
The U.S. government is working on its proposals and
positions for this year’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15). Among
them is a proposal to add 600 MHz to the spectrum currently available to the
Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) in the vicinity of 10 GHz, also
known as “X-band.” Amateur radio currently has a secondary allocation from
10.0-10.5 GHz, with a specified segment for the Amateur Satellite Service
between 10.45 and 10.5 GHz. The
ARRL Letter says the proposal would consider amateur satellites
already in service at the time of the change to have co-equal status with the
scientific satellites, but that any launched after that time would have
secondary status. The ARRL has been involved in the discussions and is
monitoring them closely.