2008/294/EC: Commission Decision of 7 April 2008 on harmonised conditions of spectrum use for the operation of mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services) in the Community (notified under document number C(2008) 1256) (Text with EEA relevance)
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
The purpose of this Decision is to harmonise the technical conditions for the availability and efficient use of radio spectrum for mobile communication services on aircraft in the Community. This Decision shall apply without prejudice to any other relevant Community provisions, in particular Regulation (EC) No 1702/2003 and Recommendation 2008/295/EC.
For the purposes of this Decision: 1. ‘mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA services)’ means electronic communication services, as defined in Article 2(c) of Directive 2002/21/EC, provided by an undertaking to enable airline passengers to use public communication networks during flight without establishing direct connections with terrestrial mobile networks; 2. ‘non-interference and non-protected basis’ means that no harmful interference may be caused to any radiocommunication service and that no claim may be made for protection of these devices against harmful interference originating from radiocommunication services; 3. ‘aircraft base transceiver station (aircraft BTS)’ means one or more mobile communication stations located in the aircraft supporting the frequency bands and systems specified in Table 1 in the Annex; 4. ‘network control unit (NCU)’ means equipment to be located in the aircraft that ensures that signals transmitted by ground-based mobile electronic communication systems listed in Table 2 in the Annex are not detectable within the cabin by raising the noise floor inside the cabin in mobile communication receive bands.
As early as possible, and no later than six months following the entry into force of this Decision, the Member States shall make the frequency bands listed in Table 1 in the Annex available for MCA services on a non-interference and non-protected basis, provided such services meet the conditions set out in the Annex.
The Member States shall set the minimum height above ground for any transmission from an MCA system in operation in accordance with section 3 of the Annex. Member States may impose greater minimum heights of MCA operation where justified by national topographical and ground network deployment conditions. This information, supported by appropriate justification, shall be notified to the Commission within four months of adoption of this Decision and shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Member States shall keep use of spectrum by MCA services under scrutiny, in particular with regard to actual or potential harmful interference and to the continued relevance of all the conditions specified in Article 3, and shall report their findings to the Commission to allow a timely review of this Decision if necessary.
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
ANNEX 1. FREQUENCY BANDS AND SYSTEMS ALLOWED FOR MCA SERVICES Table 1 Type Frequency System GSM 1800 1 710 -1 785 MHz and 1 805 -1 880 MHz (the 1 800 MHz band) Complying with the GSM Standards published by ETSI, in particular EN 301 502, EN 301 511 and EN 302 480, or equivalent specifications. 2. PREVENTION OF CONNECTION OF MOBILE TERMINALS TO GROUND NETWORKS During the period when operation of MCA services is authorised on an aircraft, mobile terminals receiving within the frequency bands listed in Table 2 must be prevented from attempting to register with mobile networks on the ground. Table 2 Frequency band (MHz) Systems on the ground 460-470 CDMA2000, FLASH OFDM 921-960 GSM, WCDMA 1 805 -1 880 GSM, WCDMA 2 110 -2 170 WCDMA 3. TECHNICAL PARAMETERS 3.1. GSM 1800 MCA systems (a) Equivalent isotropic radiated power (e.i.r.p.), outside the aircraft, from the NCU/aircraft BTS The total e.i.r.p., outside the aircraft, from the NCU/aircraft BTS must not exceed: Table 3 Height above ground (m) Maximum e.i.r.p. density produced by NCU/aircraft BTS outside the aircraft 460-470 MHz 921-960 MHz 1 805 -1 880 MHz 2 110 -2 170 MHz dBm/1,25 MHz dBm/200 kHz dBm/200 kHz dBm/3,84 MHz 3 000 –17,0 –19,0 –13,0 1,0 4 000 –14,5 –16,5 –10,5 3,5 5 000 –12,6 –14,5 –8,5 5,4 6 000 –11,0 –12,9 –6,9 7,0 7 000 –9,6 –11,6 –5,6 8,3 8 000 –8,5 –10,5 –4,4 9,5 (b) Equivalent isotropic radiated power (e.i.r.p.), outside the aircraft, from the onboard terminal The e.i.r.p., outside the aircraft, from the GSM mobile terminal transmitting at 0 dBm must not exceed: Table 4 Height above ground (m) Maximum e.i.r.p., outside the aircraft, from the GSM mobile terminal in dBm/channel 1 800 MHz 3 000 –3,3 4 000 –1,1 5 000 0,5 6 000 1,8 7 000 2,9 8 000 3,8 (c) Operational requirements I. The minimum height above ground for any transmission from a GSM 1800 MCA system in operation must be 3 000 metres. II. The aircraft BTS, while in operation, must limit the transmit power of all GSM mobile terminals transmitting in the 1 800 MHz band to a nominal value of 0 dBm at all stages of communication, including initial access.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.