WRC-12 PreparationCPG Chairman / fournier@anfr.fr

World Radio Conference

• Conference for the revision of the Radio Regulations (RR), legal instrument of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) having a treaty status

• WRC are held each 3-5 years with around 3000 delegates from the 192 ITU Member States

• WRC-12 will be held from 23rd January to 17th February

• WRC Agenda are defined at previous WRC and are strictly listing items for revision of the RR

• Any ITU Members States can submit proposals for modifications of the RR in response to this Agenda

ITU process for WRC Preparation

• Proposals are generally made through Regional Organizations recognized by ITU (CEPT, RCC, CITEL, APT, AMSG, ATU) and resulting from their own preparation process (including cooperation between them)

• Each agenda item is subject to technical, regulatory and procedural studies made in ITU-R working parties:– Starting immediately after the previous WRC

– Resulting in many technical ITU-R Recommendations and Reports– CPM (Conference Preparatory Meeting), held 6 month to 1 year

before WRC, adopts a report with summary results of the ITU studies and methods to satisfy each agenda item

Radio Regulations• Radio Regulations deal with questions of worldwide character, ie the right and

obligations of ITU Member States respectively to each other:– International operations : satellite, maritime, aeronautical, HF bands …

– Cross-border issues, in particular in case of large interference potential (ie, Broadcasting)

• Objectives of the RR :– ensure equitable access to spectrum and orbital resources

– avoid harmful interference between the radio services of different administrations

– each administration keeps the right to use spectrum as it wishes inside its national borders provided that there is no interference or constraint to other countries

• Article 5 of the RR : Table of allocations to radiocommunications services• Other provisions : coordination and notification procedures (in particular for satellites),

technical conditions to protect services of other countries, procedures for international services and in case of harmful interference …

• Harmonisation of spectrum use is normally not dealt with through RR but through ITU-R Recommendations. Cases of non-mandatory references to certain applications for encouraging harmonisation (eg, IMT - International Mobile Telecommunications)

Coordination of EU interest in WRC

• RSPG09-294 Opinion on the preparation of ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences, recommends:– That the EU and CEPT make all possible efforts to identify, early in the

WRC preparation process and in consultation with stakeholders, the corresponding policy objectives and associated priorities, in order to facilitate the involvement of the political level for decision at the earliest possible stage

– To develop and adopt an RSPG opinion for each WRC, proposing to the European Parliament, the EU Council and the European Commission “Common Policy objectives”

• Debate in the EU on the policy approach for WRC-12 – RSPP– European Parliament resolution on the European Union’s policy approach to the

ITU world Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12)

Common Policy objectives• Process of development of Common Policy objectives for WRC-12:

– Two RSPG Opinions (09-295 & 10-350) – Joint EC/CEPT workshop in June 2010– Commission Communication (2011)180 of 6 April 2011 – Council conclusions 27th May 2011

• This development has:– taken into account the consensus between EU MS already achieved in

CEPT – reflected that in some items there are diverging EU interests (and with

other interests of EU Member States)– resulted in fostering consensus between EU Member States (ie,

inclusion of a mobile service / IMT agenda item for WRC15/16)

• Common Policy objectives are reflecting have given a clear direction to EU Member States

EU interests in WRC-12 Agenda• Digital Dividend band: cross-border coordination procedure of

mobile service with broadcasting and aeronautical radionavigation• International regulations applying to aeronautical services:

– New spectrum for safe operation of unmanned aerial systems in non-segregated airspace

– Conditions applying to spectrum used by air trafic management project under the SESAR project to ensure compatibility with FM broadcasting, radionavigation, satellite radionavigation (Galileo)

– Effectiveness and transparency of the priority for aeronautical mobile satellite in the « L band » (eg, for the development of the satellite component of SESAR)

• Ensuring flexibility and rights of administration (or EU) in using spectrum:

– Harmonisation for electronic news gathering through ITU-R Recommendations, not RR

– Harmonisation for short range device through ITU-R Recommendations, not RR– ITU-R Studies for Cognitive Radio and Software Defined Radio, but no

Regulations

EU interests in WRC-12 Agenda

• Space services: – No « a priori » planning of the broadcasting satellite band 21.4-22

GHz and new allocation for associated feeder links to facilitate the development of satellite in this band

– New worldwide allocation in the band 2483,5-2500 MHz for satellite radionavigation (Galileo)

– Improvement of the procedure for satellite declaration to ITU: WRC-12 is an opportunity for clear level playing field for satellite operators

• Scientific service: new allocations and technical conditions for the protection of some existing bands

• Inclusion in WRC15/16 Agenda for the development of wireless broadband service, seeking new mobile service allocation and IMT identification

What else at WRC-12?

• Maritime communications : ship and port security and introduction of digital/data communications in HF and VHF bands

• Radars (oceanographic, detection of space object, military)

• Amateur radio

European Common Proposals (ECP)

• The Conference Preparatory Group (CPG), within CEPT/ECC is responsible for developing ECP and briefs and for negotiating European positions during WRC

• CPG has adopted 22 European Common Proposals in July :– Already posted on the ITU website – Under process of signatures by CEPT administrations– The ECP are in line with the EU Common Policy Objectives

• Last CPG meeting in November for about 10 « late » ECP

European Common Proposals (ECP)

• During WRC-12, each ECP will be presented and negotiated by a « CEPT coordinator »:– Involved in the preparation in CEPT and ITU-R since 2008– Generally from an administration having specific interest in

defending the ECP• During WRC-12, CEPT coordination is led by CPG

chairman and Vice-chairmen with CEPT Heads of Delegation meeting on a daily basis, in particular for:– Any significant change in position (e.g. for the digital dividend band

at WRC-07)– Any need to trade-off between various proposals

Conclusions• CPG is on its way to complete the WRC-12 preparation

and WRC-12 negotiation has already started with other Regional Organizations

• This 4 years preparation relies on the technical and regulatory work of CEPT experts, in ITU-R and CEPT meetings

• ECP, which are proposing revisions of the Radio Regulations, are supportive (when relevant) to EU common policy objectives

WRC-12 preparation in Europe is, so far, very successful …