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Understanding Modern Spectrum Management (Asia)
The key engineering, legal and policy issues
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Glossary
ETSI
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a Standards Development Organisation (SDO) which supports the development of standards for ICT-enabled systems, applications and services. ETSI does not allocate spectrum frequencies, but collects, coordinates and contributes to the frequency requirements of the ICT community.
ETSI is a founding partner of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and it works closely with key European institutions including the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) and the CEPT Electronic Communications Committee (CEPT/ECC). ETSI’s 900+ member organisations are drawn from over 60 countries across five continents.
ETSI is a Sector Member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and participates in ITU meetings, making contributions to its work and to helping in the development of Reports and Recommendations.
ETSI publishes reports for new spectrum demand (These are called System Reference Documents or SRdoc), technical specifications and harmonised standards produced under standardisation requests from the European Commission (EC). ETSI standards are known as European Norms (EN).
ETSI’s work programme is spread across Technical Committees (TCs). These include:
- EMC and Radio Spectrum Matters (ERM): Produces SRdocs that provide CEPT with technical specifications of the radiocommunication devices/equipment to be used in sharing and compatibility studies. These studies are necessary for CEPT to designate frequencies and develop regulations.
- Mobile Standards Group (MSG): Responsible for the identification of European regulatory requirements for cellular systems developed by 3GPP and for developing harmonised standards for cellular and evolving technologies.
- Satellite Earth Stations and Systems (SES): Develops harmonised standards for satellite earth station fixed terminals or terminals on the move. Its remit includes work on the integration of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) into 5G.
- Broadband and Radio Access Networks (BRAN): Develops standards for current and future Broadband Wireless Access technologies in different frequency ranges.
ETSI has also launched a study group for 6G standards. The group – Specification Group on Terahertz (ISG THz) – aims to define scenarios and potential frequency bands for THz communications.
