EU ETSI Standards Update: 5 New Radio & ICT Deliverables
- Aug 12
- 6 min read
EU ETSI Standards Update June 2026: Five New Radio, Broadcasting and ICT Deliverables
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) moved five deliverables forward in June 2026, spanning LTE user equipment, DECT, digital audio broadcasting, ICT accessibility and environmental testing. For certification and market access teams the headline is less about the number of documents than about their status and legal effect: four of the five are on approval (final draft / vote phase), and only one, the DAB system standard, is published. None of them yet appears on the European Commission's list of harmonised standards in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), which is the step that actually confers a presumption of conformity.
This article breaks down each deliverable, separates the two Radio Equipment Directive (RED) harmonised standards from the three documents that serve other regimes, and sets out what manufacturers, importers and test labs should do now.
What this ETSI standards update covers
The five deliverables and their status as of June 2026 are summarised below. "On Approval" means the document is a final draft in ETSI's approval procedure (Public Enquiry and/or Vote); it is not yet a citable, final ETSI deliverable and it does not yet carry a presumption of conformity under any EU directive.
Reference | Version (date) | Status | Title / scope |
ETSI EN 301 908-13 | V13.4.1 (2026-06) | On Approval | IMT cellular networks; Harmonised Standard for access to radio spectrum; Part 13: E-UTRA User Equipment (UE) |
ETSI EN 301 549 | V4.1.0 (2026-06) | On Approval | Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services |
ETSI EN 301 406-1 | V3.2.1 (2026-06) | On Approval | DECT; Harmonised Standard for access to radio spectrum; Part 1: DECT, DECT Evolution and DECT ULE |
ETSI EN 300 401 | V2.2.1 (2026-06) | Published | Radio Broadcasting Systems; Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) to mobile, portable and fixed receivers |
ETSI EN 300 019-1-2 | V3.1.0 (2026-06) | On Approval | Environmental Engineering (EE); Environmental conditions and tests for telecommunications equipment; Part 1: Classification of environmental conditions; Sub-part 2: Transportation |
Only the first and third are RED Article 3.2 radio spectrum harmonised standards. The other three serve different purposes and different regimes, which materially changes how each should be handled in a compliance file.
The five deliverables in detail
ETSI EN 301 908-13 V13.4.1 LTE (E-UTRA) user equipment
This is the harmonised standard that most wireless product teams will care about. It covers Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user equipment that is, LTE capable devices such as handsets, modules and IoT terminals and is a candidate route to meeting the efficient use of spectrum essential requirement (Article 3.2) of the RED, Directive 2014/53/EU. The prior published version is V13.3.1 (2024-10). V13.4.1 is a new revision in the approval procedure; it is not yet a final ETSI deliverable and is not yet cited in the OJEU.
ETSI EN 301 549 V4.1.0 ICT accessibility (not a RED standard)
EN 301 549 is a jointly developed CEN/CENELEC/ETSI deliverable, not an ETSI only radio standard, and it does not operate under the RED. It supports the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) and the Web Accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2102). The V4.1.0 final draft carries substantive changes over V3.2.1, including revised and extended Real Time Text (RTT) requirements, a new Annex ZA mapping to Directive 2016/2102, a new Annex ZB, and a new clause enabling evaluation against the European Accessibility Act. Public reporting indicates alignment with WCAG 2.2 Level AA; the exact incorporation should be confirmed against the final published text. Note that ETSI's own listing carries this June 2026 item as V4.1.0; the eventual harmonised, published version is expected to be numbered V4.1.1.
ETSI EN 301 406-1 V3.2.1 DECT
This is the second RED Article 3.2 harmonised standard in the batch. It covers DECT, DECT Evolution and DECT ULE equipment operating in the 1 880–1 900 MHz band, prepared under Commission standardisation request C(2015) 5376. The prior published version is V3.1.1 (2022-10); the V3.2.0 (2026-01) draft entered the combined Public Enquiry and Vote phase, and V3.2.1 (2026-06) is the resulting final draft on approval.
ETSI EN 300 401 V2.2.1 DAB (a system standard, now published)
EN 300 401 is the core Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system standard, describing the characteristics of the emitted DAB signal for mobile, portable and fixed receivers in the VHF bands. This is the only published item in the batch (the previous edition was V2.1.1 from January 2017), and the update reflects refinements agreed through WorldDAB. Importantly, it is a broadcasting/system standard, not an Article 3.2 equipment harmonised standard, so it is not itself a presumption-of-conformity route for placing radio equipment on the market.
