Radio Regulatory Spectrum Issues for Space Services — A Regulatory Perspective

Paper number

IAC-07-B2.5.04

Author

Mr. Vinod V Singh, Ministry of Communications and IT, India

Year

2007

Abstract

There are forty generic radiocommunication services, plus one ‘Special Service’, identified in the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union. In order to ensure world-wide harmonious growth and development of all the forty generic  radiocommunication  services, the Radio Regulations provide for a comprehensive regulatory framework, the central themes of which are frequency allocation for these services as well as their technical and operational characteristics.
	Practically every terrestrial radiocommunication service is complemented by a corresponding satellite-based sevice; for example, fixed service is complemented by fixed-satellite service, aeronautical mobile service by aeronautical mobile-satellite service, standard frequency and time signal service by standard frequency and time signal-satellite service, and maritime radionavigation service by maritime radionavigation-satellite service. In addition, inter-satellite service, space operation service, earth exploration –satellite service, meteorological-satellite service, space research service and radio astronomy service are important in their own right and are not related to or  complementing the terrestrial services. These services, collectively called space services, make a total of 20 services, exactly half of the forty generic radiocommunication services, dealt with by the Radio Regulations and ITU-R Recommendations. 
	 Because of the essentially global nature of frequency allocations, service specific technical and operational characteristics (e.g., GSO vs NGSO, active vs passive) as well as wide-area coverage of space stations, the regulatory framework associated with the space services is quite complex. In order to ensure success of space services, the coordination of space stations is subject to demanding coordination process, often running into years, as change in technical parameters of a space station, after its launch, is extremely difficult to effect.  Further, for additional spectrum to support a new application or enhance an existing application, a mix of technical approaches(sharing studies) — for example, hard pfd limits, coordination threshold and interference mitigation techniques — are employed, resulting in enhanced cost and/ or reduced quality of service.
	The paper attempts to catalog frequency-allocation related issues of all the generic radiocommunication services which affect or are affected by the space services. This finding may help in long-term planning of the space services and also help isolate the sources of interference to these services.

Abstract document

IAC-07-B2.5.04.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-07-B2.5.04.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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