R&TTE Directive 99/5/EC

The European Community, now the European Union (EU), did not address the concept of pan-European approval of telecommunications equipment for several decades following its founding in the 1950s. The most important forum in Europe on that issue was the Conférence Européenne des Postes et des Télécommunications (CEPT), whose members are the national telecommunication administrations and operators known as PTTs.

In 1985, an initiative by CEPT resulted in the drafting of a memorandum of understanding covering the mutual recognition of test results for terminal equipment, provided those results showed conformity with common technical specifications, which were designated Normes Européenne de Télécommunications (NETs). Then, on July 24, 1986, Council Directive 86/361/EEC, also known as the first-phase directive, was adopted.² One of the major principles laid down in this directive was the obligation of EC member states to implement in national law the mutual recognition of test results against NETs. In response, CEPT launched a rather ambitious program to develop common technical specifications. Major problems were encountered, however, and only a few NETs were adopted, most of which contained national requirements alongside common specifications. As a result, mutual acceptance of test results under this directive was limited. The standards adopted covered X.21, X.25, ISDN, and GSM technology.

While NETs presented a basis for Europewide approvals, it soon became clear that the pace of progress was not satisfactory. The European Commission's release of a green paper on telecommunications in 1987 that stressed the necessity of free movement of telecommunications equipment within the European Community was a trigger to speed up the standardization work.³ There appeared to be a need for an independent standards development organization whose members would not only be PTTs and regulators but also other interested parties, such as manufacturers and users. Consequently, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) was founded in 1988.

In 1991 the TTE Directive 91/263/EEC (the second-phase directive) was adopted by the European Council.⁴ The major objective of this directive was to establish full mutual recognition of type approvals for telecommunications terminal equipment (TTE) throughout the European Community. Sometimes known as one-stop shopping, full mutual recognition basically means that once a product's conformity with the legal requirements is shown, access to all European markets is automatically established. This principle was supported by the development of common technical regulations (CTRs) based on essential requirements to which compliance is mandatory. Developed gradually over the years, CTRs covering almost all technical areas are now available. In 1993 the SES Directive 93/97/EC extended the TTE Directive's provisions to satellite earth stations (SES). These two directives were combined in 1998 into TTE-SES Directive 98/13/EC. Although the TTE and SES Directives provide a workable basis for pan-European approvals, their real success was limited because of the slow development of CTRs and the fact that most radio equipment was not included.

In June 1995, the European Commission released a working paper titled Telecommunications Certification: The Way Ahead, which set the direction for new legislation.⁵ Its recommendations were based on the need for

Scope

The scope of the R&TTE Directive is much wider than that of its predecessors. In principle, the directive covers all radio equipment (RE) and TTE, but exceptions are provided for equipment used exclusively for activities concerning public security, defense, state security, and the activities of the state in the area of criminal law. Also excluded are the following:

The R&TTE Directive is a so-called New Approach directive, which means, among other things, that it defines essential requirements that are applicable to all apparatus falling within its scope and that establish the legal basis for compliance. The three general essential requirements that are applicable to all apparatus under the R&TTE Directive are

The European Commission also may decide that products within certain equipment classes or of particular types must meet one or more of the following additional essential requirements.

The success of the R&TTE Directive will depend to a large extent on the timely publication of interface specifications, for fixed networks as well as for air (spectrum) interfaces. The EU member states have the obligation to make these interfaces known quickly, whereas operators will need to provide sufficient data regarding the interfaces they offer to enable manufacturers to design properly functioning products. A concern that has already been raised is that it is questionable whether all these interfaces will be specified soon enough, or specified in sufficient detail, to enable manufacturers to develop new products prior to implementation of the directive.

Although essential requirements form the legal basis for compliance with the various new approach directives, it would be highly impractical and may even be impossible to design and verify products directly against these highly abstract requirements. To overcome this problem, specific standards are developed by ETSI, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). Once adopted and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, these technical standards gain the status of harmonized standards. Then, if the relevant harmonized standards are met, products are considered in compliance with the essential requirements of the directive; in other words, their compliance with those essential requirements will not be in dispute.

ETSI has started a program to develop harmonized standards for all areas covered under the R&TTE Directive, but to date no such standards have been established. As a transitional arrangement, the directive provides that the standards adopted for application under the Low Voltage Directive and the EMC Directive may be applied to cover the general essential requirements for safety and EMC. Additionally all adopted TBR (Technical Basis for Regulation) requirements under the TTE-SES Directive may be applied to cover the other essential requirements. These measures will help smooth the transition from the current regime to that of the R&TTE Directive. However, the mismatch in the essential requirements (the voltage limits of the Low Voltage Directive, for example) is not addressed.

In order to prove a product is in compliance with the provisions of the R&TTE Directive, the manufacturer must follow a conformity assessment procedure. The directive identifies four procedures that can be applied depending on the type of equipment and whether harmonized standards have been applied. An overview of the possibilities is given in Table I.

