The seventh and last meeting of project team A (PTA) of the Conference Preparatory Group (CPG), which served to debate European positions for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was held last 17-21 June in Prague, chaired by Gerlof Osinga of the Netherlands and attended by about 90 representatives of administrations and delegates from private companies and from the Radiocommunication Bureau of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R).
This group is responsible for developing proposals on topics concerning the status of space science service (satellite Earth exploration and satellite weather forecasting) allocations, spectrum requirements for high-altitude platforms (HAPS), short-duration non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) systems and regulatory matters such as the revision of provisions concerning national footnotes and the revision of ITU-R recommendations and resolutions concerning the radiocommunication sector.
The briefs (base documents for drawing up European common proposals (ECPs)) for all WRC-19 agenda items were approved at this meeting.
Europe will propose the establishment of technical conditions to impose on the power limits of ground stations for Earth exploration satellite service (EESS) and satellite weather forecasting (Metsat) in the 401-403 MHz band, which will enable the development of new mobile-satellite service (MSS) systems to meet the spectrum requisites of cubesats and other scientific and commercial and scientific mega-constellations in spectrum below 1 GHz. It will also propose elevation of the regulatory status of satellite weather forecasting service in the 460-470 MHz band.
Also approved was the identification of additional spectrum for short-duration NGSO systems (small satellites and cubesats) in VHF and UHF bands.
The European proposal for the WRC-23 agenda was likewise approved. It covers European interests in further development of technologies in various areas such as aeronautics, space sciences and satellites, and revision of spectrum allocations above 275 GHz.
