The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) of the International Telecommunication Union has been taking place in Geneva (Switzerland) since 2 November 2015.
During the second week of the Conference, meetings of the various working groups and subgroups of the technical committees continued, alongside numerous informal discussions, seeking to reach new agreements. As a result of these discussions, it was possible to find compromise solutions for some more of the items on the agenda of WRC-15, including, most importantly:
- It was decided that the following bands should not be assigned to the mobile service and/or to be identified for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT): 410-450 MHz, 1164-1350 MHz, 1518-1525 MHz, 1559-1610 MHz, 1695-1710 MHz, 2025-2110 MHz, 2200-2290 MHz, 2700-3100 MHz, 3800-4200 MHz, 4500-4800 MHz, 4990-5000 MHz, 5350-5470 MHz, 5725-5850 MHz and 5850-5925 MHz. The debate continues with regard to other bands to be assigned to the mobile service and/or identified for IMT (item 1.1 of the agenda);
- An agreement was concluded to assign the 5351.5 - 5366.5 kHz band to the amateur service, with secondary status, with equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limited to 15W (20W in Mexico and 25W in Central and South America) (item 1.4 of the agenda);
- It was decided to assign the 13.40 - 13.65 GHz frequency band to the downlink fixed satellite service (FSS) (space to Earth) but there was not yet agreement on a possible spectrum allocation to the uplink FSS (Earth-space) (item 1.6.1 of the agenda);
- It was agreed to assign spectrum to the maritime mobile satellite service (MMSS) in the 7375 - 7750 MHz band (downlink); nevertheless, it was decided not to assign spectrum to uplink in the 8025-8400 MHz band (item 1.9.2 of the agenda);
- The distance limit of 5 km imposed on the space research service (SRS) (space-to-space) has been withdrawn for operations between spacecraft in the 410-420 MHz band (item 1.13 of the agenda);
- In the context of the maritime mobile service, it was decided to limit use of the 457.5125 - 457.5875 MHz band and the 467.5125 - 467.5875 MHz band to communications on board vessels ; channelling to be followed shall be in accordance with ITU-R Recommendation M.1174 (channels with a bandwidth of 12.5 and 6.25 kHz), resulting in more efficient use of spectrum (item 15.1 of the agenda);
- It was decided to make a primary allocation to the radiolocation service in the 77.5 to 78 GHz band, limited to short-range radar applications on the Earth's surface, including automotive applications (item 1.18 of the agenda);
- It was decided not to amend the definitions of the fixed service, fixed and mobile stations and, as a result, suppress Resolution 957 which calls for an analysis of the possibility of making changes to these definitions (item 9.1.6 of the agenda);
- Revision of Resolution 647 has been concluded (Spectrum management guidelines for emergency and disaster relief radiocommunication) in relation to support systems in disaster and emergency situations, with consequent suppression of Resolution 644 (Radiocommunication resources for early warning, disaster mitigation and relief operations) - (item 9.1.7 of the agenda);
- It was decided to assign 1087.7 - 1092.3 MHz spectrum to the aeronautical mobile satellite service (AMS(R)S) for satellite reception of transmissions from the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system on board aircraft. It was agreed that these space stations may not claim protection from interference caused by the aeronautical radio navigation service (Global Flight Tracking - GFT).
Discussions are ongoing with regards to other items on the agenda, with some outcomes remaining unclear. Negotiations are also underway on a number of issues, including:
- Lengthy discussions with divergent positions on the 470-694 MHz, 1350-1400 MHz, 3300-3800 MHz, 4400-4500 MHz, 4800-4990 MHz and 5925-6425 MHz bands with a view to a potential assignment to the mobile service and/or identification for IMT (item 1.1 of the agenda);
- The conditions governing use of the 694-790 MHz frequency band by the mobile service are still to be validated; coordination of mobile with broadcasting has been the object of long and complex discussions over recent days (item 1.2 of the agenda);
- Discussions are continuing on possible assignment of FSS spectrum in the Ku band (14/11, 12 GHz) and Ka band (20/30 GHz) for control and non-payload communications (CNPC) of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) (item 1.5 of the agenda).
The various working groups and subgroups of the technical committees (COM 4, COM 5 and COM 6) will conclude their work by the end of the third week, necessitating a move towards a consensus on these issues very soon.
Conference proceedings continue until 27 November 2015.
