U.S. Floats First Proposals for WRC-15 Agenda

All regional groups, notably from the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications, and some individual administrations are expected to put forward proposals for the WRC-15 agenda. U.S. proposals are also expected on nano-satellites and preliminary ideas for the conference following three or four years after the 2015 conference. The four-week WRC begins in January.

The U.S. wants to add a WRC-15 agenda item on “regulatory actions, including allocations, for Wireless Avionics Intra-Communications (WAIC),” a U.S. proposal said. The aerospace industry is developing the future generation of commercial aircraft to provide airlines and the flying public more cost-efficient, safe, and reliable aircraft, background information the proposal said. Use of wireless technologies can accomplish the goals by reducing aircraft weight for environmental benefits and cost savings to manufacturers and operators, while providing multiple and redundant methods to transmit information on an aircraft, it said.

WAIC systems consist of radiocommunications between two or more transmitters and receivers on a single aircraft, the U.S. said. Both the transmitter and receiver are integrated with or installed on the aircraft, it said. In all cases, communication is part of a closed, exclusive network required for aircraft operation, it said. WAIC systems will not provide air-to-ground or air-to-air communications, it said. WAIC systems will include safety-related applications among their operations, it said.

A new ITU-R report provides findings on the technical characteristics and operational requirements of WAIC systems for a single aircraft, the U.S. said. Current aeronautical services allocations may not be sufficient to permit the introduction of WAIC systems due to the anticipated WAIC bandwidth requirements, it said. Work under the WRC-15 agenda item would aim to conduct studies and take appropriate regulatory action to accommodate WAIC systems, the U.S. said.

The ITU-R report identifies theoretical power level requirements of WAIC systems using different bandwidths over frequency ranges between 1-10 GHz for low data rate applications and between 10-66 GHz for high data rate applications, the proposed resolution says. WAIC systems operating inside an aircraft will obtain some benefits of fuselage attenuation and other aircraft surface attenuation in order to facilitate sharing with other services, it said. Most WAIC applications will be internal to the aircraft structure and will use data rates below 10 kbps for typical individual WAIC applications, with an aggregation of numerous WAIC applications on a given aircraft, along with an associated overhead, resulting in up to 17.3 Mbps, it said.

The U.S. wants to push forward with a review of the use of the band 5091-5150 MHz by the fixed-satellite service (FSS) (Earth-to-space) limited to feeder links of the non-geostationary orbit (GSO) in the mobile-satellite service (MSS). The WRC-07 had added the agenda item to a preliminary list of WRC-15 agenda items that might be considered for initial approval at WRC-12.

WRC-95 made a primary FSS allocation in the 5091-5150 MHz band for feeder links to non-GSO MSS systems, in the Earth-to-space direction, the U.S. said. The 5091-5150 MHz band was originally designated for expansion of the international standard Microwave Landing System (MLS), it said. An ITU-R recommendation describes a method for determining coordination distances between international standard MLS stations operating in the band 5030-5090 MHz and FSS stations providing Earth-to-space feeder links in the 5091-5150 MHz band, it said.

WRC-07 made an additional allocation to the aeronautical mobile service (AMS) in the 5091-5150 MHz band for use by aeronautical telemetry for flight testing, aeronautical mobile (route) service (AM(R)S) and aeronautical security applications, the U.S. said. Compatibility between the newly allocated AMS planned usage and the existing FSS usage was demonstrated by extensive ITU-R studies before WRC-07, it said.

The allocation in the band 5091-5150 MHz is currently used by the HIBLEO-4FL network and has been used compatibly with other services since 1998, the U.S. said. Extensive WRC-07 preparatory studies demonstrated compatibility between the FSS and AM(R)S, the planned usage by the AMS used for aeronautical mobile telemetry for flight testing, and aeronautical security transmissions, respectively, the U.S. said. The operator of the HIBLEO-4FL network is replenishing its satellite constellation, the U.S. said. The replacements for existing equipment will also use the 5091-5150 MHz range for feeder links in the Earth-to-space direction, it said, and will likely be in service beyond 2025.

Continued FSS use of the 5091-5150 MHz band for feeder links of the MSS, Earth-to-space, is required, it said. However, the transition from primary FSS use of the band, certain other deadlines, and the fact that HIBLEO-4FL network is replacing existing gear means the study of technical and operational issues “can and should be limited” to sharing of the band between new systems of the aeronautical radionavigation service (ARNS) and the FSS providing feeder links of the non-GSO systems in the MSS, the U.S. said. The continued use of this allocation by feeder uplinks is of great importance in providing continuing service by MSS systems to developing countries, under-served areas and critical response in the event of natural disasters and other civil emergencies, it said.

The U.S. also wants a new WRC-15 agenda item on sharing between potential Earth exploration-satellite service (EESS) uplinks and existing services at 7190-7235 MHz, with the aim of providing a primary allocation for the EESS (Earth-to-space) in the band, another U.S. proposal said.

The Earth exploration-satellite service (EESS) requires an additional Earth-to-space allocation in the frequency at 7190-7235 MHz because of congestion at 2025-2110 MHz and 2200-2290 MHz, which support several hundred satellites, making coordination extremely difficult, the U.S. proposal said. This allocation, along with existing space-to-Earth allocations near 8 GHz, would also allow EESS satellites to employ a single transponder for both uplinks and downlinks, reducing design and launch costs. The World Meteorological Organization should be informed of the work, a draft resolution said. Requirements for environmental and climate-change data from EESS satellites are increasing, the U.S. proposal said.

The U.S. also wants to add a WRC-15 agenda item on implementing regulatory provisions from the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) modernization and studies related to e-navigation, another proposal said. The agenda item is needed for meeting international maritime shipping needs and International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements for GMDSS modernization and IMO implementation of e-navigation, the U.S. said.

There is a global requirement for modernization of the GMDSS, background information in the U.S. proposal said. The IMO has initiated “scoping exercises” and a work plan to define the requirements for GMDSS modernization, it said. GMDSS modernization has the endorsement of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, it said. The Radio Regulations contain many provisions, articles, appendices and recommendations associated with the GMDSS, the proposal said, and changes will be necessary to support modernization.

IMO is also developing an e-navigation strategy and implementation plan, background information in the U.S. proposal said. Initial analysis shows that e-navigation would require global harmonization of data communication systems, the proposal said. IMO technical bodies have said countries could not deploy e-navigation without an ITU review of the Radio Regulations to accommodate advanced maritime communication systems, it said.

The list of preliminary WRC-15 agenda items developed during the WRC-07 includes an assessment of spectrum requirements and possible additional spectrum allocations in the radiodetermination service to support the operation of unmanned aerial systems in non-segregated airspace.