22.1.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L17/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) DECISION No 128/1999/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 December 1998 on the coordinated introduction of a third-generation mobile and wireless communications system (UMTS) in the Community THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in particular Articles 57, 66 and 100a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Atrticle 189b of the Treaty (%), (1) Whereas on 29 May 1997 the Commission presented to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions a communication on the further development of mobile and wireless communications; (2) Whereas on 15 October 1997 the Commission presented a communication on strategy and policy orientations with regard to the further development of mobile and wireless communications (UMTS); (3) Whereas on 1 December 1997 the Council invited the Commission to submit, by early 1998, a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision which would enable orientations to be established on the substance of the issue and facil- 1 () OJ C 131, 29. 4. 1998, p. 9 and OJ C 276, 4. 9. 1998, p. 4. () OJ C 214, 10. 7. 1998, p. 92. () Opinion delivered on 16 September 1998 (OJ C 373, 2. 12. 1998). (W] Opin)ion of the European Parliament of 18 June 1998 (OJ C 210, 6. 7. 1998), Council Common Position of 24 September 1998 (O] C 333, 30. 10. 1998, p. 56) and European Parlia- ment Decision of 18 November 1998 (O] C 379, 7. 12. 1998). Council Decision of 30 November 1998. itate, within the existing Community legal frame- work, the early licensing of UMTS services and, if appropriate and on the basis of the existing alloca- tion of competences, in respect of coordinated al- location of frequencies in the Community and pan-European roaming; whereas on 29 January 1998 the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing its strong support for the Commission’s communication of 15 October 1997; (4) Whereas a new generation of innovative systems needs to be developed for the provision of wireless wideband multimedia services, including Internet and other Internet Protocol (I/P) based services, for the provision of flexible and personalised services and for the support of high volume data rates, each combining the use of terrestrial fixed and mobile as well as satellite components; whereas this Decision will apply to satellite components without preju- dice to European Parliament and Council Decision 710/97/EC of 24 March 1997 on a coordinated authorisation approach in the field of satellite personal-communication services in the Community (°); whereas there is a need to ensure rapid market access for seamless, global coverage and low cost and innovative service offering through a sufficient level of competition; (5) Whereas in 1992 the International Telecommun- ications Union (ITU) World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC 92) identified the frequency spectrum for the development of both the satellite and terrestrial parts of the Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications System (FPLMTS), later renamed IMT-2000; whereas, according to ITU Resolution 212 and to the World Radiocom- munications Conference in 1995 (WRC 95), the initial implementation of the terrestrial element should take place around the year 2000; () OJ L 105, 23. 4. 1997, p. 4.