Key Benefits:
The Authority Regulation of electronic communications and posts,
In view of Directive 1999 /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, in particular Articles 3 § 2, 4 § 1 and 6;
In view of Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (directive) Authorization "), as amended and in particular Article 5 § 1;
Having regard to 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 (Directive) Framework "), as amended;
Having regard to Decision No 676 /2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (decision " Radio spectrum ") ;
In view of the decision of the European Commission 2013 /654/EU of 12 November 2013 amending Decision 2008 /294/EC to include new technologies and frequency bands for mobile communications services on board aircraft (services MCA);
In view of postal code and electronic communications and in particular articles L. 33-3, L. 36-6 (3 ° and 4 ° and L. 42;
Seen decree n ° 2002-775 of 3 May 2002 taken pursuant to 12 ° of Article L. 32 of the Code of Posts and Telecommunications and relating to the limit values of public exposure to the Electromagnetic fields emitted by equipment used in telecommunications networks or by radio installations;
In view of the Prime Minister's decree of 21 June 2013 amending the national table of Allocation of frequency bands;
In view of Conference Report 48 European Commission of Postal and Telecommunications administrations adopted on 8 March 2013 in response to the second mandate of the European Commission on Mobile Communications on the Edge of Aircraft;
Due to the mail of the Directorate-General for Aviation Civil as of 15 April 2014, in response to mail from the ARCEP as of 17 March 2013;
In view of the contributions to the public consultation of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and of posts conducted from 25 March to 11 April 2014 ;
The Advisory Committee on Electronic Communications has been Consulted on March 21, 2014;
After deliberation on May 6, 2014;
For the following reasons:
For the purposes of this Decision, mobile communications services on board aircraft (MCA services) are electronic communications services provided by a company to enable airline passengers to use Public communications networks in flight without establishing a direct connection to terrestrial mobile networks.
The framework for the use of radio frequencies by MCA services in French airspace, for technologies of Networks 2G, has been fixed by the Authority since 2008. The purpose of this Decision is to also provide MCA services with 3G and 4G network technologies.
1. The applicable legal framework
European harmonisation of the use of MCA services:
In accordance with the decision of the European Commission No 676 /2002/EC referred to above, said decision Radio spectrum ', the MCA services have been harmonised at European level since 2008.
On 7 April 2008, the European Commission adopted Decision No 2008 /294/EC on the harmonisation of the conditions of use of the spectrum Radio for the operation of mobile communications services on board aircraft in the Community. At that time, the commercial operation of the MCA services was envisaged only for GSM systems operating in the 1800 MHz band.
The evolution of mobile phone network technologies since 2008 has led to the European Commission to issue a mandate on 5 October 2011 to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), in order to assess the technical compatibility between, on the one hand, the operation of the different Technologies (e.g. UMTS, LTE or WiMax) that could be used on the edges of the Aircraft in the 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands and, on the other hand, the radio services likely to be affected by these systems.
In accordance with its mandate, the CEPT produced, on March 8, 2013, a report concluding that it would be Possible to allow the operation of the MCA services, under certain conditions, thanks to the LTE and UMTS technologies respectively in the bands 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz.
Following this report, the European Commission adopted on 12 November 2013, Decision 2013 /654/EU, amending Decision 2008 /294/EC, cited above, for the purpose of Take into account the recommendations made by the CEPT to extend the harmonised framework for UMTS and LTE technologies, and to enable the MCA services to use the frequency bands 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz.
The legal framework for use Frequencies in France:
Article L. 42 of the Postal Code and Electronic Communications (CPCE) provides:
" For each of the frequencies or bands of radio frequency assigned to it pursuant to Article L. 41 outside the uses for experimental purposes, the Authority (...) fixes, under the conditions laid down in Article L. 36-6:
1 ° The technical conditions for the use of the frequency or frequency band;
2 ° The cases in which the authorisation of use is subject to the declaration provided for in Article L. 33-1;
3 ° Cases in which The use of frequencies is subject to administrative authorisation. '
In addition, the II of Article L. 42 of the CPCE provides: ' The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority may also, under the conditions laid down in Article L. 36-6, provide for restrictions on the types of equipment, networks and technologies used in the bands of Frequencies allocated to electronic communications services in the national frequency band allocation table and assigned to it if necessary for: (a) Avoid harmful interference; (b) Protect public health; (c) Ensure the technical quality of the service; (d) Optimize the sharing of radio frequencies; (e) Preserve the efficiency of the use of the spectrum; or (f) Carry out a Objective under Article L. 32-1. Such restrictions shall be proportionate and non-discriminatory (...) ".
In addition, pursuant to the provisions of Article L. 33-3 (1) of the CPCE, radio installations not using frequencies specifically assigned to them The conditions for the use of such installations shall be determined under the conditions laid down in Article L. 36-6 of the CPCE.
