Market Access for Radio Equipment in Europe Enabled by the Radio Equipment Directive: Status, Next Steps and Implications

In Europe, market access for radio equipment is governed through the Radio Equipment Directive (RED), which replaced the Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive in 2016. The essential requirements were introduced by RED and subsequently processed by European standards organizations: the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, and the European Committee for Standardization, in order to develop harmonised standards (HSs). These HSs may be used by manufacturers in order to achieve self-declaration of conformity of radio equipment. Compared to the previously applicable R&TTE Directive, RED contains a set of new Articles, including RED Articles 3(3)(a) to 3(3)(i) and Article 4, which were not enacted when RED was originally published. This article discusses the process for "activating" the corresponding articles, and provides commentary on related ongoing activities in European Commission Expert Groups and detailed implications on radio equipment design. Indeed, new requirements need to be met in order to achieve market access, such as reconfigurability, privacy, and security features. Finally, implications such as time to market and RED compliance certification cost are assessed, and a comparison to other regulation regimes is given, including those in the United States, Korea, and Russia.