ETSI EN 300 019-1-2 V3.1.0 environmental classification (transportation)
This deliverable classifies the environmental conditions telecommunications equipment may be exposed to during transportation, drawing on the IEC 60721 framework. It is a test basis / classification reference used to specify environmental test severities; it is not a RED harmonised standard and does not, by itself, confer a presumption of conformity. It is nonetheless relevant to labs and manufacturers designing transportation and packaging test regimes.
What this means for manufacturers
The single most important point is one that the source brief did not state: an ETSI deliverable "on approval" does not yet grant a presumption of conformity. For the two RED harmonised standards here (EN 301 908-13 and EN 301 406-1), presumption of conformity attaches only once the reference is cited in the OJEU through a Commission implementing decision currently Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2191 and its amendments not at the moment ETSI advances a draft.
Practical implications:
No immediate action is forced by these drafts. Existing CE conformity assessments built on the currently cited versions (for example EN 301 908-13 V13.3.1 and EN 301 406-1 V3.1.1) remain valid until, and typically for a transition period after, any new version is cited in the OJEU. Do not re test prematurely on an uncited draft.
Watch the OJEU, not just ETSI. Track the RED harmonised standards implementing decision for when V13.4.1 and V3.2.1 are cited, and note any dated of cessation of presumption of conformity for the superseded versions. That date, not the ETSI publication date, drives your migration deadline.
Treat EN 301 549 as a separate workstream. If you sell ICT products or services to EU consumers or public bodies, EN 301 549 sits under the European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive a different compliance owner and evidence trail from your RED radio file. The WCAG 2.2 alignment in V4.1.x is the change to scope for that team.
DAB and environmental items are enabling references, not gates. EN 300 401 matters for DAB interoperability and receiver/transmitter design; EN 300 019-1-2 matters for transportation test planning. Neither replaces an Article 3.2 harmonised standard in a RED file.
Certification impact summary
Deliverable | Regime / type | Presumption of conformity route? | Who is affected | Trigger for action |
EN 301 908-13 V13.4.1 | RED Art. 3.2 harmonised standard (radio spectrum) | Yes, once cited in OJEU | Makers/importers of LTE (E-UTRA) devices and modules | OJEU citation + cessation date for V13.3.1 |
EN 301 406-1 V3.2.1 | RED Art. 3.2 harmonised standard (radio spectrum) | Yes, once cited in OJEU | Makers/importers of DECT / DECT ULE products | OJEU citation + cessation date for V3.1.1 |
EN 301 549 V4.1.0 | Accessibility (EAA 2019/882 / WAD 2016/2102) | No (not a RED route) | ICT product/service providers to EU market and public bodies | Final publication of V4.1.x; internal accessibility audit |
EN 300 401 V2.2.1 | DAB system/broadcasting standard | No (system standard) | DAB receiver/transmitter and chipset designers | Design alignment to refined signal spec |
EN 300 019-1-2 V3.1.0 | Environmental classification (test basis) | No (reference/classification) | Test labs; hardware/packaging engineers | Update of transportation test plans |
Timeline and required actions
Item | Status (June 2026) | Next milestone to watch | Required action |
EN 301 908-13 V13.4.1 | On approval | Finalisation as ETSI EN, then OJEU citation via RED implementing decision | Monitor OJEU; plan LTE re-test/re-declaration around the cessation date, not now |
EN 301 406-1 V3.2.1 | On approval | Finalisation, then OJEU citation | Monitor OJEU; map DECT product portfolio to V3.2.1 deltas ahead of citation |
EN 301 549 V4.1.0 | On approval (final draft) | Publication of harmonised version (expected V4.1.1) | Brief the accessibility/EAA owner; scope WCAG 2.2 and RTT changes |
EN 300 401 V2.2.1 | Published | Adoption of refined DAB signal spec by receiver/transmitter designs | Align DAB product roadmaps to the refined signal characteristics |
EN 300 019-1-2 V3.1.0 | On approval | Finalisation as ETSI EN | Update transportation environmental test protocols on publication |
