Preparations intensify ahead of WRC-23

3 Aug 2022 04:13 PM

UK regulator Ofcom, the European Commission, and the EU’s spectrum advisory group RSPG have all launched consultations on their positions for the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23).

The WRC-23 will be held in Dubai from 20 November to 15 December 2023, where the Radio Regulations, a treaty-level document, will be amended.

As Ofcom prepares for the conference, they are inviting views to develop the UK’s position on potential updates to the Radio Regulations. Ofcom represents the UK at WRCs, and has published a Call for Input, which highlights the key issues to be discussed at WRC-23 and explains why they matter to the UK.

Inputs are sought in the following areas among others:

• The use of the 6 GHz band for future services
• The future use of the 470-694 MHz
• Inter-satellite links
• additional satellite allocations in support of narrowband IoT “M2M”
• Regulatory conditions for HIBS
• New spectrum allocation in the 40-50 MHz range to support and enhance climate monitoring spectrum allocation in the 40-50 MHz range to support and enhance climate monitoring

The Call for Input closes on 29 September 2022.

European consultations

The European Commission is also seeking feedback regarding a common EU position to be negotiated by Member States on behalf of the EU at the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference 2023.

The Commission does not have voting rights at WRCs per se, although spectrum policy is a shared competence between the EU and EU Member States. For such reasons, a Council Decision will be taken based on a Commission proposal for a common EU position regarding spectrum issues which fall into EU competence.

Some of the these include the Copernicus program, or the future use of the 6 GHz band.

Simultaneously, the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) is also consulting in its recently published Interinc Opinion on WRC-23.