Radio & Telecommunications Terminal Equipment
The Directive applies to radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment. Its purpose is to ensure that all apparatus provides an adequate level of protection in respect of health and safety, electromagnetic compatibility and, in the case of radio equipment, harmful interference.
Subject area
Most radio equipment (RE) and telecommunications terminal equipment (TTE) made or sold in the United Kingdom, including imports. They must:
- be so constructed that they protect users and other people from health & safety hazards, exhibits an adequate level of electromagnetic compatibility and, in the case of radio equipment, does not cause harmful interference;
- in the case of certain radio equipment, be subject to an opinion by a notified body;
- in a small number of cases, usually concerning access to emergency services, implement certain features determined by the European Commission; and
- carry CE marking
Technical documentation showing how the equipment complies with the requirements must be drawn up and kept available, generally by the manufacturer or importer of a product from a non-European Economic Area (EEA) country.
The Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No.730), published on 13 March 2000, implement into UK Law Directive 1999/5/EC.
The Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations have been amended twice by:
- the Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No.1903) published on 21 July 2003; and
- the Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (Amendment No 2) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No.3144) published on 5 December 2003.
All radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment is within the scope, with certain exceptions identified in the Directive. Some apparatus, for example a mobile telephone, is both RE and TTE.
It should be noted that the Directive does not replace national requirements in Member States for transmitters to comply with national radio interface specifications and to be licensed.
Further information
Latest developments
The Commission are reviewing the RTTE Directive, and recently presented to Member States and industry stakeholders some of their ideas for a new R&TTE Directive. Their roadmap foresees the Commission publishing the draft text of a new Directive by the end of 2010. BIS will be consulting its stakeholders on the Commission proposals as they develop.
Notified Bodies
A list of Notified Bodies accredited under RTTE can be found by following this link to the European Commission's NANDO (New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations) Information System.
The list can be sorted by country or by Notified Body name by clicking on the column headings. The contact details, accreditation information and information on the Directive modules for which the organisation is notified can be found by clicking on the Notified Body name. Please note that UK based companies are not restricted to using UK Notified Bodies.
CAUTION:
The Department is aware of cases where organisations claim (or appear to claim) to be notified bodies authorised to carry out conformity assessment and certification when they actually hold no such appointment. Please see further information in the attached warning note (DOC, 42 Kb) .
Contacts
All enquiries relating to the information shown on this webpage should be sent to Product Regulation .
