Tuesday, November 12, 2019

WRC-19 Under Way; Early Progress Reported


The 2019 World Radiocommuni- cation Conference (WRC-19) us currently under way in Egypt. This quadrennial conference of the International Telecommunica- tion Union sets worldwide policies and frequency allocations within the radio spectrum. 

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which is an observer at the conference, reported that the first week's sessions resulted in "no change" decisions relating to amateur allocations at 47.0-47.2 GHz and 5.850-5.925 GHz. Both of these spectrum areas are of interest to commercial interests. The delegates also voted to defer any decision on spectrum allocations for wireless power transmission (WPT) for electric vehicles.
 
Still to come as this is written - decisions on greater amateur access to the 6-meter band in Europe and Africa, and what issues to include on the agenda for the next WRC, scheduled for 2023. The conference is due to continue through November 22.

Just before the conference began, a special issue of ITU News magazine included an article by IARU Secretary (and former ARRL CEO) Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, on "Views of the International Amateur Radio Union on WRC-19 Agenda Items." According to the ARRL Letter, the article focused on the need for a worldwide amateur allocation at 6 meters, preservation of current bands and stronger protections against RF interference from a growing number of sources.