Today, ANCOM launched for public consultation the draft decision on the harmonisation of the use of the 880-915 MHz, 925-960 MHz, 1710-1747.5 MHz and 1805-1842.5 MHz radio frequency bands. According to the draft, the operators holding these bands, by licence, will also be able to offer third generation communications services via the UMTS systems (multimedia and data transmissions services).
These bands are currently allotted, by licence, to three operators, i.e. Orange Romania, Vodafone Romania and Cosmote Romanian Mobile Telecommunications, which use them to provide second generation services, specific to the GSM systems. The propagation characteristics of these frequency bands allow coverage of larger areas in comparison with the higher frequency bands. They enable the operators to properly cover the less populated areas and the rural areas.
According to the draft decision submitted for public consultation, the operators’ obligation to provide second generation electronic communications services is maintained, thus enabling the end-user to choose the service bundle which best suits his/her communication needs.
This draft decision follows the adoption by the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) within the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) of a decision and of several reports on the compatibility between the UMTS and GSM systems operating in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands and on the compatibility between the UMTS 900/1800 MHz and the systems operating in the adjacent bands. All these documents were adopted based on the mandate granted by the European Commission to the CEPT, on 5 July 2006. Subsequently to the CEPT measures, on 27 July 2009, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament approved a proposal of the European Commission regarding the reform of the Directive on the use of the radio spectrum needed for mobile services. The updated Directive will be signed by the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers this September, whereas the European Commission will adopt a decision, which will enter into force on the same day as the updated Directive, setting out the technical measures that allow for the co-existence of GSM services (second generation mobile telephones) and UMTS systems (third generation mobile telephones, which add high speed mobile Internet to the regular telephone services) in the frequency band allotted to the GSM services.
“The draft decision was submitted for consultation last year as well; nevertheless, we postponed its adoption as we needed to be certain that the text of the ANCOM decision is in line with the GSM Directive approved by the Council of Ministers and by the European Parliament., This draft is to be discussed and analysed together with the operators, considering especially that the right to use these bands in view of providing third generation services will be exercised only following the amendment of the provisions under the licences already granted”, Catalin Marinescu, the President of ANCOM, declared.
The draft decision is available on the ANCOM website. The interested entities may submit their comments and suggestions, by 1 October 2009, at the ANCOM headquarters in 2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3, directly to the Registry or by means of the Authority’s regional divisions. Comments may also be sent by fax to +40 372 845 402 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.