AGREEMENT NEARS ON WRC PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN AS TIME RUNS SHORT

The agenda item on harmonized spectrum for wireless LANs at 5 GHz has generated considerable debate at the conference over issues such as whether both indoor and outdoor use of mobile devices should be allowed at 5250-5350 MHz. The U.S. has favored no outdoor restrictions for that sub-band, saying proposed rules would be sufficient to protect radiolocation and earth exploration satellite services in that band. European administrations have disagreed, saying proscriptions on outdoor use are needed to protect incumbent services. FCC International Bureau Chief Donald Abelson told reporters Thurs. in a conference call from Geneva that a possible regional approach was being examined as a solution to such disparities, but “it’s too early to call what will happen.”

That item was among several highlighted by delegates at a WRC plenary session Thurs. as needing substantial progress before a solution could be reached. Rawat, after hearing progress reports from committee heads, said there were categories of items on which work had been completed, and others on which “reasonable progress” had been made. But a 3rd group requires still more work before the conference ends July 4, she said. “It’s the third category of issues that concerns me now because we are almost at the end of the second week,” she said. Rawat, deputy dir.-gen. of spectrum engineering for Industry Canada, said differences in administration positions had been known as far back as the conference preparatory process. She also stressed that she wasn’t willing to bend the conference schedule to allow more time for the resolution of difficult disputes. While Rawat said several delegates had indicated they expected some thorny issues to be worked out in the “wee hours” of the conference, she said the ITU’s constrained budget situation didn’t allow such an extended schedule.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I request you to pull every possible compromise you can pull out of your hat between now and early next week, recognizing that the provisions for which you are making the compromise are almost a prerequisite for the development of new technologies and services” Rawat said. She warned delegates against bringing “square brackets” in proposals that were submitted to the plenary sessions. In ITU parlance, text in square brackets indicates final agreement hasn’t been reached on that language. “Time is not going to help very much. We may have to go through quick decisions in the plenary,” she said.

New Zealand delegate Alan Jamieson, chmn. of the committee that oversees allocation decisions, told the plenary his committee expected to complete work on 5 agenda items today (Fri.), including one on public protection. But he said “progress has been less than desirable” on 4 other items, including one on radionavigation satellite service spectrum and proposals on 5 GHz wireless LAN harmonization. “With time running out, the delegates are being made very aware that Friday and the coming weekend are the last opportunities for finding compromise solutions to bring back to the working groups,” Jamieson said.

Aside from time constraints in the nearly 2 weeks that remain of the conference, Bruce Gracie, chmn. of the WRC budget committee, reminded delegates Thurs. of financial limits, as well. Gracie is senior adviser-international organizations for Industry Canada’s Telecom Policy Branch. “It is important to continue to stress to this conference the seriousness of the financial situation facing the ITU,” Gracie told the plenary session Thurs. Last year’s ITU Plenipotentiary Conference approved a financial plan with significant cutbacks for the union, which will lead to a 15% work force reduction (30 positions) for the Radiocommunications Bureau, Gracie said. “No provisions have been included in the current 2002-2003 budget for postconference work,” he said. Similarly, no post-WRC allocations have been included in the 2004-2007 financial plan, he said. “In light of this critical financial situation, it is going to be very difficult for the Radiocommunications Bureau to implement additional tasks with such limited human and financial resources,” he said.

On the public protection agenda item, the U.S. had advocated no change in the ITU’s Radio Regulations to identify spectrum for public protection and disaster relief. The U.S. stance has been that administrations should be encouraged to use globally and regionally harmonized bands. Divergent views emerged on that agenda item last week, with several administrations proposing that different bands be set aside for harmonized use (CD June 12 p3). A proposal Thurs. by a subgroup of the allocations committee appeared to attempt a balance between those differences. That proposal would “urge administrations to use regionally harmonized bands for public protection and disaster relief to the maximum extent possible, taking into account the national and regional requirements and also having regard to any needed consultation and cooperation with other concerned countries.”

To attain such harmonization, the proposal would encourage administrations to consider identified band or ranges of spectrum when undertaking national planning, including: (1) 380-470 MHz for ITU Region 1, which covers Europe, Africa and northern Asia. That would include 380- 385/390-395 MHz as a “preferred core harmonization band.” European administrations have supported a frequency tuning range of 380-470 MHz for public protection and disaster relief, which would allow administrations to decide on a national basis how much spectrum they would make available for such operations. (2) 746-806 MHz, 806-869 MHz and 4940- 4990 MHz for Region 2, which includes N. and S. America. (3) 406.1-430 MHz, 440-470 MHz, 806-824/851-869 MHz, 4940-4990 MHz and 5850-5925 MHz for Region 3, which encompasses Southeast Asia and the Southern Pacific.

Progress was less clearcut on proposals for harmonizing wireless LAN spectrum at 5 GHz. The U.S. proposal has supported allocations for harmonized international spectrum at 5 GHz for Wi-Fi types of systems, including primary allocations in the 5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz bands, along with regulatory measures to protect incumbent systems such as radars, space science applications, mobile satellites and other operations. Proposed mitigation methods to protect against interference include dynamic frequency selection techniques and power limits.

Substantial differences remain between the U.S. and Europe on 5250-5350 MHz, U.S. WRC Ambassador Janice Obuchowski told reporters Thurs. European administrations favor restrictions on outdoor use in this band and the U.S. still sees no need for such additional protective measures. “We haven’t seen a final view out of Asia,” Obuchowski said. “We could envision an approach that basically focuses on each region defining an approach to this that would different from another’s. We haven’t given up on trying to bring Europe around,” she said. While a regional approach has been under discussion at the conference, Obuchowski said it still was not the “preferred approach” of the U.S. “We are still pushing and we are going to do hard bargaining over the weekend.”

Obuchowski said the U.S. was holding to its position of no change for an agenda item on ways to allow smaller fixed satellite service (FSS) antennas at 13.75 to 14 GHz. But she said the U.S. also was examining a “compromise that is being worked at a very expert level.” The U.S. has proposed no change in that spectrum from current FSS earth station limits of 4.5 m. European and other administrations have been backing plans that would allow those dishes to shrink to as small as 1.2 m to allow broader broadband deployment from systems in those bands. The compromise, broached last week at the conference (CD June 16 p2), would examine different power limits that would allow dishes to shrink while still protecting incumbent systems in the band such as military radars. “We have seen CEPT [Conference of European Postal & Telecom] and others willing to consider a more conservative approach to protecting the radars,” Obuchowski said. The compromise discussions center on a Method B advocated by the CEPT Administrations and others. Before an earth station in a geostationary FSS network is brought into service with an antenna smaller than 4.5 m, a country would have to ensure that the power radiated didn’t exceed -113 dB toward coastal areas and certain border regions, according to the European version of this plan. “We don’t know if we could achieve adequate protections along the contours of method B but we are willing to explore it,” Obuchowski said.