Tag Archives: WRC-23

Mar 17 2022

WRC23: 23cm band work continues in CEPT

CEPT CPG WRC23 LogoThe Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the work being done in defending the interests of the Amateur Services in the 1240-1300 MHz band.

On the IARU Region 1 site he writes:

The 4th meeting of the CEPT project team (CPG PTC) tasked with developing the CEPT Brief for WRC23 agenda item 9.1b on 23cm band amateur service and RNSS coexistence took place during March 2022. The IARU R1 was present and provided a contribution to the working document. A summary report describing the contributions and the meeting activity can be found here:
https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IARU-Report-from-CPG_PTC4r1.pdf

The meeting did not tackle any technical studies directly but the developing brief reports and summarises the activities taking place in other groups where they are being carried out. Updates were made to the background including a description of the work carried out by the amateur community in CEPT and ITU‑R with respect to resolves 1 of the WRC-19 Resolution 774. Further updates were introduced to describe the study work taking place in ITU‑R (WP’s 4C and 5A).

The draft CEPT Brief will undergo further development as technical studies evolve in the wider regulatory community including both CEPT and ITU‑R. The next activity concerning this topic will take place in the CEPT arena (SE40) to progress the technical studies and the draft ECC Report.

Source IARU Region 1 https://iaru-r1.org/

CEPT CPG https://www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/cpg/now4wrc23/client/meeting-documents/

Aug 30 2019

CEPT CPG decides position on 144, 50 and 1240-1300 MHz

CEPT Logo“At the insistence of the European Commission, a WRC-23 agenda item was considered necessary to address the world-wide protection of Regional Navigational Satellite Systems from amateur emissions in the band 1240-1300 MHz.”

The CEPT ECC CPG met in Ankara during August 26-30 to finalise their position ahead of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 28 to November 22. This conference will define the Agenda Items for WRC-23.

RSGB volunteers along with other radio amateurs in IARU Region 1 countries put in a considerable amount of work to defend the amateur radio allocations. Their hard work ensured the removal of 144-146 MHz from a study of additional spectrum for aeronautical applications and an agreement on a European Common Proposal for 50-52 MHz.

IARU Region 1 have released this report on the meeting:

The CEPT Conference Preparatory Group met this week in Ankara, Turkey. Items of interest to the amateur service which were finalised were:

– Agreement to a European Common Proposal (ECP) on allocating 50-52 MHz to the amateur service in Region 1 on a secondary basis with a footnote listing those countries where the amateur service will have a primary allocation in the band 50-50.5 MHz (WRC Agenda Item 1.1)

– Agreement to an ECP on spectrum to be considered for International Mobile Telecommunications, which does not now include the primary amateur band at 47-47.2 GHz (WRC Agenda Item 1.13)

– Agreement to an ECP that retains the current regulatory position in the 5725-5850 MHz frequency band which includes secondary allocations to the amateur service and the amateur-satellite service (WRC Agenda Item 1.16)

– Removal of 144-146 MHz from a French proposal for study of additional spectrum for aeronautical applications. (WRC Agenda Item 10)

– At the insistence of the European Commission, a WRC-23 agenda item was considered necessary to address the world-wide protection of Regional Navigational Satellite Systems from amateur emissions in the band 1240-1300 MHz. A draft WRC Resolution was agreed which underlines the importance of this frequency band to the amateur service and explicitly excludes the removal of existing allocations as part of the proposed agenda item. (WRC Agenda Item 10)

– There was no change to the already agreed CEPT position on Wireless Power Transmission (WRC Agenda item 9.1.6). This states that no change is needed in the Radio Regulations to address the question of operating frequency for WPT-EV, but leaves open the question of spurious emissions from WPT-EV.

Commenting on the outcome of CPG, IARU Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ, said that the IARU team at Ankara (the only representatives of the amateur service at the meeting) had presented clear and convincing arguments for the amateur service position and he was pleased that regulators had recognised the strength of the amateur case. He expressed his thanks to everyone who had contributed to the outcome at CPG.

The issues now move to WRC in Egypt in November for final resolution. IARU will be there.

IARU Region 1 https://iaru-r1.org/

Note: Although the CEPT position includes a Primary allocation at 50.0 to 50.5 MHz it is for the Amateur Service only – the Amateur Satellite Service is excluded.

