The Board of Directors has eighteen members and meets at least three times a year. In addition to a representative of the Autorité de Régulation de la Communication Audiovisuelle et Numérique (Arcom) and a representative of the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques, des Postes et de la Distribution de la Presse (Arcep), the Board of Directors includes representatives of the ministries that assign frequency bands, as well as individuals chosen for their expertise, especially from the electronic communications market (operators, industrials, etc.).
The Chairman of the Board of Directors and the persons chosen for their expertise are appointed by decree. The representatives of the ministries on the Board of Directors are appointed by order of the ministry for electronic communications on the proposal of each of the ministries concerned. The Arcom and Arcep each appoint their representative. Board members are appointed for a five-year term. If their term of office is interrupted, they are replaced for the remainder of their term.
Role of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors determines the general guidelines for the establishment’s activities and makes decisions on the following issues in particular:
- Approval of the draft national frequency band assignment table between administrations and assigning authorities and categories of services for which the bands are intended;
- Proposal of the mandate and composition of the French delegation to international conferences dealing with radiocommunications;
- Approval of the Agency's activity and investment programme;
- Approval of the Agency's budget and amendments to the budget involving either an increase in expenditure or a decrease in revenue, or transfers of appropriations between the capital and operating sections;
- Approval of the annual activity report;
- Approval of the financial accounts;
- Determination and assignment of net profit for the financial year;
- Approval of the general organisation of the establishment;
- Approval of the agreements referred to in 11º of article R20-44-11;
- Determination of the conditions in which draft contracts, spectrum redevelopment grants and agreements are submitted for its approval;
- Approval of construction projects, purchases or sales of buildings, creation of mortgages or real rights, draft leases and rentals of buildings;
- Acceptance or refusal of donations and bequests;
- Definition of the general conditions covering recruitment, employment and pay of contract staff;
- Formation of and appointments to advisory committees as part of the Agency's various missions;
- Approval of agreements with public or private entities relating to the conditions of payment and re-use of contributions to the redevelopment of the spectrum.
The Board of Directors can delegate powers to the Agency’s director general to exercise the powers devolved to him on behalf of the establishment, except for those mentioned in 1º, 3º to 10º and 12º to 14º of article R. 52-2-4. It specifies the conditions of this delegation and can, in particular, make the exercise of the delegated powers subject to the convening of one of the consultative committees provided for in 14º of the same article.
The Board of Directors meets when convened by its Chairman, as often as necessary, and at least three times a year. The Chairman is required to convene a meeting of the Board of Directors if the Prime Minister, the Minister for Electronic Communications or one third of its members so request. He sets the agenda for the meetings.
Except in urgent cases, the location, date and agenda of the meetings are notified to the members of the Administrative Board and to the Financial Controller at least two weeks in advance. The Agency Director General, the Financial Controller and the Accounting Officer attend meetings in an advisory capacity. The Chairman can also invite any person whose presence he considers useful for the study of a particular item on the agenda to attend meetings in an advisory capacity.
The Board of Directors can only validly deliberate if the majority of its members are present or represented. If the quorum is not reached, the Board is reconvened with the same agenda within a minimum of eight days and a maximum of twenty days. It then convenes without a quorum being required.
The Chairman of the Board has the casting vote.
Minutes of the Board's deliberations are signed by the Chairman and sent to the Board members and the Financial Controller within one month of the meeting.
The Board of Directors makes decisions by a majority of the members present or represented. When the deliberation concerns the points mentioned in 1º and 2º of article R. 52-2-4 as well as the delegation given to the Director General, the Chairman of the Board of Directors notifies the Prime Minister and each member of the draft deliberation adopted by the Board as amended to take into account the observations made. This draft decision becomes final after a period of fifteen days from its notification, unless the Prime Minister requests a new decision from the Board of Directors during that period.
The Board of Directors adopts its own rules of procedure. Deliberations on matters referred to in 4º, 6º, 7º, 11º, 13º and 15º of article R. 52-2-4 are only enforceable after they have been approved by the Ministry for the budget. In the absence of any objection to it, this approval is considered given one month after receipt by the Ministry of the minutes of the deliberations. Other decisions are enforceable ipso jure. However, the Financial Controller can object to decisions that have financial consequences within fifteen days of receipt of the minutes of the meeting.
If the controller raises an objection, the representative of the Ministerial Budgetary and Accounting Control Department (CBCM) immediately refers the matter to the Ministry for the budget, which must give its opinion within one month. In the absence of an express decision within that period, the decision of the Board of Directors is enforceable. The Board is informed of the CBCM representative's objection.