Ofcom at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, non-profit making organisation, whose aim is to develop standards for telecommunications and radio equipment used by consumers, businesses and the communications industry.

ETSI is officially responsible for standardisation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within the whole of Europe. These technologies include telecommunications, broadcasting and related areas such as intelligent transportation and medical electronics.

ETSI brings together over 750 members from 64 countries across five continents, including manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service providers, research bodies and users. It is officially recognised by the European Commission and the EFTA secretariat.

ETSI plays a major role in developing a wide range of standards and other technical documentation as Europe's contribution to worldwide ICT standardisation. This activity is supplemented by interoperability testing services and other specialist services.

Ofcom's involvement in the work of ETSI is mainly through the EMC and Radio Spectrum Matters Technical Committee (ERM) where we seek to promote the UK position on the various spectrum-related standardisation issues. ERM is the parent body for several Task Groups (TGs); it is the group that approves ETSI standardisation deliverables developed by these TGs and it is able to monitor the progress of the various ETSI Work Items through the TGs. Harmonised Standards control the spectrum-related aspects of transmitter and receiver equipment and thus contribute to the Ofcom objective of keeping the spectrum free from harmful interference.

The various types of standards produced by ETSI are as follows:

• European Standard, telecommunications series (EN): used when the document is intended to meet needs specific to Europe and requires transposition into national standards, or when the drafting of the document is required under an EC/EFTA mandate and is approved through the National Standards Organisation (NSO). The NSO in the UK is the British Standards Institution (BSI).
• ETSI Standard (ES): used when the document contains normative requirements and is approved by the whole ETSI membership.
• ETSI Guide (EG): used when the document contains guidance on the handling of technical standardisation activities and is approved by the whole ETSI membership.
• ETSI Technical Specification (TS): used when the document contains normative requirements and when there is short time-to-market, and validation and maintenance are essential. It is approved by the technical committee that drafted the Technical Specification.
• ETSI Technical Report (TR): used when the document contains mainly informative elements and is approved by the technical committee that drafted the Technical Report.