CEPT ECC CPG19-9 Ankara Meeting Minutes and Annexes are available for download at
https://cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/cpg/client/meeting-documents/?flid=10064

Background to 1240-1300 MHz https://amsat-uk.org/2019/08/19/threat-to-amateur-radio-23cm-band/

Aug 24 2019

New French CEPT paper still seeks 144-146 MHz for Aeronautical

CEPT LogoThe French administration has renewed its attack on the Amateur Radio 144-146 MHz band ahead of a key CEPT ECC CPG meeting in Ankara, August 26-30.

In a paper to be considered at the conference the French Administration says it is not at this time seeking Primary status for the Aeronautical Mobile Service in 144-146, however, their intent is still that the Aeronautical Mobile Service should share the amateur 2m band.

It is clear where such sharing would inevitably lead, amateur operation in the band would only be tolerated if there were no interference to Aeronautical Mobile. Radio Amateurs might be subject to heavy restriction and low EIRP limits.

We can get on idea of France’s long term intent for 144 MHz from their attitude to the 1240-1300 MHz band. It was initially said the Galileo constellation could amicably share this allocation and amateur operation could continue but now France says “unregulated use of the band 1240-1300 MHz by the amateur service is a serious source of harmful interference to RNSS receivers.”
See https://amsat-uk.org/2019/08/19/threat-to-amateur-radio-23cm-band/

The French paper CPG(19)137 F – AI10 – Non safety AMS-background information is at
https://www.cept.org/Documents/cpg/53024/cpg-19-137_f-ai10-non-safety-ams-backgroud-information

Read the IARU paper – CPG(19)115_IARU – AI10 – View on 144-146 MHz under B10-2
https://www.cept.org/Documents/cpg/52931/cpg-19-115_iaru-ai10-view-on-144-146-mhz-under-b10-2

Read the Save 2 Meter story – French administration strikes back at IARU at
https://www.save2m.org/2019/08/french-administration-strikes-back-at-iaru/

Follow Save 2 Meter at https://twitter.com/Save2Meter

Other Ankara meeting documents are at
https://cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/cpg/client/meeting-documents/?flid=10031

Aug 19 2019

Highlights of CITEL WRC Preparatory Meeting: August 12-16 Ottawa

Radio amateurs at CITEL WRC Preparatory Meeting Ottawa

Radio amateurs at CITEL WRC Preparatory Meeting Ottawa

CITEL, the telecommunications committee of the Organization of American States, concluded a week of meetings on Friday, August 16 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.

The Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) report:

These meetings have as their principal purpose to try to establish common positions on agenda items which will be acted upon during the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) which begins on Monday, October 28 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

The following Radio Amateurs (from left to right in the above photo) were present at the CITEL meetings and were tasked with looking out for issues of concern to the Amateur Radio Service:

• Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN – on the Canadian Delegation and Radio Amateurs of Canada’s Special Advisor to World Radiocommunication Conferences
• George Gorsline, VE3YV – member of the Executive Committee for the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU-R2)
• Flavio Archangelo, PY2ZX – on the Brazilian Delegation and International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 CITEL Coordinator
• Serge Bertuzzo, VA3SB, Radio Amateurs of Canada’s International Affairs Officer
• Jon Siverling, WB3ERA – on the American Delegation and the Technical Relations Officer for the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)

The following are the principal highlights of the week’s activities for Radio Amateurs:

Six Metres: There are now 14 signatories to an Inter-American Position (IAP) which in effect voices no objection to an allocation in 50 – 54 MHz to the Amateur Service in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Region 1 (Europe, the Mideast and Africa).

Six Metres: Amateurs were successful in adding wording to protect the Amateur primary allocation in 50 – 54 MHz from a US proposal to study implementing space-based Earth Exploration Service radars to operate in or close to 45 MHz.

47 GHz: Amateurs were successful in having Mexico remove the frequency segment 47 – 47.2 GHz from their proposal to study several additional frequency ranges for the Fixed Satellite Service.

47 GHz: An IAP supported by 11 member states supports No Change (NoC) to the existing (Amateur Primary) allocation in 47 – 47.2 GHz. Specifically, not to be considered for sharing with 5G International Mobile Telephony (IMT).

