ITU Regulations Board Backs Most of the Bureau’s Satellite Cancellations, Delays
GENEVA -- The ITU Radio Regulations Board backed satellite frequency assignment and network cancellations and delays for certain networks administered by France, Russia, Tonga, Cyprus and India, earlier this month, according to the board’s report we obtained. The board told the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) to keep an Iranian network on the books. Italy and Slovenia are moving toward partial resolution of interference troubles, the report said, and Cuba continued to report U.S. transmissions as harmful interference. Questions about possible discrepancies between reality and information in the master register persist concerning more than three dozen satellite networks, according to a separate report by the Radiocommunication Bureau director to the meeting.
The board decided to retain the Iranian Zohreh-2 satellite network after the bureau asked for clarification of its regulatory status, namely whether it had been in regular operation. The bureau last summer canceled all entries for the network in the master register. Varying claims of harmful interference, problems with coordination and conflicting information have been leveled for networks operated by Eutelsat and Arabsat near 26 degrees east. France, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the notifying administrations. France had said Iran and Arabsat acknowledged that no satellite had been operating under Zohreh-2 frequency assignments longer than the two years allowed for suspending assignments. The board considers appeals of bureau decisions on frequency assignments and reports of unresolved interference investigations and other matters, and approves rules of procedure for carrying out the Radio Regulations, the ITU website said.
The board didn’t consent to a request by the administration of Cyprus on the reinstatement of the original date-of-receipt of the Kypros-Sat-3 satellite network filing, thereby supporting bureau action to bump it to June 25, 2010. Cyprus had said an administrative error involving six days shouldn’t be held against the filing, we've learned.
The board decided not to review an unfavorable bureau finding after required examination of certain assignments to satellite networks Yamal-PK1, PK2, PK3 and PK4. Russia had said ambiguities resulting from rule changes should have dictated a special approach to solving difficulties, we've learned.
Cuba reported 32 days of harmful transmissions from the U.S. on 509 MHz and 66 days of transmissions simultaneously on 213 and 509 MHz, the director’s report said. Italy has proposed a partial resolution of harmful interference to Slovenian TV and FM broadcasting, the board’s report said, and Italian use of non-coordinated frequencies has been causing harmful interference. Italian transmitting sites won’t use any of the channels allocated to Slovenia after the move to digital, we've learned. Slovenia had doubts about the approach. Legal issues appear to limit the Italian government’s ability to fully resolve longstanding interference to Slovenia’s FM broadcasting stations.
Bureau investigation into the possibility that no satellites may be operating in 93 networks that are notified by 16 administrations and three intergovernmental satellite organizations resulted in 12 suppressed networks at the request of one administration, the bureau’s report said. The investigation as of Oct. 1 also resulted in the cancellation of entries for six networks whose notifying administrations didn’t respond to notices and clarification pending for one remaining network, it said. The efforts focused on bands 3400-4800 and 5725-7075 MHz and 10.7-13.25 and 13.75-14.8 GHz.
The board backed the bureau’s decision to cancel from the master register all recorded frequency assignments of the six satellite networks, F-SAT-2, Insat-2 (111.5), Tongasat AP-1, Tongasat AP4, Tongasat C/KU-1 and Tongasat C/KU-4. The move followed investigation and comparison of information in the master register with “reliable information.” France, India and Tonga are the notifying administrations. The administrations have at least one way to appeal the findings.
A similar investigation of Ka-band networks focused on 17.3-20.2 GHz, 21.4-22 GHz, 24.75-25.25 GHz and 27-30 GHz and resulted in 13 suppressed networks. Queries about 128 networks were sent to 17 administrations and one intergovernmental organization. Administrations confirmed regular use for 63 networks, and notified suspended operations for 17 networks. Thirteen networks were suppressed at the request of the notifying administration. Questions remain for 36 other networks.