What will give delegates sleepless nights at WRC-23?

In terms of spectrum sought by the mobile sector, the 4.8—4.99 GHz, 6425—7025 MHz and the UHF bands are highly contentious.

However, on some Agenda Items, it seems that the regional groups have formed some degree of consensus—such as the use of high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) as IMT base stations (HIBS) and a mobile allocation in the 3.6—3.8 GHz band.

Space and science topics are less contentious in this WRC cycle. There are some discussions between the majority of the regional groups and the RCC (which represents Russia and many neighbouring countries) concerning the inter-satellite links in the Ka-band.

Regional groups have also failed to reach a common position because studies were found to be incomplete for science-related items such as space-borne radar sounders and space research services (SRS) in the 15 GHz band.

Detailed discussions are also expected on UAS (unmanned aircraft system) use of FSS (fixed satellite service) networks. Two regional groups, CEPT (Europe) and APT (Asia-Pacific), have been unable to form a common position on these items.

All these topics are analysed in our WRC-23 Dossier, which has just been updated and is now available to Spectrum Research Service subscribers•