5 GHz WAS/RLAN: An IAP supported by 12 member states supports No Change (NoC) to the existing allocations in 5725 to 5850 MHz and 18 member states support No Change in the range 5850 to 5925 MHz (as opposed to using these frequency ranges for higher-power and outdoor wireless access points). The Amateur secondary allocation in Canada is 5650 to 5925 MHz.

WPT(EV): Wording in a Canadian contribution with additions from the American delegation has been added relative to a WRC-19 agenda item which seeks to identify frequencies for medium and high-power wireless charging of electric vehicles. The wording emphasizes the requirement to properly set standards to avoid harmful interference to radio services from WPT(EV) systems.

Note: The French proposal to consider 144 – 146 MHz for sharing with the aeronautical mobile service was not on the CITEL agenda. It will be considered next in a CEPT meeting in Ankara in late August. For more information please visit:
https://www.rac.ca/2-metre-sharing-proposal-is-on-cept-conference-preparatory-group-agenda/

This was the last CITEL meeting before the upcoming WRC-19 Conference; therefore, the above is a fair representation of the status of the various Amateur issues going into that meeting.

Stay tuned to the WRC-19 webpage on the RAC website for more updates https://www.rac.ca/wrc/

Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN
Special Advisor to World Radiocommunication Conferences
Radio Amateurs of Canada

Jun 23 2019

144 and 1240 MHz Bands – RSGB information

RSGB volunteers continue to be engaged with IARU and Ofcom on WRC matters including the 144 MHz and 1240 MHz bands as well as WRC-19 Agenda Items in CEPT-PTD (50 MHz, WPT, 5GHz) and CEPT-PT1 (24/47 GHz).

At UK level, RSGB are members of the Ofcom IFPG groups that consider these matters.

The RSGB has updated their special focus page with the latest documents and CEPT meeting minutes. See Proposed WRC-23 Agenda Items at
https://rsgb.org/main/news/special-focus/wrc-19/wrc-19-papers/

June 21 – RSGB Update on 144MHz and 1240 MHz band threats
https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/gb2rs/headlines/2019/06/21/update-on-144mhz-and-23cm-threats/

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CEPT Project Team A, responsible for some aspects of the CEPT position for WRC-19, met in Prague from June 17-21. The meeting minutes are available for download

Regarding the 1240-1300 MHz band the minutes say:

The representative of the European Commission (EC) stated that, RNSS systems are global by nature, and that the radio amateur service is allocated in all regions. Once RNSS receivers (including Galileo E6 receivers) are deployed ubiquitously, the number of interference cases coming from radio amateur emissions will increase significantly and represent an important burden to Administrations, unless clear guidelines are available in order to drive the amateur community towards an appropriate usage of their allocation.

For these reasons, the EC believes that the French proposal of a WRC-23 agenda item is essential in order to complement the work being started within CEPT, and to find a sustainable solution for all parties. Also, the EC considers that WRC-23 is the right time for a decision enabling the better regulation of the RNSS-amateur coexistence at international level, as Galileo will start providing freely available high accuracy services in the 1260-1300 MHz band on a global basis from 2020.

The EC noted that some of the 7 Administrations which objected to the French contribution are open to consider a revised version of the proposal, and therefore believes that relevant support may be achievable at CPG level, following further discussions until end August.

Regarding the 144 MHz band the minutes say:

The representative of the IARU stated that, the IARU views with grave concern the element of the WRC-23 agenda item proposal 1.6 in the AI10 ECP, on studies towards a possible new allocation to the aeronautical mobile service in the band 144-146 MHz. This band is an important and the only globally harmonised primary allocation to the amateur and amateur satellite services in the VHF range. Examination of the RR below and above the 144-146 MHz range suggests that alternative proposals could be developed that could provide further spectrum for the aeronautical applications without impacting on this amateur service spectrum. The proposal provides no justification for addressing this band and the IARU believes that sharing with airborne systems is likely to be difficult and will lead to constraints on the development of the amateur and amateur satellite services in this band.

