HAPS, Bands Below 6 GHz for IMT To Be Among Items on WRC-19 Agenda
Half of the World Radiocommunication Conference-19 agenda is made up of items suggested by the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), including proposals on use of bands below 6 GHz for international mobile telecom (IMT) and bandwidth for high-altitude platform stations, said Julie Zoller, deputy head of the U.S. delegation to WRC-15. The tentative WRC-19 agenda -- still to be finalized by the ITU Council -- also includes CITEL-sponsored proposals on spectrum needs for a global aeronautical distress and safety system, 5 GHz radio local area networks, development of regulations for non-nongeostationary orbit fixed satellite service (FSS) systems in the V-band, a possible allocation of Earth exploration-satellite service in the 460-470 MHz band, and orbital position limits rules, Zoller said. She spoke Tuesday at the U.S. ITU Association (USITUA) annual meeting.
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Also to be considered is a U.S.-championed proposal on FSS use of C-band, Zoller said. That proposal will be on the "soft agenda" as part of the report of the director instead of an agenda item itself, she said. And the U.S. particularly likes another item on the WRC-19 agenda on the use of Ka-band by earth stations on mobile platforms, Zoller said.
Overall, WRC-15 "was very successful for the United States," said Decker Anstrom, head of the U.S. WRC-15 delegation. Items that will have particularly long-reaching effects include moves to allocate some FSS spectrum for beyond-line-of-sight control of unmanned aircraft the identification of C-band downlink frequencies of 3400-3600 for IMT use in Regions 1 and 2, Anstrom said.
While WRC-15 didn't get as much spectrum allocated for IMT as many had hoped, Anstrom said, there still were sizable commitments, including 250 MHz of effectively globalized spectrum -- and as much as 500 MHz in some countries. And while Anstrom previously said the U.S. was disappointed that WRC-15 delegates rejected allocating any lower UHF frequency band for IMT (see 1511300023), he said Tuesday that the conference did start "a decade-long process" toward that inevitability. "Conference after conference, more countries will sign up," he said.
One item that generated considerable debate involved potential use of the 28 GHz band, which ultimately didn't make the 2019 agenda, Zoller said. That slice of spectrum also is being looked at as part of the FCC spectrum frontiers NPRM (see 1510230050). Conversely, Anstrom said, one item on the WRC-15 agenda on changes to rules about advance publication, coordination, notification and recording procedures for satellite network frequency assignments passed quickly, though it historically had been a contentious item.
Traditionally a technical conference, WRC is increasingly seeing politics creep in, Anstrom said, saying WRC-15 "seemed more contentious" than WRC-12, due to intra-industry and -- especially -- geopolitical tensions. "I think that will be the new reality ... especially outside Region 2 ... to find common positions," he said. That so many CITEL-sponsored proposals make up the WRC-19 agenda "is a direct result of being unified as a region," Zoller said.