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C-Band Satellite Services and IMT

Protections for Satellite Services Secured by WRC-07

Matthew W. Botwin

Managing Director, The Regent Square Groupand

Chairman, GVF Regulatory Working Group

www.gvf.orgC Band Spectrum 3400 - 4200 MHz

• Agenda Item 1.4 for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07) addressed whether the 3400 MHz – 4200 MHz band (C-band) should be identified for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) on a global basis with the longstanding primary allocation for fixed satellite services (FSS).

• WRC-07 rejected a global identification for IMT in the C-band

• WRC-07 adopted new footnotes in the Radio Regulations to identify the 3400 MHz – 3600 MHz band for use by IMT, but only in the countries that are listed in those footnotes (opt-in countries).

www.gvf.orgAdditional FSS Protections

To protect C-band earth stations in countries that are near opt-in countries, the footnotes require IMT operators (and regulators in opt-in countries) to:

1. coordinate with affected administrations

2. in some regions, meet power flux-density (“pfd”) limits at the border

The footnotes adopted by WRC-07 do not address protection at the national level. Protection of earth stations from IMT networks deployed in the same country should be dealt with by discussion with the national regulator.

www.gvf.orgSteps to Protect Your Satellite Network

• Coordination requirements are triggered for C-band earth stations that are included in the ITU Master Register in affected countries.

• Earth station operators should therefore ensure that some stations near borders in every operating country are notified according to RR provision 9.17 so they are included in the ITU Master Register

• E/S operators should contact the regulators in their operating countries to ensure: – Regulators refrain from authorizing domestic IMT networks and

require any that do get licensed to ensure protection of satellite earth stations

– Regulators respond promptly (within 120 days) to requests for coordination between IMT and satellite networks

www.gvf.orgITU REGION 1

BrazilianIn the 81 opt-in countries in Region 1, the 3400 MHz – 3600 MHz band was allocated effective November 10, 2010 to mobile services

(including IMT) on a co-primary basis.

Region 1 opt-in countries include Albania, Algeria, Germany, Andorra, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cyprus, Vatican, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, French Overseas Departments and Communities in Region 1, Egypt, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Latvia, Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Norway, Oman, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Syria, Congo, Slovakia, Czech Rep., Romania, United Kingdom, SanMarino, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Swaziland, Togo, Chad, Tunisia,

Turkey, Ukraine, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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Region 1 Protections

IMT systems in Region 1 countries are constrained by the following requirements near the border:

PFD Limits: Mobile operators must ensure that the pfd produced at 3 meters above ground does not exceed –154 dBW (m2 · 4 kHz) for more than 20 percent of the time at the border of the territory of any other administration

Coordination Requirement: The IMT operator’s administration must send a request for coordination to the Bureau with all applicable information required by Appendix 4 of the Radio Regulations. Coordination is necessary with respect to all services pursuant to provision 9.21 and with satellite earth stations pursuant to provision 9.18.

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Region 1 Protections continued

The Bureau will then identify all administrations with which the requesting administration must coordinate, and publish the coordination information in the International Frequency Information Circular (“BR IFIC”).

Administrations receiving a request for coordination must respond within four months of the publication, otherwise the coordination obligation is waived.

If coordination is unsuccessful and an agreement is not reached with an affected administration, IMT services must operate on a non-interference/non-protected basis. Such IMT operators must shut down any operations that cause interference to primary services.

www.gvf.orgRegion 2

In the 14 opt-in countries in Region 2, the 3400 MHz – 3500 MHz band was allocated by footnote to mobile services (including IMT) on a co-primary basis subject to coordination with affected administrations pursuant to 9.21

Opt-in countries in Region 2 include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela and French Overseas Departments and Communities in Region 2.

There are no pfd limits in the applicable footnote for Region 2. Power limits, as well as other operational conditions, however, may be imposed by regulators pursuant to the 9.18 and 9.21 coordination process. Earth station operators should encourage regulators to adopt such requirements.

If coordination is unsuccessful and an agreement is not reached with the affected administration, mobile services must operate on a non-interference/non-protected basis. Such mobile operators must shut down any operations that cause interference to primary services.

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Region 3

In Region 3 there are three separate footnotes for different groups of opt-in countries. For services in the 3400 MHz – 3500 MHz band, the opt-in countries are separated into two groups:

Group A: (Korea, Japan and Pakistan) the 3400 MHz – 3500 MHz band is already allocated to the mobile service and is identified for IMT.

•The pfd limits described above for Region 1 apply.•IMT operations within the coordination area of a notified satellite earth station must coordinate pursuant to provision 9.18.

Therefore, notification of earth stations prior to IMT deployment is essential.

Group B: (Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, New Zealand, Singapore) IMT operations are restricted by the same constraints that apply for Region 1.

The 3500 MHz – 3600 MHz band has also been identified for IMT in opt-in countries in Region 3. In this band, IMT operations in Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, New Zealand, Singapore and the French Overseas Communities in Region 3 are restricted by the same constraints described for Group A in the 3400 MHz – 3500 MHz band described above.