Module A (Internal Production Control)

This procedure is only applicable to telecommunications terminal equipment. Under this module the manufacturer must verify—or have verified by an accredited body—the product's compliance with the provisions of the directive. The way in which such verification is carried out is not prescribed; however, the manufacturer is directed to take all necessary measures to ensure the equipment is in compliance. The manufacturer must draw up a written declaration of conformity and must affix the appropriate CE mark to each product.

The manufacturer also must create a technical dossier that shows the product is in compliance with the requirements. This dossier must be kept for 10 years after the last product unit has been manufactured and be made available to the relevant national authorities for inspection purposes. The technical dossier should cover the design, manufacture, and operation of the product and include the following documents:

Applicable to radio equipment that meets the requirements of harmonized standards, Module Aa consists of Module A supplemented by the following requirements:

Module H is applicable to both RE and TTE and is based on international standard ISO 9001 requirements. Under this module, the manufacturer must have a quality system that covers design and verification, manufacture, and final inspection and testing. The quality system must be approved by a notified body, which may rely to some extent on assessments performed by other accredited certification bodies. The manufacturer must draw up a written declaration of conformity and must affix the appropriate CE mark to each product unit.

The manufacturer also must keep records of the product assessments carried out and the quality system used for at least 10 years after the last product unit is manufactured.

The procedure known as a technical construction file can be used for RE or TTE and consists of Module Aa supplemented by the following requirements:

As do most new approach directives, the R&TTE Directive prescribes the use of the CE mark on all products that conform to the requirements of the directive. The responsibility to affix these marks is with the manufacturer. It is illegal to apply the CE mark if conformity with the requirements has not been established or to use other markings that may be confused with the CE mark. In cases where a notified body was involved in the assessment process, the identification number of the notified body must be affixed to the product alongside the CE mark.

The directive also prescribes that when equipment class identifiers have been assigned for radio equipment, the appropriate identifier must also be affixed to each product unit. To date, it is not clear what kind of identifiers will be assigned, but there is a strong preference for the use of only one kind, an alert symbol. If a class identifier must be used, the directive also requires that detailed information be included in the user manual to clarify the product's limited use or specific application.

Equipment that conforms to the provisions of the R&TTE Directive may be placed on the European market without delay and shall not be subject to further national provisions. There are, however, several specific conditions that must be taken into account when placing such equipment on the market.

The European Commission is responsible for implementing the R&TTE Directive with the assistance of the Telecommunications Conformity Assessment and Market Surveillance Committee (TCAM). TCAM is made up of representatives of the EU member states and technical experts and is chaired by a commission representative.

TCAM will advise the European Commission on such issues as the adoption of harmonized standards, the identification of equipment classes, and the solution to technical problems or nonconformities. In its capacity as a regulatory committee, TCAM will also provide opinions on the determination of optional essential requirements, the assignment of equipment classes, and the equivalency of notified interfaces. Although it is expected that the European Commission will accept the opinion of the committee, it has the power to decide differently. In those cases the measure under consideration will be forwarded to the European Council for a final decision.

The Commission took the early initiative implementing the directive in a thorough and timely manner by elaborating a plan in spring of 1998. An interim steering group was created and held its first meeting on July 9, 1998. At that meeting five ad hoc working groups were assigned to resolve some critical issues, as outlined in Table II. So far these working groups have met several times and prepared proposals for endorsement by TCAM, which had its first meeting on April 19–20, 1999. The approach being taken by the European Commission is significantly different from previous directive implementation efforts. The aim is to create an environment that is as open as possible, whereby all interested parties are requested to participate and to resolve any critical issues before the R&TTE Directive becomes effective.

Under the R&TTE Directive 99/5/EC, radio and telecommunications terminal equipment will be marketable throughout the EU if it conforms to the directive's essential requirements. Four conformity assessment procedures are described in the directive, some of which involve the application of harmonized standards being developed by ETSI. Work on the details of the directive's implementation is progressing, and it is hoped that the transition from the regimes of earlier directives will be smooth.

1.Directive 99/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment and the Mutual Recognition of Their Conformity, Official Journal of the European Communities, No. L.91 (April 7, 1999).

2.Council Directive 86/361/EEC on the Initial Stage of the Mutual Recognition of Type Approval for Telecommunications Terminal Equipment, Official Journal of the European Communities, No. L.217 (August 5, 1986).

3.The Development of a Common Market for Telecommunications Services and Equipment Green Paper COM (87)290 (Brussels: European Commission, November 26, 1987).

4.Council Directive 91/263/EEC on the Approximation of the Laws of the Member States Concerning Telecommunications Terminal Equipment, Including the Mutual Recognition of Their Conformity, No. L.128 (May 23, 1991).

5.Telecommunications Certification: The Way Ahead, draft working paper DGXIII/A/2 (Brussels: European Commission, April 5, 1995).

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