Positions on C-Band and UHF for IMT Still Hard-Fought as WRC Deadline Looms
GENEVA -- New proposals on identification of UHF and C- band frequencies for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) were floated Wednesday, as officials seek consensus on harmonized frequencies before a Thursday deadline. Talks over both bands in Europe, Africa and Asia are in flux and serious obstacles remain, a WRC participant from industry said. Fifty-seven European, Asian, African and Arab countries are on tentative lists of countries that may use 3,400 to 3,600 MHz for IMT, according to a draft document. The list is incomplete, according to the document.
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On Wednesday, Europe built the total to 65 countries, a WRC participant said. “The biggest fear is that it switches from an opt-in footnote to an opt-out,” a participant said. If it does, “the Africans will go ballistic,” he said. The list of opt-out countries would be a lot shorter, he said. The Africans are thinking, “if it all falls apart, then no change is good for us,” he said.
Countries in the Americas want to upgrade frequencies at 3.4 to 3.5 GHz from secondary to primary service, with protections and no identification for IMT, a WRC participant said. Asia wants to upgrade mobile in 3.4 to 3.5 GHz from secondary to primary, with protections, a participant said. Some Asian countries dislike the overall deal, so they may go back to supporting no change to the frequencies, the WRC participant said. Japan and South Korea may not go for identification to avoid new limits, he said. The satellite community worries that all receive-only stations are registered, he said.
The real fight is between Russia and African and European countries, the participant said. Russia dislikes the new protections because satellite dishes in northern latitudes look almost horizontally to a satellite, he said. “That is exactly where the IMT stations are,” he said. “They will insist on more protection.”
The countries on the list could be interested in using the frequencies for IMT, a WRC participant from industry said: “They're not saying they will deploy; they're saying they are considering deploying.” More than one hundred countries are saying exactly the opposite, he said.
The draft stipulates power limits for mobile systems near borders with countries that will keep using the frequencies for C-band. By stipulating power limits, countries are saying they don’t want IMT deployment to interfere with existing or future fixed satellite services, the WRC participant said: “That’s what the protection criteria helps to deliver.”
European countries are considering a mobile service allocation for IMT in UHF starting June 17, 2015, according to a draft. The European position on possible UHF frequencies is evolving, a WRC participant said. Thirty- seven European, African and Arab countries are on a tentative list backing the spectrum move.
Countries covered by the Geneva-06 broadcasting plan would have to apply procedures of the agreement, the draft said. The identifications don’t preclude other services or set priority in the Radio Regulations, the draft said. ITU-R may conduct sharing studies between 790 and 862 MHz between mobile and other services in the frequencies, it said. Mobile service shall not include aeronautical mobile service, the draft document said. -- Scott Billquist
WRC Notebook…
New limits on satellites between 2.5 and 2.69 GHz were agreed to late Wednesday during the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), a participant said. Power limits will apply to new satellite systems to reduce the risk of interference with ground-based mobile, including WiMAX in North America. Hard limits were approved. The U.S. sought hard limits, but exact numbers weren’t available right away. The new limits will take effect as the conference starts, but Canada wanted them to take effect Nov. 22 to avoid setting a precedent of retroactively setting dates of entry. A compromise was reached. The ITU hadn’t received by Saturday a mobile satellite service filing by Canada in the 2.5 to 2.69 GHz range, a WRC participant said. The Canadian authority expected no filings, a WRC participant said, but Canada has three broadcasting satellite service filings named Larksat in the band. No changes are expected to the Wednesday agreement.
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The WRC agreed that the ITU-R will do more study on a auxiliary terrestrial component to IMT, a combined mobile satellite service and mobile service that fills in gaps in rural areas, a WRC participant said.
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The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) approved a worldwide allocation between 5,091 and 5,150 MHz for aeronautical mobile telemetry, the U.S. said Wednesday in a press release. The WRC also approved 4,400 to 4,940 MHz and 5,925 to 6,700 MHz for mobile service in the Americas, the news release said. Europe and Africa got a regional allocation between 5,150 and 5,250 MHz, along with the worldwide allocation, it said (CD Nov 14 p12). The WRC-07 modified aeronautical mobile route service allocations between 108 and 118 MHz to allow wider use of the 112-118 MHz portion of the band, the release said. Safeguards will protect FM broadcasting services operating below 108 MHz, it said. An allocation was made to aeronautical mobile route service between 960 and 1,164 MHz “pursuant to standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and protection for aeronautical radio-navigation services operating in the band,” the U.S. said. The 5,091 to 5,150 MHz band was approved for aviation communications and traffic management, the news release said. “This action will help lower the cost of airplane development and assist governments and the aviation industry in meeting their air traffic management needs,” said Richard Russell, U.S. ambassador to the WRC.