Starting from 13 June 2016 all member states must apply the new Radio Equipment Directive (RED) 2014/53/EU. However, there is one-year transition period. That means the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC will be still applicable until June 13, 2017.

Important dates for products within R&TTED and the scope of RED:

• Products placed on market before 13 June 2016: apply R&TTE
• Products placed on market between 13 June 2016 and 12 June 2017: apply R&TTE or RED
• Products placed on market after 12 June 2017: apply RED

Scope

The scope of Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU is different to that of the R&TTE Directive. Key changes are as follow:

• Sound and TV receive-only equipment (broadcast receivers) now falls within the scope of the Directive;
• Equipment operating below 9 kHz now falls within the scope of the Directive;
• Radio-determination equipment is now clearly included within the scope of the Directive;
• Telecom terminal equipment now falls outside the scope of the Directive; this equipment will in future be covered by the LVD/EMC Directive, if their scope covers this equipment;
• The RED only applies to wireless products;
• Custom built evaluation kits destined for professionals to be used solely at research and development facilities for such purposes is explicitly excluded from the RED.

Harmonization of legislative framework

One of the changes in the new Radio Equipment Directive is related to the economic operators. The ‘economic operators’ means the manufacturer, the authorized representative, the importer and the distributor. Now the obligations of each are well defined and leave less room for misinterpretation in line with the new legislative framework of European CE legislation.

Other important changes

• Class 2 “Alert mark” labelling and notifications are removed;
• The use of universal chargers is made possible;
• Manufacturer or importer address must be shown on device, or in user manual if the device is too small.

New Requirements for affixing the CE marking

The CE marking of radio equipment shall be subject to the general principles of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. The main changes are related to:

• The size of the CE Mark on the product; now the height can be lower than 5 mm, but should remain visible and legible;
• The CE Mark in the user manual is no longer required;
• Notified Body number that may only be used with CE Mark if the Quality System of the manufacturer was assessed against RED requirements by the Notified Body.