S.I. No. 28/1995:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (PAN-EUROPEAN LAND-BASED PUBLIC RADIO PAGING SERVICE -- ERMES) REGULATIONS, 1995.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (PAN-EUROPEAN LAND-BASED PUBLIC RADIO PAGING SERVICE -- ERMES) REGULATIONS, 1995.

I, MICHAEL LOWRY, Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 9O/544/EEC⁽¹⁾ hereby make the following Regulations.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Pan-European Land-based Public Radio Paging Service-- ERMES) Regulations, 1995.

2. In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires: "the Directive" means Council Directive No. 9O/544/EEC of 9 October, 1990;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications;

"pan-European land-based public radio paging service" means a public radio paging service based on a terrestrial infrastructure in the Member States of the European Communities, conforming to the European Telecommunications Standard (ETS) developed for the purpose by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and which allows persons wishing to do so to send and/or to receive alert and/or numeric or alphanumeric messages anywhere within the coverage of the service.

3. With effect from 1 February, 1995 the channels,

169.450 MHz,

169.550 MHz,

169.750 MHz,

169.800 MHz,

are hereby designated and shall have priority and be protected for use by the pan-European land-based public radio paging service (ERMES). Other channels in the band 169.4 to 169.8 MHz, according to commercial demand, will be so designated.

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L310 of 9 November, 1990, pp. 28-29.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 31st day of January, 1995.

MICHAEL LOWRY,

Minister for Transport, Energy and

Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations are made to give effect to Council Directive No. 90/544/EEC. The Directive obliges Member States to designate radio frequency channels in the band 169.4 to 169.8 MHz for use by a pan-European paging system called "ERMES". With effect from 1 February, 1995 these Regulations set aside for that purpose the following four channels,

169.450 MHz,

169.550 MHz,

169.750 MHz,

169.800 MHz,

and other channels in the band 169.4 to 169.8 MHz, according to commercial demand, will be so designated. The ERMES system must conform to the European Telecommunications Standard (ETS) developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), i.e. I.S./ETS 300133-1:1993 -- I.S./ETS 300133-7:1993 (inclusive).⁽²⁾