Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive

The Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (1999/5/EC) was signed into Irish law on 5 June 2001 under Statutory Instrument 240 of 2001. These Regulations supersede the previous type approval Regulations that were in place in Ireland for telecommunications terminal equipment and they lay down requirements for the placing on the (European) market and putting into service of radio and telecommunications terminal equipment.

All radio and telecommunications terminal equipment placed on the market since the 5 June 2001 is required to comply with the essential requirements and other relevant provisions of the Regulations. The essential requirements include electromagnetic compatibility and low voltage requirements as well as a requirement for radio equipment to use the spectrum effectively and without causing harmful interference. The other relevant provisions to be met include marking requirements and requirements relating to the provision of information to the user.

It should be noted that persons responsible for the placing onto the Irish market of most types of radio equipment e.g. equipment suppliers are required to notify such equipment to ComReg at least four weeks before the placing on the market of such equipment. The form for this notification is available in Annex 1 of ComReg document 00/61. More information on R&TTE is available in ComReg documents 00/61 and 00/62R  which are available to download on our website.

Essential requirements of the Directive

1. The following essential requirements are applicable to all apparatus:
   1. the protection of the health and the safety of the user and any other person, including the objectives with respect to safety requirements contained in Directive 73/23/EEC, but with no voltage limit applying;
   2. the protection requirements with respect to electromagnetic compatibility contained in Directive 89/336/EEC.
2. In addition, radio equipment shall be so constructed that it effectively uses the spectrum allocated to terrestrial/space radio communication and orbital resources so as to avoid harmful interference.
3. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15, the Commission may decide that apparatus within certain equipment classes or apparatus of particular types shall be so constructed that:
   1. it interworks via networks with other apparatus and that it can be connected to interfaces of the appropriate type throughout the Community; and/or that
   2. it does not harm the network or its functioning nor misuse network resources, thereby causing an unacceptable degradation of service; and/or that
   3. it incorporates safeguards to ensure that the personal data and privacy of the user and of the subscriber are protected; and/or that
   4. it supports certain features ensuring avoidance of fraud; and/or that
   5. it supports certain features ensuring access to emergency services; and/or that
   6. it supports certain features in order to facilitate its use by users with a disability.

The CE Mark

The CE mark is required on all products within the scope of New Approach directives that are placed on the European market. The manufacturer, or the person affixing the CE mark, must ensure that it meets the essential requirements of the applicable directives before placing it on the market.

The R&TTE Directive (Directive 1999/5/EC) was transposed into Irish law under S.I. 240 of 2001.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/si/0240.html 

Directive 1999/5/EC Text http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/rtte/dir99-5.htm

Guide for the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/rtte/gener.htm 

European Commission R&TTE Information Website http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/rtte/index_en.htm