Business Review 1996/1997 - The International Scene and Frequency Policy

European Directive 97/13/EC provides a common framework for general authorizations and individual licenses in the field of telecommunications services.

This Directive was announced in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 10 April 1997 and entered into force on 30 April 1997.

The aim of the Directive is to liberalize the European Telecommunications Market by allowing undertakings to provide telecommunications services or networks without the need to apply for individual licenses. Instead, general authorizations are preferred and they will permit that, if an undertaking can meet a specified set of criteria, they shall be given the right to establish or operate a telecommunications service.

However, individual licences may still be granted under Articles 7 - 10, for example 'to allow the licensee access to radio frequencies or numbers'.

The Directive will mainly apply to licences granted under the Telecommunications Act 1984 but also relates to licences granted under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 in respect of telecommunications services.

	No licence application shall be refused unless spectrum is unavailable, or on the grounds of public security, safety or morality.
	Licences shall be granted within six weeks of receipt of a correctly completed application but this may be extended if international co-ordination is required to comply with international law or if the licence is subject to competitive bidding.
	Licence fees shall only be set to recover administrative costs incurred by the Licensing Authority. However, provision has been made for variations in pricing to promote efficient spectrum management.
	Should an application be refused, the applicant shall be told why.

The Directive will apply to about 75% of licence categories which are issued by the Agency, involving about a quarter of all licences on issue. The Directive does not cover safety of life licences, amateur or hobby radio, or broadcasting. However, it is felt that it would be inequitable to treat licence holders differently, depending on whether their licence type does or does not fall under the terms of the Directive. Current administration procedures for all licences are already broadly in line with the Directive and therefore the Agency has decided that the same procedures shall be applied to all of its licence categories.

The Agency will issue a policy document about implementation of the Directive during 1997.