National Licensing Regulations in Europe

In Europe, the recommendations of the ERC (European Radiocommunications Committee) serve as the basis fornational legislative and licensing regulations for radio systems. For RFID systems REC 70-03 (short-range devices, SRD) applies. The website of the ERO (European Radio Office) provides current notes on the national regulation of SRDs in the member states of CEPT (see Section 5.3.1).

In all member states of the EU and the member states of CEPT that apply the EU Directive 1999/5/EC (‘Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive’, R&TTE Directive), SRDs can be offered for sale without further licensing (ERC, 2000). This is the case, under the prerequisite that the applicable licensing regulations for the frequency ranges and applications in question are adhered to. The manufacturer needs only to confirm that the relevant regulations have been adhered to for each product (EC Declaration of Conformity), which it does by displaying a CE mark upon the product.

Notes on the procedure regarding the CE marking and sale of radio and telecommunications sys-tems can be found on theR&TTE homepageof the EU at http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/rtte.

Basic notes on the new legislation regarding the CE marking of products can be found at http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/newapproach/legislation/guide/legislation.htm.

5.4.1 Germany

In Germany, the licensing of RFID systems is regulated by decrees of theFederal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications and Railways (http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/). The Federal Network Agency is an independent higher federal authority operating within the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and has its headquarters in Bonn. The Federal Network Agency was created from the former Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Postal Affairs (REGTP) which in turn originated from the Federal Ministry for Postal Affairs and Telecom-munications (BMPT) and the Federal Office for Postal Affairs and TelecomTelecom-munications (BAPT) and was renamed as the Federal Network Agency on 13 July 2005. The Federal Network Agency works with liberalisation and deregulation issues in order to enhance the development of the power, gas, telecommunications, postal, – and from 1 January 2006 – the railway infrastructure market (Bundesnetzagentur, n.d.).

5.4.1.1 Inductive Radio Applications

In Decree 1/2005 of the Federal Network Agency – most currently amended by Decree 39/2005 (Bundesnetzagentur, n.d.), the permission of inductive radio applications was adapted to the Euro-pean Recommendation REC 70-03 (see Section 5.3.1). Based on Article 55 of the Telecommuni-cations Law (TKG from 26 June 2004), frequencies in the range 9 –30 000 kHz were allocated to the public for the use of inductive radio applications. The use of these frequencies is not linked to any specific technical standard.

All radio systems that correspond to the German regulation or were put into operation in accor-dance with the provisions of Directive 1999/5/EC (R&TTE Directive), and are marked accordingly (CE marking), may be operated. Of course, national restrictions must still be adhered to.

Table 5.9 present the frequency utilization parameters. In frequency ranges (a), (b) and (e), a level reduction of the magnetic field strength by 3 dB per octave – starting at 30 kHz – has to be taken into account (see also Figure 5.9). In frequency ranges (a)– (i), only frame, coil or loop antennas with a circumference of 30 m and smaller may be used. In frequency ranges (a), (c) and (e), for small loop antennas with an area of between 0.05 and 0.16 m² – frequently used by RFID systems – the maximum permissible field strength has to be reduced by factor 10×log (area/0.16 m²).

In frequency range (o1), only RFID systems and electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems are permitted to be operated. Frequency range (k) is preferably reserved for the use of hearing aids and is therefore not available for RFID systems.

5.4.1.2 RFID Systems in the UHF Range

In Decree 60/2004 of the Federal Network Agency – most recently amended by Decree 7/2005 (Bundesnetzagentur, n.d.) – the permission of inductive radio applications was adapted to the Euro-pean Recommendation REC 70-03 (see Section 5.3.1). Based on Article 55 of the

Telecommunica-Table 5.9 Permitted frequency ranges and field strengths at a distance of 10 m Frequency range (MHz) Field strengthH@ 10 m (dBµA/m)

a) 0.009– 0.05975 72

o1) 13.553– 13.567 60 (only for RFID and EAS systems)

p) 26.957– 27.283 42

10 100 1 × 10³ 1× 10⁴ 1× 10⁵

−20 0 20 40 60

Frequency range

H field strength limit dBµA/m at 10 m

Figure 5.9 The permitted frequency range up to 30 MHz and the maximum field strength at a distance of 10 m in Germany

tions Law (TKG from 26 June 2004), frequencies in the ranges 865 –868 MHz and 2.446 –2.454 GHz were allocated to the public for radio applications used for identification purposes (RFID). The use of these frequencies is not linked to any specific technical standard.

All radio systems that correspond to the German regulation or were put into operation in accor-dance with the provisions of Directive 1999/5/EC (R&TTE Directive), and are marked accordingly (CE marking), may be operated. Of course, national restrictions must still be adhered to.

Table 5.10 shows the frequency utilization parameters. The frequency range 858 –868 MHz is divided into 15 channels (K1 – K15). The channel medium frequency of a channel can be calculated as follows:

fm=864.9 MHz+(0.2 MHz·channel number) (5.1) In the frequency range 865 –868 MHz, readers are operated in the LBT mode (listen before talk).

Before emission, channel allocation is checked. Emission may only take place on a free channel.

Here, the receiver sensitivity threshold for recognizing channel allocation depends on the effected radiated power of the RFID reader.

In the frequency range 2446 –2454 MHz, an effected radiated power >500 mW must not be used outside buildings. The field strength measured at a distance of 10 m from the building must not exceed the field strength generated by a 500 mW signal in the open and measured at the same distance. If RFID applications are operated by different users within a building, the same condition applies at the borders of the individual operating spaces.

Table 5.10 Frequency utilization parameters for RFID systems in the frequency range 868 MHz and 2.45 GHz

Frequency Maximum emission Duration of frequency Channel Modulation

range (Mhz) power allocation bandwidth/spacing type

24446– 2454 500 mW EIRP

4 W EIRP within

Table 5.11 Receiver sensitivity threshold for recognizing channel allocation in the frequency range 865– 868 MHz

Effected radiated power (ERP) Receiver sensitivity threshold (dB m)

≤100 mW ≤ −83

101– 500 mW ≤ −83

501 mW to 2 W ≤ −83

5.5 National Licensing Regulations