IMT Gains Spectrum at WRC-15, Satellite Industry Groups Say

The World Radiocommunication Conference agreed to set aside 1427-1518 MHz for international mobile telecom (IMT) use, with delegates to the conference in Geneva asking ITU-Radiocommunication (ITU-R) to come up with the technical measures for ensuring compatibility with mobile satellite service (MSS) operations in the adjacent 1518-1559 MHz band, satellite organizations said in a news release Friday. In C-band, downlink frequencies of 3400-3600 were identified for IMT use in Regions 1 and 2, while in Region 3 some countries will sign a footnote allowing possible IMT use of the spectrum, while others will keep it solely for satellite use, said the groups, including Global VSAT Forum, Satellite Industry Association, Society of Satellite Professionals International and World Teleport Association. A "no change" position was taken on the 3600-4200 MHz band, except for a footnote in Region 2 naming IMT for a few countries in the 3600-3700 MHz band, they said. WRC delegates also shot down a proposal for IMT use of C-band uplink frequencies 5925-6425 MHz for IMT, they said. WRC-15 also set aside some additional spectrum for fixed satellite service (FSS) use: 13.4-13.65 GHz in Region 1 and 14.5-14.8 GHz in several countries, SES said. WRC-15 declined to put globally harmonized bands for FSS, MSS or broadcast satellite service in the C, Ka or Ku bands into a WRC-19 agenda item on new frequency bands for IMT/5G use, the groups said. It also adopted rules to facilitate Earth Stations in Motion (ESIM) in part of Ka-band, allowing better global roaming of maritime and aeronautical terminals while protecting other service and applications from interference, and adopted agenda items for future conferences including the study of additional FSS spectrum at 51.4-52.4 GHz for WRC-19 and additional satellite spectrum in the 37.5-39.5 GHz band for WRC-23, they said. The U.S. delegation to WRC-15 plans to publicly announce and discuss WRC-15 decisions Monday.