The Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RATEL), will host, on April 16-19, the 61th FM22 WG (Working Group Frequency Management – Monitoring and Enforcement) Meeting, organized by the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC), within the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). This working group deals with the issues of radio frequency spectrum monitoring and examines radio frequency spectrum intended for the existing and planned services, including international recommendations and ECA (European Common Frequency Allocation) reviews. In addition, it performs the exchange of information on measurement campaigns in various frequency bands, administrative and technical procedures and keeps the statistics of harmful interference, as well as specific occurrences thereof on a yearly basis.

The gathering was opened by RATEL’s technical director, Dragoljub Stefanović MSc, who greeted the participants and highlighted the importance of spectrum management, presenting the current RATEL’s activities and future plans in the area of radio frequency spectrum monitoring and its development.

At the meeting, the statistics of harmful interference in 2023 will be discussed by CEPT member states, with specific examples of interference being showcased. The preparation of new ECC recommendation to ensure a common measuring method to be carried out by two or more CEPT administrations, enabling an easy MFCN (Mobile or Fixed Communications Networks) comparison of field-strength measurements recorded in border regions will be resumed. One of the topics will be the revision of the recommendation referring to the protection of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) against illegal jammers, taking into account that their number keeps rising.

75 participants from 29 countries have been registered, out of whom 18 will be following the event online. The meeting will also be attended by the representatives of equipment manufacturers Rohde & Schwarz and TCI International, Inc, as well as representatives of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and several European organizations: ECO, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETNET (European Meteorological Network), EUROCONTROL and STIB-MIVB (Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company).