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Commission reports on harmonization of telecommunications equipment

The European Commission has published the first progress report on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning telecommunications terminal equipment. Under Directive 91/263/EEC, which established an internal market in the telecommunications terminal equipmen...

The European Commission has published the first progress report on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning telecommunications terminal equipment. Under Directive 91/263/EEC, which established an internal market in the telecommunications terminal equipment sector, Common Technical Regulations (CTRs) are established for different types of terminal equipment so that, once approved in one Member State, the equipment may be connected to the public network and marketed in all Member States, as well as in EFTA member countries. The report lists 11 CTRs which have been adopted by the Commission, and a further 12 in which the adoption process is under way. The report analyses the systems established for the standardization process, and finds that the system would correspond better to the needs of the market if: - Essential requirements (for type approval) were reduced to the absolute minimum; - The production of harmonized standards was accelerated; - A regulatory framework for radio terminal equipment using telecommunications-allocated spectrum was established. The report recommends that the Directive, together with Directive 93/97/EEC which extended the original Directive to cover satellite earth station equipment, should be fundamentally reviewed and amended as necessary, to adapt to the new dynamics of the market place and the needs of the European Information Society.

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