Listed below are some of these EC documents and details of where they may be obtained:

The EU Council Directive (91/287/EEC) of June 1991 on the frequency band to be designated for the coordinated introduction of digital European cordless telecommunications (DECT) into the Community

The EU Council Directive (91/288/EEC) of June 1991 on the coordinated introduction of digital European cordless telecommunications (DECT)into the Community

The EU Council Directive (96/2/EEC) of 1996 amends an earlier Directive (90/388/EEC) with the aim to lift restraints of competition for new mobile telecommunications operators. Within this context it identifies DECT services as an essential element of the provision of personal communications services and states that member states shall not refuse to allocate licences for public access systems based upon DECT technology.

Back to Top

The key Directive issued by the European Commission which concerns DECT equipment is: The Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive 1999/5/EC (R&TTE Directive).. This incorporate essential requirements from the following Directives
    The EMC Directive 89/336/EEC; and
    The Low Voltage Directive 89/336/EEC
which may be used as an alternative to show compliance with certain aspects of the R&TTE Directive.
The impact of these relates to the need for DECT equipment to be self-certified or tested for Radio Spectrum Usage, EMC and safety before it may be CE-marked and sold in the European market.  Fuller details of the implications of these Directives may be found on our Equipment Testing page.

Type Approval

The specifics of earlier Type Approval Testing for any particular piece of equipment are contained in Common Technical Regulations, CTRs, issued by the EC and poublished in the Official Journal of the European Community (the OJ).  Three EC Decisions relating to DECT equipment in this respect are:
    EC Decision 97/523/CE of July 1997, published in the Official Journal L215
    EC Decision 97/524/CE of July 1997, published in the Official Journal L215
    EC Decision 97/525/CE of July 1997, published in the Official Journal L215
Again, fuller details of the CTRs relating to DECT may be found on our Equipment Testing page
The CTRs are derived from the ETSI standards which specify the DECT technology.   Details of these may be found on our Standards pages

From 2000, with the implementation of the new TTE Directive,  formal approval testing will, strictly speaking, no longer be essentially required - rather it will be the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that his equipment is conformant to specifications.  If he is later challenged in this respect he could be liable for substantial legal penalties if his product found wanting.  For this reason it is likely that test houses will continue to do good business, as insurance for manufacturers, since a certificate of conformance offers a good legal defence.

Relative au regime d’attribution des licences pour les equipements de telecommunications numeriques sans fil Europeens (DECT) http://www.ero.dk/DOC/HTML/Rec2113f.htm

Back to Top