09/04/2019

The African Telecommunications Union (ATU[1]) held its final preparatory meeting ahead of World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19), convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Attending the session in South Africa was Brian Jacobs, ZS6YZ, who represented the South African Radio League (SARL) and International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU R1[2]) as part of the South African delegation.

Delegates reached consensus on several items of interest to the Amateur Service. The highlights included:


o Agreement on an African Common Proposal (AFCP) on allocating 50 - 54 MHz to the Amateur Service in Region 1 on a primary basis with provisions to allow wind profiler radars and the Amateur Service to avoid mutual interference. (WRC Agenda Item 1.1)
o Discussion on spectrum to be considered for International Mobile Telecommunications, (IMT), which ATU agreed should not include the primary amateur band at 47 - 47.2 GHz. (WRC Agenda Item 1.13)
o Agreement to an AFCP that retains the current regulatory position in the 5725 - 5850 MHz band, which includes secondary allocations to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services. (WRC Agenda Item 1.16)
o No change to the International Radio Regulations regarding wireless power transfer for electric vehicles (WPT-EV), but with a continuation of International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) studies to ensure that appropriate frequency ranges and technical limits are incorporated into standards to protect radio services.ÿ

In ITU Region 3, the Australian Radio Study Group 5 (ARSG 5) met for the final time on August 23 in advance of WRC-19. ARSG 5 addresses terrestrial systems and networks for the Fixed, Mobile, Radiolocation, and Amateur and Amateur Satellite services in Australia and provides key technical inputs to meetings of ITU-R Working Parties 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D; the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), and WRC-19.

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) sites Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne were linked via videoconference to review progress toward relevant WRC-19 agenda items, to discuss the outcomes of recent international meetings, and to decide on any follow-up actions.

Coordinators for each WRC-19 agenda item briefed the meeting on the progress of work at ITU-R and the outcome of the APT fifth Conference Preparatory Group (APG19-5) meeting, held in July and August in Tokyo, which reached preliminary APT common proposals for WRC-19.

The ARSG 5 meeting also discussed the upcoming final meeting of the Department of Communications and the Arts (DOCA) Preparatory Group WRC-19 (PG WRC-19), set for September 16. DOCA is responsible for communications policy and programs. The PG WRC-19 meeting will finalize Australia's positions on all WRC-19 agenda items and provide security and operational information for the Australian delegation to the conference.

World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 will take place October 28 - November 22 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. - Thanks to IARU Region 1 and Southgate Amateur Radio Newsÿ


[1] http://atu-uat.org/
[2] https://www.iaru-r1.org/

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