European Commission: Decision on Harmonised Availability of Information Regarding Spectrum Use Within the Community

IRIS 2007-6:1/2

Mara Rossini

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

On 16 May 2007, the European Commission adopted a Decision aimed at harmonising the availability of information regarding spectrum use within the Community. The Commission is looking to counter the existing disparity of information and unify the latter’s content. Article 1 of the Decision clearly states its objective: “The purpose of this Decision is to harmonise the availability of information on the use of radio spectrum in the Community through a common information point and by the harmonisation of the format and content of such information”. The technical means by which this is to be achieved is the ERO Frequency Information System (EFIS) set up by the European Radiocommunications Office (ERO). All Member States shall use the EFIS as a common access point in order to make comparable information regarding the use of spectrum in each Member State available to the public via the internet. A single information point thus created would ensure an easy access and user-friendly presentation of spectrum information throughout the Community, this in turn should serve the needs of the industry which will no longer face uncertainties with a potential impact on decision-making, investment-planning and manufacturing projections; as explained in the Decision: “the availability of appropriate information is essential in the context of better regulation, since the removal of unnecessary restrictive measures and the introduction of trading of rights to use frequencies require clear, reliable and up-to-date information regarding the actual use”. The Decision provides that Member States shall forward information to the EFIS concerning the use of radio spectrum on their territory for each frequency band individually and for use of radio spectrum in general. It also details the type of information to be supplied and indicates that the information must be updated once a year until 2010, after 2010 the updating - obligation extends to twice a year. It is specified that the European spectrum information portal is not meant to replace national spectrum databases but should rather be seen as a complementary portal.