
Article 1 
This Decision harmonises the frequency bands and the related technical conditions for the availability and efficient use of spectrum for short-range devices within the 874-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz frequency bands.
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

1.. ‘short-range devices’ means radio transmitters which provide either unidirectional or bidirectional communication and which transmit over a short distance at low power;
2.. ‘networked short-range device’ means a short-range device in a data network, which potentially also covers wider areas; networked short-range devices are under the control of network access points;
3.. ‘network access point’ means a fixed terrestrial networked short-range device in a data network that acts as a connection point for the other short-range devices in the data network to service platforms located outside of the data network;
4.. ‘data network’ means several networked short-range devices including the network access point as network components and the wireless connections between them;
5.. ‘non-interference and non-protected basis’ means that no harmful interference may be caused to any radio communications service and that no claim may be made for protection of these devices against harmful interference originating from radio communications services in the same band;
6.. ‘category of short-range devices’ means a group of short-range or networked short-range devices that use spectrum with similar technical spectrum access mechanisms or based on common usage scenarios;
Article 3 

1. Member States shall designate and make available, on a non-exclusive, non-interference and non-protected basis the frequency bands for the types of short-range devices and networked short-range devices, subject to the harmonised technical conditions and by the implementation deadlines set out in the Annex.
2. Member States may take appropriate measures to protect existing use in the 874-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz spectrum to the extent necessary and where no alternative protective solution may be found through coordination of the various types of uses in those bands. This may include the imposition of additional technical, geographic or operational requirements for the use of the band while complying with the harmonised technical conditions for spectrum access set out in the Annex.
3. Member States may allow the use of the frequency bands covered by the Annex under less restrictive conditions or for short-range devices which are not part of the harmonised category. This holds as long as it does not prevent or reduce the possibility for short- range devices of the harmonised category to rely on the appropriate set of harmonised technical conditions allowing the shared use of a specific part of the spectrum on a non-exclusive basis and for different purposes by short-range devices of the same category.
4. Member States shall refrain from introducing new uses in the 874,4-876 MHz and 919,4-921 MHz sub-bands until such time as harmonised conditions for their use are adopted under Decision No 676/2002/EC.
Article 4 
Member States shall monitor the use of the 874-876 MHz and 915-921 MHz frequency bands, including the potential use of the 874,4-876 MHz and 919,4-921 MHz sub-bands for the future railway mobile communications system (FRMCS), and report their findings to the Commission upon request or at their own initiative in order to allow regular and timely review of the Decision.
Article 5 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 11 October 2018.
For the Commission
Mariya GABRIEL
Member of the Commission
ANNEX

The table below specifies different combinations of frequency band and category of short-range devices (as defined in Article 2(6)), and the harmonised technical conditions for spectrum access and implementation deadlines applicable thereto.
General technical conditions which apply to all bands and short-range devices which fall in the scope of the present Decision:

— Member States must allow the usage of spectrum up to the transmit power, field strength or power density given in this table. In accordance with Article 3(3), they may impose less restrictive conditions, i.e. allow the use of spectrum with higher transmit power, field strength or power density, provided that this does not reduce or compromise the appropriate coexistence between short-range devices in bands harmonised by this Decision;
— Member States may only impose the ‘additional parameters (channelling and/or channel access and occupation rules)’ identified in the table, and shall not add other parameters or spectrum access and mitigation requirements. Less restrictive conditions within the meaning of Article 3(3), mean that Member States may completely omit the ‘additional parameters (channelling and/or channel access and occupation rules)’ in a given cell or allow higher values, provided that the appropriate sharing environment in the harmonised band is not compromised.
— Member States may only impose the ‘other usage restrictions’ identified in the table and shall not add additional usage restrictions unless the conditions mentioned in Article 3(2) apply. As less restrictive conditions may be introduced within the meaning of Article 3(3), Member States may omit one or all of these restrictions, provided that the appropriate sharing environment in the harmonised band is not compromised.
Terms used:
‘Duty cycle’ is defined as the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of Σ(Ton)/(Tobs) where Ton is the ‘on’ time of a single transmitter device and Tobs is the observation period. Ton is measured in an observation frequency band (Fobs). Unless otherwise specified in this technical annex, Tobs is a continuous one hour period and Fobs is the applicable frequency band in this technical annex. Less restrictive conditions within the meaning of Article 3(3), mean that Member States may allow a higher value for ‘duty cycle’.

