Directive 2009/114 - Amendment of Council Directive 87/372/EEC on the frequency bands to be reserved for the coordinated introduction of public pan-European cellular digital land-based mobile communications in the EC - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 274/25

Council Directive 87/372/EEC (3), complemented by Council Recommendation of 25 June 1987 on the coordinated introduction of public pan-European cellular digital land-based mobile communications in the Community (4) and by Council Resolution of 14 December 1990 on the final stage of the coordinated introduction of pan-European land-based public digital mobile cellular communications in the Community (GSM) (5), recognised the need to use the resources offered by modern telecommunications networks to the full, in particular mobile radio, in the interests of the economic development of the Community. The unique opportunity offered by the move to the second generation cellular digital mobile communications system in order to establish truly pan-European mobile communications has also been recognised.

The 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz frequency bands were reserved for a public pan-European cellular digital mobile communications service to be provided in each Member State in accordance with a common specification, known as GSM. Subsequently the so-called extension band (880-890 MHz and 925-935 MHz) became available for GSM operation, and together these frequency bands are known as the 900 MHz band.

Since 1987, new digital radio technologies capable of providing innovative pan-European electronic communications have been developed, which can coexist with GSM in the 900 MHz band in a more technologically neutral regulatory context than before. The 900 MHz band has good propagation characteristics, covering greater distances than higher frequency bands and allowing modern voice, data and multimedia services to be extended to less populated and rural areas.

In order to contribute to the objectives of the internal market and of the Commission Communication of 1 June 2005 entitled ‘i2010 initiative — A European Information Society for growth and employment’, while maintaining the availability of GSM for users throughout Europe, and to maximise competition by offering users a wide choice of services and technologies, the use of the 900 MHz band should be available to other technologies for the provision of additional compatible and advanced pan-European services that would coexist with GSM.

The future use of the 900 MHz band and in particular the question of how long GSM will remain the reference technology for technical coexistence in this band is a question of strategic importance for the internal market. It should be examined together with other issues concerning the Community’s wireless access policy in the future radio spectrum policy programmes, to be adopted in accordance with Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (6). Those programmes will set out the policy orientations and objectives for the strategic planning of the use of radio spectrum, in close cooperation with the Radio Spectrum Policy Group...