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Office of Spectrum Management Federal Long-Range Spectrum Plan IV. Federal Plan for Accommodating Unsupported Requirements Specific Frequency Allocations Needed Flight Test Telemetry Possible allocations in the 25.25-27.0 GHz band Radiolocation Pending the results of the radar workshop. Radio Astronomy See the NTIA Special Publication 94-31 for requested allocations. Paging [TBD] Strategy for Obtaining Allocations Inputs for International Conferences The Federal Government develops its inputs for international radio conferences with the participation of Federal agencies in the IRAC's Radio Conference Subcommittee (RCS). The RCS develops the Federal position on revisions to the international Radio Regulations, including changes to the international Table of Frequency Allocations. The outputs of the RCS are sent to the IRAC for approval, and then, in consultation with the Department of State, are merged with similar proposals from the FCC, and are then considered official U.S. proposals for international conferences. Inputs for International Study Groups The international study groups, under the Radiocommunications Sector of the ITU, develop reports and recommendations regarding use of the spectrum. These documents are used to complement the Radio Regulations. NTIA and the Federal agencies contribute technical documents to the national study groups, which along with contributions from the private sector, are considered and sent to the U.S. National Committee for approval. Approved documents are forwarded to the ITU for consideration by the international study groups. The following issues are being tracked and addressed in the national study groups: International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) -2000. The International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) is an advanced mobile communications concept, and is considered as a third generation wireless system. Key features of the IMT-2000 include: a high degree of commonality of design worldwide, compatibility of services within IMT-2000 and other fixed networks, and high-quality worldwide use and roaming capability for multi-media applications (e.g., video-teleconferencing and high-speed internet access). The ITU established an agenda item for the WRC-2000 which considered the "review of spectrum and regulatory issues for advanced mobile applications in the context of IMT-2000, noting that there is an urgent need to provide more spectrum for the terrestrial component of such applications and that priority should be given to terrestrial mobile needs, and adjustments to the Table of Frequency Allocations as necessary". (1) The 1755-1850 MHz and 2500-2690 MHz bands were some of the bands that WRC-2000 considered for IMT-2000 terrestrial systems. The U.S. position for this conference was negotiated by U.S. industry and government representatives, resulting in a proposal that the United States believed could be the basis for a compromise at the conference, given the conflicting positions of many of the other administrations. The United States suggested three possible bands for IMT-2000, including the 1710-1885 MHz band (favored by the Americas) and the 2500-2690 MHz band (favored by Europe), and the 698-960 MHz band. At the conference, the United States stated that it would study these bands domestically to (1) see if there are alternate bands to reaccommodate the existing systems, (2) determine the costs for such a relocation, (3) who would pay for relocation, and (4) how long the transition would take. The United States proposed and the WRC-2000 adopted full regulatory flexibility, giving each administration the right to determine which of the three bands it may want to identify for IMT-2000, if it wants to do so at all. Administrations can identify these bands at any time. Also, the United States proposed to keep bands identified for IMT-2000 open to any technology that fits in the mobile service rather that specifying a technology or standard for use in the spectrum. The United States supports the development and implementation of advancing mobile telecommunications systems, such as IMT-2000, as critical components of the communications and information infrastructure of the future. Subsequent to the WRC-2000, the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, the Chairman of the FCC, and representatives of the State Department and the DOD met with White House staff to define the process by which spectrum would be identified for IMT-2000 in the United States. It was determined that studies would be performed by NTIA (on the 1755-1850 MHz band) and the FCC (on the 2500-2690 MHz band) to determine if either or both of these bands would be viable candidates for accommodation of future IMT-2000 systems. Because of the length of time required to evaluate costs for Federal systems, NTIA would issue an interim report, followed by a final report that included cost data. The 2700-2900 MHz band is also under consideration for IMT-2000, but will not be addressed until a later WRC. Therefore, NTIA and NOAA are discussing and developing a plan for the protection of the band 2700-2900 MHz. This band is a candidate band for the terrestrial component of IMT-2000. The band is used worldwide for meteorological radars and airport surveillance radars. The plan includes submission of U.S., Inter-American Telecommunications Commission, and World Meteorological Organization contributions into TG8/1 and the conference preparatory meeting regarding sharing studies and current worldwide usage in the band. Proposed Changes to National Table of Frequency Allocations 40.5-41.0 GHz Add Federal Government Fixed-satellite (space-to-Earth) Add Federal Government Mobile-Satellite (space-to-Earth) Add footnote G117 Footnotes: 1. Resolution 721 (WRC-97) Agenda for the 1999 World Radiocommunication Conference, International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations, Volume 3, (Geneva: ITU 1998) at 319. Next: V.
Plan for Federal Use of the Radio Frequency Spectrum | ||||||||