Americas Unite on Frequencies for IMT; Tough Talks Ahead

Two sets of frequencies are off the table, Russell said: 410 to 430 MHz and 2,700 to 2,900 MHz. At least one country is not ready to give up 4.4 to 4.99 GHz for IMT, he said. “It’s there, but there doesn’t seem to be any interest in identifying” it for IMT.

The CITEL proposal allows for global harmonization of 450 to 470 MHz, which has had the most support, Russell said. The proposal has specific protections for Canada and the U.S., where it wouldn’t be used for IMT, Russell said. The CITEL proposal includes “very specific language about protecting existing services in that band,” Russell said. “It’s currently used by first responders, so they will be fully protected in whatever final result occurs” in the WRC.

CITEL countries at the conference are unified on 698 to 862 MHz for IMT, Russell said. “Specific protective measures are included to ensure that each individual country can implement IMT at their own pace.” Also, countries would have to coordinate bilaterally with their neighbors before proceeding, he said. The shift is significant because a number of countries had pressed for no change in the band, Russell said. Brazil did not support 698 MHz and above for IMT at the beginning of the conference, Russell said: “Now Brazil supports the CITEL proposal because we worked through the issues with them.”

Europeans are receptive “to the notion that from a consumer’s standpoint, IMT in the UHF bands is something that would be very useful in Europe,” Russell said. CEPT is “weighing that against the current issues they have in terms of how they will deal with broadcasters” (CD Oct 23 p4).

Frequencies between 2.3 and 2.4 GHz would be globally harmonized for IMT in the CITEL proposal “with specific protective measures to ensure that existing operations in a number of countries including Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are fully protected,” Russell said.

The CITEL proposal recommends a country-footnote opt-in approach for the C band, with no global identification or allocation for IMT, Russell said. “Instead, countries that wanted to identify or use IMT in their own countries… would have to actively do that, i.e., opt-in” (CD Nov 8 p2). Countries not opting in would not use IMT. The U.S. would not opt in because it does not support identifying the band for IMT, Russell said. “The C band is a satellite band” in the U.S., Russell pointed out. The CITEL proposal doesn’t define an upper ceiling for C band, but it says “we would like to minimize the bands that would be available for identification,” Russell said. It should be a small segment of the band open to the opt-in feature, he said.

CITEL’s is the first unified proposal, Russell said. “We are very pleased that there has been such a high degree of cooperation among the countries of the Americas.” Many countries and subregions “have expressed support for pieces of it,” Russell said. “It’s a good basis for discussion, but certainly we don’t have a unified support for it,” he said. About a week remains to wrap up the outstanding issues.

The CITEL proposal also includes harmonization of 1,518 to 1,525 MHz and 1,668 to 1,675 MHz for the satellite component of IMT, a U.S. press document said. The aim is to “globally identify the subject bands for IMT satellite component,” it said. Future studies will review IMT identification in the 6 to 10.7 GHz band, it said. -- Scott Billquist

WRC Notebook…

Agreement was reached Wednesday for the ITU-R to develop and maintain an online database of available frequencies for emergency situations, early warnings, mitigation and relief. The ITU, through the WRC, “is moving forward on a mechanism to help coordinate frequency requirements for disaster relief and early warning,” said Ambassador Richard Russell, head of the U.S. delegation to the WRC. The approximately $450,000 needed to run the database 2008 to 2011 requires ITU Council approval.

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Time extensions and exemptions for five satellite systems were given preliminary approval during a Wednesday plenary meeting at the WRC, an official said. Uruguay registration for Venesat was extended. The time for Andean Satellite Association’s Simon Bolivar was extended. Indonesia’s Palapa and Indostar were given requested exemptions. And Vietnam’s Vinasat was given an extension. Pakistan shifted an orbital slot for a broadcasting satellite from 38.2 degrees east to 38.

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The Europeans have given up their effort to win more shortwave frequencies for broadcasters, a WRC participant said. “European countries have accepted that it is going nowhere.” While the Europeans aren’t happy with it, they're “willing to go along with no change,” the participant said. The decision is expected to be formalized Friday.

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Negotiations over new limits on satellites between 2.5 and 2.69 GHz are “moving in a good direction and hopefully will be solved soon,” said Richard Russell, U.S. ambassador to the WRC. The framework of a deal might be “identifying what the individual country issues are and addressing them on a case by case basis,” he said. Companies are rolling out a new WiMAX service in this range across the U.S., he said. “Obviously, they don’t want to have harmful interference.” Many countries, including some in Europe, are worried about satellite interference into their terrestrial services, he said. A handful of countries have concerns “about whether or not their satellite systems are going to work within this new framework,” Russell said. Talks are aimed at addressing the countries’ specific concerns, Russell said.