WRC-23 Advisory Committee Draft Positions
/The ARRL has told the FCC they agree with two World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) Advisory Committee (WAC) draft positions on WRC-23 agenda items, but with conditions
ARRL based its support on provisions that amateur radio allocations are protected and amateur operations are not constrained. The two items consider spectrum requirements for the Earth Exploration-Satellite Service (Active), and the results of studies relating to space weather sensors.
ARRL supported the agenda item 1.12 WAC draft recommendation that the US support studies and possible consideration of a new allocation to the Earth Exploration-Satellite Service (Active) on a secondary basis within the frequency range 40 – 50 MHz for spaceborne radar sounders. The committee draft includes a statement recognizing the need to protect and not impose constraints on incumbent services in adjacent frequency bands.
“Our support for the draft recommendation is conditioned on explicitly including in the recommendation the need to provide protection and to not impose constraints on incumbent services in adjacent frequency bands,. Our expectation is that such studies will identify the capability and adequate means to protect the weak signal operations of the Amateur Radio Service on the adjacent 50 – 54 MHz band without imposing any restraint on those operations, if the need to use this spectrum for spaceborne radar sounders is confirmed.”
ARRL noted that use of 50 – 54 MHz by radio amateurs was recently studied and documented in ITU-Radiocommunication Report M.2478-0 - https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/rep/R-REP-M.2478-2019-PDF-E.pdf
ARRL also expressed its support for the WAC’s draft recommendation regarding Agenda Item 9.1 Topic A, concerning Space Weather Sensors. The WAC draft recommendation said the US view should be that changes to the Radio Regulations are outside the scope of Agenda Item 9.1 and called on the US to express its support for “conducting the studies called for in Resolution 657 (Rev. WRC-19)” and commit to contributing “to the work required under the Resolution.”
ARRL noted the extremely broad scope of Resolution 657, which covers frequencies from 13 kHz through at least 15 GHz, potentially impacting virtually all radio amateur operation. ARRL further stated that ITU-R has undertaken studies relating to the technical and operational characteristics and spectrum requirements of space weather sensors and that completion “and consideration of these studies are essential to achieving the desired objective of not placing any additional constraints on incumbent services.”
FCC Call for Comments - https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-1235A1.pdf
