Radio equipment

National Media and Infocommunications Authority Decree amending National Media and Infocommunications Authority Decree No 7/2015 of 13 November 2015 on national frequency allocation and the rules of use for frequency bands

The draft to amend National Media and Infocommunications Authority Decree No 7/2015 of 13 November 2015 on national frequency allocation and the rules of use for frequency bands (hereinafter: Decree No 7/2015) transposes Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1345 of 2 August 2019 amending Decision 2006/771/EC updating harmonised technical conditions in the area of radio spectrum use for short-range devices into national law.

Short-range devices (hereinafter: SRD) can typically be used without a licence throughout Europe, which is why their harmonised regulation is particularly important. This is a diversified, constantly expanding and emerging asset market, which includes, among other things, gate openers, baby monitors, pacemakers and RFID devices. As a transposition of Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1345 into national law, the draft – in harmony with the latest version of ERC Recommendation 70-03 relating to the use of Short Range Devices (SRD) within the CEPT/ECC – enables the use of newer SRD applications, which means, inter alia, that road side units of intelligent transport systems (ITS) are also exempt from the individual licence obligation.

The draft provides for the transposition of amendments within the CEPT/ECC in the area of satellite regulation. As a result, the category of Earth stations in motion (ESIM), and within that the option to use ESIM on land vehicles, is introduced.

The draft contains the result of the systematic reconsideration of the regulation on maritime mobile distress frequencies; thus, the cited requirements in the various medium- and short-wave bands were harmonised. The draft also contains provisions intended to secure the protection of frequencies used by the terrestrial component of VDES (VHF data exchange systems) to be introduced in the 160 MHz band on the basis of Radio Regulations Appendix 18 of ECC Decision (19)03.

Clarifications in line with the documents published by the CEPT/ECC and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) since the latest amendment to Decree No 7/2015 are also incorporated in the draft. The draft also contains an update of the references to these documents. In addition, the draft also updates Annex 4 containing international coordination documents, taking into account the new coordination agreements as well as those amended in 2019.

In line with the amended schedule for renovating the M3 metro in Budapest, the draft makes it possible to continue the operation of BKV systems of an older type with a channel division of 25 kHz in the 160 MHz band, i.e. the deadline for withdrawal was extended by two years (until 31 December 2022).

By prescribing a final deadline of 31 December 2022 for operation, the draft prepares for the withdrawal of older types of systems operating in accordance with the ITU-R recommendation on the 11 GHz band.

The 32 GHz band is opened under the draft in order to prepare for the introduction of the fifth generation (5G) of mobile systems in the 26 GHz band, so that the fixed downlinks available in the 26 GHz band can be relocated to the 32 GHz band. This draft lays the foundation for the technical regulation, which can be taken into account by service providers currently licensed to use a frequency in the 26 GHz band in order to prepare long-term technical plans.

In the frequency band 76 GHz (71–76/81–86 GHz), the final deadline of 31 December 2022 for operation is repealed by the draft. This makes it possible to use systems operating in this band for a longer period of time.

Requests for text clarifications of a technical nature, and for other editorial modifications and simplifications, based on experiences of law enforcement bodies are also met by the draft. Accordingly, among other things, similar provisions concerning analogue radio and television news and radio and television programme transmission systems were merged in Annex 3. (Clarifications of the text affect several frequency bands, but they do not entail changing the applicable regulation concept in terms of these bands.)