SPECTRUM NEGOTIATIONS The 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference concluded with key national objectives met for Australia.
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fter almost a month’s negotiation and debate, the 30-strong Australian delegation at the recent International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC–15) in Geneva played a significant role in securing major outcomes for spectrum management to be integrated into domestic regulatory arrangements over the next 12 months. The delegation was led by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. “This has been the most difficult WRC ever in terms of concluding positive and agreed outcomes,” said Maureen Cahill, Australia’s Head of Delegation to WRC–15. “The benefits to Australia from the outcomes of WRC–15 are considerable and will form the basis of revisions of the ACMA spectrum planning for the next four years,” Cahill added. “These outcomes are a tribute to the extensive preparation in Australia leading up to WRC–15 and the key government and industry experts participating in the Australian delegation at the conference,”
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said ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman, who attended the first week of the conference. Key outcomes include: • An allocation of 91 MHz in the frequency range 1427–1518 MHz for globally harmonised International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT). • Additional IMT identification for numerous Asia-Pacific countries (including Australia) in the band 698–790 MHz. • Agreement to a new agenda item for WRC–19 to explore options for additional IMT identifications above 6 GHz in support of new 5G technologies. • A single globally harmonised frequency range — 694–894 MHz — for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (public safety communications). • Agreement on an allocation in the frequency range 1087.7– 1092.3 MHz to support global flight tracking by satellite receivers of civilian aircraft using existing transmissions from aircraft. (The agreement is part of the ITU’s response to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in March 2014.)
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