Band no Frequency band Category of short-range devices Transmit power limit/field strength limit/power density limit Additional parameters (channelling and/or channel access and occupation rules) Other usage restrictions Implementation deadline
1 874-874,4 MHz Non-specific short-range devices 500 mW e.r.p.Adaptive Power Control (APC) required, alternatively other mitigation techniques which achieve at least an equivalent level of spectrum compatibility Techniques to access spectrum and mitigate interference that provide an appropriate level of performance to comply with the essential requirements of Directive 2014/53/EU shall be used. If relevant techniques are described in harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union under Directive 2014/53/EU, performance at least equivalent to these techniques shall be ensured.Bandwidth: ≤ 200 kHzDuty cycle: ≤ 10 % for network access pointsDuty cycle: 2,5 % otherwise This set of usage conditions is only available for data networksAll devices within the data network shall be under the control of network access points 1 February 2019
2 917,4-919,4 MHz Wideband data transmission devices 25 mW e.r.p Techniques to access spectrum and mitigate interference that provide an appropriate level of performance to comply with the essential requirements of Directive 2014/53/EU shall be used. If relevant techniques are described in harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union under Directive 2014/53/EU, performance at least equivalent to these techniques shall be ensured.Bandwidth: ≤ 1 MHzDuty cycle: ≤ 10 % for network access pointsDuty cycle: ≤ 2,8 % otherwise This set of usage conditions is only available for wideband short-range devices in data networksAll devices within the data network shall be under the control of network access points 1 February 2019
3 916,1-918,9 MHz Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices Interrogator transmissions at 4 W e.r.p. only permitted at the centre frequencies 916,3 MHz, 917,5 MHz, 918,7 MHz Techniques to access spectrum and mitigate interference that provide an appropriate level of performance to comply with the essential requirements of Directive 2014/53/EU shall be used. If relevant techniques are described in harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union under Directive 2014/53/EU, performance at least equivalent to these techniques shall be ensured.Bandwidth: ≤ 400 kHz  1 February 2019
4 917,3-918,9 MHz Non-specific short-range devices 500 mW e.r.p.Transmissions only permitted within the frequency ranges 917,3-917,7 MHz, 918,5-918,9 MHzAdaptive Power Control (APC) required, alternatively other mitigation techniques which achieve at least an equivalent level of spectrum compatibility Techniques to access spectrum and mitigate interference that provide an appropriate level of performance to comply with the essential requirements of Directive 2014/53/EU shall be used. If relevant techniques are described in harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union under Directive 2014/53/EU, performance at least equivalent to these techniques shall be ensured.Bandwidth: ≤ 200 kHzDuty cycle: ≤ 10 % for network access pointsDuty cycle: ≤ 2,5 % otherwise This set of usage conditions is only available for data networksAll devices within the data network shall be under the control of network access points 1 February 2019
5 917,4-919,4 MHz Non-specific short-range devices 25 mW e.r.p. Techniques to access spectrum and mitigate interference that provide an appropriate level of performance to comply with the essential requirements of Directive 2014/53/EU shall be used. If relevant techniques are described in harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union under Directive 2014/53/EU, performance at least equivalent to these techniques shall be ensured.Bandwidth: ≤ 600 kHzDuty cycle: ≤ 1 %, This set of usage conditions is only available for short-range device in data networksAll devices within the data network shall be under the control of network access points 1 February 2019









