000 
45,000,000 

1,100,000 
80,000,000 

1,100,000 
11,500,000 

2,300,000 
5,600,000 
25,000,000 
30,000,000 

1,100,000 
1,100,000 
22,500,000 
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 

Responsible for the 
following  products 

Responsible for the 
following 
procedures/modules 

Annexes  ' 
of the 
Directives 

0050 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

0051 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex in 
Annex IV 

Annex HI 
Annex IV 

0165 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

0166 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex I 
Annex H 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 

Annex I 
Annex II 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex I 
Annex H 

0167 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and 
satellite earth station 
equipment 

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 

0402 

* 

Identif-
cation 
number 

Responsible  for  the 
following  products 

Responsible  for  the 
following 
procedures/modules 

Annexes 
of the 
Directives 

0168 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 

0170 

0188 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex I 
Annex II 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex III 
Annex IV 

0199 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex EH 
Annex IV 

0341 

0344 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and satellite earth 
station equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex IH 
Annex IV 

Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex III 
Annex IV 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex I 
Annex II 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and satellite 
earth station 
equipment 
Tele Terminal 
Equipment for 
connection to public 
analogue 
network except 
PABX 

45 

V4**'' 

t*l*f'<\:+.7rf. 

Name and  address 

Idcntif-
cation 
number 

Responsible for the 
following  products 

Responsible for the 
following 
procedures/modules 

Annexes 
of the 
Directives 

SIS CERTEFIERING AB 
Box 3295 
S - 103 66 Stockholm 
SEMKOAB 
Box 1103 
S-164  22Kista 

0412 

0413 

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 

Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Conformity to type 

Annex HI 
Annex IV 

Annex II 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex I 
Annex II 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 

0416 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex HI 
Annex IV 

0436 

All  ; 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex I 
Annex H 

46 

0415 

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 

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 

Responsible  for  the 
following  products 

Responsible for  the 
following 
procedures/modules 

Annexes 
of the 
Directives 

0462 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 

Annex I 
Annex H 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 

0468 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 

Annex I 
Annex H* 
Annex  in 

0499 

"  " 

0523 

All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
and satellite earth 
station equipment 
AU 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Type-examination 
Conformity to type 
Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex I 
Annex  n 
Annex HI 
Annex IV 

Annex I 
Annex  n 

0527 

0544 

J 

All-
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 
All 
telecommunications 
terminal equipment 

Production quality 
assurance 
Full quality assurance 
Type-examination 
Conformity to type 

Annex  in 
Annex IV 

Annex I 
Annexn 

47 

ANNEX 4  OFFICIAL JOURNAL REFERENCES TO ADOPTED  C T RS 

GSM Access 

GSM Telephony 

DECT Access 

DECT Telephony 

TBR 

Official  Journal Reference 

TBR5 

(OJL8 94/11/EC) 

TBR9 

(OJL8 94/12/EC) 

' 

TBR6 

(OJL194 94/471/EC) 

TBR10 

(OJL194 94/472;EC) 

ONP 2 Mbit/s Leased Line unstructured 

TBR12 

(OJL194 94/470/EC) 

ONP 64 Kbit/s Leased Line 

TBR14 

(OJL339 94/821/EC) 

ISDN Basic Access, Bridging Measure 

(OJL329 94/797/EC) 

ISDN Primary Rate Access, Bridging Measure 

(OJ L329 94/796/EC) 

ERMES 

TBR7 

(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