Meeting minutes https://cept.org/Documents/cpg-pt-a/52280/pta-19-105_minutes-pta-7

See the WRC-23 Agenda Items update issued by IARU Region 1 June 21
https://amsat-uk.org/2019/06/21/144-and-1240-mhz-bands-wrc-23-agenda-items-update/

Some background on previous CEPT WGFM and CPG/PTA discussions on the 1240-1300 MHz band
https://amsat-uk.org/2019/05/31/1240-1300-mhz-band-discussed-by-cept-wgfm-and-cpg-pta/

Jun 21 2019

144 and 1240 MHz bands – WRC-23 Agenda Items – Update

IARU was represented at the meeting of CEPT Project Team A (responsible for some aspects of the CEPT position for WRC-19), held in Prague from June 17-21.

The IARU Region 1 website reports:

Of particular interest were discussions on two proposed Agenda items for WRC-23, concerning the sharing of the 1240-1300 MHz band with the Galileo navigation system and the proposal from France to study a range of frequencies, including the 144 MHz amateur band, for future aeronautical applications.

The output from PTA does not carry forward the Galileo proposal, but it is likely that further discussions will take place prior to the Conference Preparatory Group meeting in August. Meantime work on this issue will also continue in other specialist CEPT forums. IARU will continue to support this approach and it believes this will be the most efficient method for developing the sharing guidance required to protect Galileo operations in a timely manner.

Regarding new aeronautical frequencies (including 144-146 MHz), the proposal was not strongly opposed by administrations and has been carried forward to the higher level CEPT Conference Preparatory Group (CPG) meeting in August for final adoption.

IARU views with grave concern any proposal to include the 144 MHz band in the proposed aeronautical agenda item and will be making every effort to fully protect amateur radio interests and seek the support of regulators in this regard.

The band 144-146 MHz is allocated globally to the amateur and amateur satellite services on a primary basis. It is the only globally harmonised VHF band for the amateur and amateur satellite service. As such it is an important and widely used part of the amateur spectrum with a vast installed base of both terrestrial/maritime amateur users and systems and operational satellite stations including the International Space Station (ISS).

This heavily used band supports a large number of repeater stations, segments for weak-signal long distance terrestrial and EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) communications, satellite and ISS usage, data services, as well as conventional terrestrial and tropospheric communications. The Primary status of the band has also enabled a number of amateur aeronautical uses including on manned flights and high-altitude balloons. Supporting all of this is a wide variety of commercial and experimental equipment, ranging from ultra-low noise preamplifiers for sensitive receivers, software defined radios and transmitting systems that can deliver high EIRP levels when needed to overcome high loss propagation paths.

Given the propagation to/from an aircraft at altitude, it is entirely possible that harmful interference to sensitive amateur and amateur satellite receivers will be caused over a 1,000 km radius of a single aircraft.

IARU will shortly be providing a brief to Member Societies and other interested parties, asking them to discuss the French proposal with their administrations well in advance of the August CEPT-CPG meeting.

It is possible that France will seek to introduce into other Regional Telecommunications Organisations (RTO) the same proposal to study the 144-146 MHz band for aeronautical use. IARU will provide a brief shortly to enable representations to be made to administrations in countries under those RTOs for protection of this amateur spectrum allocation.

Source: IARU Region 1 http://iaru-r1.org/

The UK Microwave Group Tweeted:
“We hear only one admin (Germany) opposed the 144MHz proposal – no one else.”
https://twitter.com/UKGHZ/status/1142180732493803522

Download the documents from the CEPT CPG Project Team A meeting in Prague June 17-21 from
https://cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/cpg/cpg-pt-a/client/meeting-documents/?flid=5624

Meeting Minutes https://cept.org/Documents/cpg-pt-a/52280/pta-19-105_minutes-pta-7

France proposes 144-146 MHz for Aeronautical Mobile Service
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2019/june/france-proposes-144-146-mhz-for-aeronautical-mobile-service.htm

1240-1300 MHz band discussed by CEPT WGFM and CPG/PTA
https://amsat-uk.org/2019/05/31/1240-1300-mhz-band-discussed-by-cept-wgfm-and-cpg-pta/

1240-1300 MHz IARU Region 1 paper PTA(19)069 – RNSS Proposal WRC-19 AI 10
http://rsgb.org/main/files/2019/06/PTA19069_IARU_AI-10_Amateur-GNSS_Final.pdf

Could a new licence class help counter threats at VHF and above?
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2019/june/could-a-new-licence-counter-threats-at-vhf-and-above.htm