World Meteorological Organization Tees-up Priorities for 2011 Treaty Conference
GENEVA -- Frequencies for space and earth meteorology must be protected for the Global Earth Observation System of Systems and meteorological data gathering and transmission, said a report. The report on preliminary World Meteorological Organization positions for the 2011 World Radiocommunication Conference said radio frequencies are scarce, crucial resources that national weather bodies use to collect and measure data and to disseminate information. The report was circulated in ITU-R.
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The WMO-coordinated Global Observing System uses radio applications and services possibly affected by WRC-11 rulings, the WMO said. Seven WRC-11 agenda items matter to meteorology interests, the WMO said. They include a possible update of spectrum use in the Earth exploration satellite services for passive use between 275 GHz and 3,000 GHz. Numerous weather satellites use or will use the frequency range, it said. Bands above 275 GHz are crucial for meteorology, climatology and environmental activities, the WMO said.
WMO supports protection of passive frequency bands between 71 and 238 GHz in WRC-11 agenda item 1.8, it said. Key bands to meteorology include 86 to 92 GHz, 100 to 102 GHz, 114.25 to 122.25 GHz, 148.5 to 151.5 GHz, 174.8 to 191.8 GHz, 226 to 231.5 GHz and 235 to 238 GHz, already in use by many instruments. WRC-11 will consider technical and regulatory issues, including sharing and adjacent compatibility with passive services. Any technical and regulatory conditions set up for the fixed service should ensure protection of the passive Earth exploration satellite service, the WMO said.
WMO backs an allocation for meteorological aids service for passive use below 20 kHz, it said. A WRC-11 allocation “is the only solution to ensure long-term availability of long range and global lightning detection applications,” WMO said. It also backs a radiolocation service allocation for oceanographic radars within the 3 to 50 MHz band.
WRC-11 agenda item 1.22 “will examine the effects of emissions from short-range devices … to ensure that radiocommunication services are adequately protected,” the WMO said. Although focused on RFID, the item could consider all types of SRDs, including ultra-wide band applications, the WMO said. Compatibility with and protection of meteorological applications and services should be ensured, the WMO said.
The WMO endorses a weather-satellite service allocation to the 7,850-7,900 MHz band and certain sharing arrangements with fixed and mobile services, except aeronautical mobile. Agenda item 1.24 will consider extending the existing primary allocation “in the band 7,750-7,850 MHz to the band 7,850-7,900 MHz for non-geostationary meteorological satellites in the space-to-Earth direction,” WMO said. Higher data transmission rates will be needed for next-generation non-geosynchronous orbit meteorological satellites, the WMO said. Demonstrated compatibility between fixed and mobile, except aeronautical mobile, between 7,850 and 7,900 MHz means sharing under similar conditions in the new bands is more than likely, WMO said.
Other WRC-11 agenda items may affect frequency bands used for meteorology, the WMO said. Agenda item 1.3 “will probably consider spectrum in the range between 2 and 10 GHz” for unmanned aircraft systems, the WMO said, some of which are allocated to and used by meteorological applications. Compatibility with and adequate protection should be ensured in any identification or allocations for unmanned aircraft systems in meteorological bands, the WMO said.
Powerful electronic news gathering in frequencies between 2,700 and 2,900 MHz and 10.6 and 10.68 GHz “could adversely impact correspondent meteorological applications,” the WMO said. Compatibility and protection should be ensured in WRC-11 agenda item 1.5 for any electronic newsgathering in meteorological bands, the WMO said. Agenda item 1.7 “will probably consider spectrum above 1.6 GHz” for certain aeronautical mobile service, the WMO said. Compatibility and adequate protection should be ensured for identification or allocations in meteorological bands, WMO said.
Agenda item 1.25 will consider new allocations to the mobile satellite service in the Earth-to-space and space-to-Earth directions, WMO said. Focus is on frequencies between 4 and 16 GHz, where some bands are allocated to and used by meteorological applications, for example MetSat, radars and Earth exploration-satellite service, WMO said.
The WMO appealed to ITU and countries to “ensure the availability and absolute protection of the radio-frequency bands which, due to their special physical characteristics, are a unique natural resource for space borne passive sensing of the atmosphere and the Earth surface [and] to give due consideration to the WMO requirements for radio frequency allocations and regulatory provisions for meteorological and related environmental operations and research.”