Finally, Article L. 36-6 of the CPCE provides that " (...) the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority shall specify the rules concerning: (...) 3 °) The conditions for the use of the frequencies and frequency bands referred to in Article L. 42; (4) the conditions (...) of use Networks referred to in Article L. 33-3; (...). Decisions taken pursuant to this Article shall, after approval by the Minister responsible for electronic communications, be published in the Official Journal ".
It follows from the above that the Authority has jurisdiction over the Basis of Articles L. 33-3 (1 °), L. 36-6 (3 ° and 4 °) and L. 42 of the CPCE to fix:
-cases in which the use of frequencies is subject to administrative authorization;
-conditions for the use of radio installations that do not use frequencies specifically assigned to their users;
- The technical conditions for using these frequencies.
2. Purpose of this Decision
The purpose of this Decision, taken on the basis of the above articles, is to apply at national level the framework defined by the European Commission in its Decision No 2013 /654/EU of 12 November 2013, In order to establish the conditions for the use of radio installations in order to provide a mobile communications service on board aircraft circulating in French airspace.
It repeals the following decisions adopted by the Authority To apply the European Commission's decision in national law N ° 2008 /294/EC:
-Decision No. 2008-1187 of 6 November 2008 specifying the conditions for the use of radio installations in order to provide a mobile communications service on board aircraft circulating in airspace French;
-Decision No. 2008-1188 dated November 6, 2008, assigning frequencies to radio installations used for the provision of mobile communications services on board aircraft operating in French airspace.
3. Conditions for the Use of Frequency Bands and Authorized Systems for MCA Services
The use of frequencies by radio installations to provide mobile communications service on aircraft in French airspace is subject to strict compliance with the conditions laid down in this Decision.
These conditions are those laid down in the abovementioned Commission Decision No 2013 /654/EU, which define the frequencies which may be Used by MCA systems and technical parameters, including Power limits, to be implemented for the operation of these systems. These conditions, in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 42 of the CPCE, aim in particular to avoid harmful interference.
In particular, this Decision limits, for MCA services, the use of GSM and LTE systems to Frequency of the 1800 MHz band, as well as the use of UMTS systems at the frequency band 2 100 MHz.
In addition, the MCA system will be able to avoid any attempt to access terrestrial networks from mobile terminals Embedded. The prevention of any connection of mobile terminals on board aircraft to mobile networks on the ground can be ensured by the implementation of a network control unit (UCR), operating in the network reception bands Ground mobile to be protected: 460-470 MHz, 791-821 MHz, 921-960 MHz, 1 805-1 880 MHz, 2 110-2 170 MHz, 2 570-2 620 MHz and 2 620-2 690 MHz.
With respect to the 2.6 GHz band specifically, Commission Decision No 2013 /654/EU states that The use of the network control units is postponed until 1 January 2017. This period is intended to enable the necessary work to be carried out to ensure the conditions for adequate protection of the other existing radio services, in particular the aeronautical and radio astronomy
. Embedded mobile system will only be possible above a minimum altitude of 3000 metres above the ground, in particular to protect terrestrial mobile networks,
Decides:
In French airspace, at an altitude of more than 3,000 metres above the ground, the use of frequency bands 1 800 MHz (duplex band 1 710-1 785 MHz and 1 805-1 880 MHz) and 2.1 GHz (duplex band 1 920-1 980 MHz and 2 110-2 170 MHz) by radio facilities to provide mobile communications services on board aircraft is not subject to Individual authorisation, subject to compliance with conditions laid down by the This decision.
In French airspace, at an altitude of more than 3,000 metres above the ground, the use of strips Frequencies 460-470 MHz, 791-821 MHz, 921-960 MHz, 1 805-1 880 MHz, 2 110-2 170 MHz, 2 570-2 620 MHz and 2 620-2 690 MHz by radio installations intended to prevent the connection of mobile terminals to ground networks is not subject to Individual authorisation, subject to compliance with the conditions laid down by This Decision.
The radio installations referred to in Articles 1 and 2 shall comply with the conditions of use As set out in the Annex to Decision 2013 /654/EU of the European Commission of 12 November 2013 referred to above.
These installations shall not cause No harmful interference to facilities Radioelectric using frequencies specifically assigned to their users and do not benefit from any protection against harmful interference.
In particular, operators of such installations shall To prevent harmful interference to land mobile networks and to eliminate the risk of connection of systems providing mobile communications services on board aircraft to mobile networks on the ground.
The values for the band 2 570-2 690 MHz set out in Table 3 of the Annex to Decision 2013 /654/EU of the European Commission of 12 November 2013 shall apply as from 1 January 2017.
Decisions No. 2008-1187 and No. 2008-1188 of the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, dated 6 November 2008, are repealed.
The Director General of the Electronic Communications and Communications Regulatory Authority shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decision, which shall enter into force as of its publication in the Official Journal of the French Republic, after approval by order of the Minister responsible for electronic communications.
Done at Paris, May 6, 2014.
The President,
J.-L. Silicani
