Article 20 of the R&TTE Directive revoked the requirements of The Low Voltage Directive for radio and telecommunications apparatus, with the exception of the safety objectives detailed in Article 2 and Annex I and the conformity assessment procedure in Annex III, Section B, and Annex IV with effect from 8th  April 2000.

What then does this mean for the practical design considerations for the safety of radio and telecommunications products?

In short nothing, most equipment would previously have been assessed against the requirements of the Low Voltage Directive and in practice this will continue to be the case.  That equipment which would have fallen outside the scope of the LVD by virtue of the minimum Voltage limits would in all likelihood have previously been assessed against the requirements of EN60950 in any case and as this represents a harmonised standard under the LVD and as the R&TTE Directive adopts the same harmonised standards there shouldn't be any additional testing requirements.

The only change is that when the manufacturer considers his product to be safe they will make a single declaration against the R&TTE Directive that will cover Safety, EMC and any Telecommunications or Radio aspects.

TRaC is a notified body under the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC.

The directive covers radio equipment, telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity, which includes the essential requirements of the EMC directive 89/336/EEC and the essential requirements of the Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC, but with no voltage limits applying.