AMCP WGC4/WP12

AERONAUTICAL MOBILE COMUNICATIONS PANEL

Working Group C

Montréal, Québec, Canada

May 27-30 2002

Agenda Item: UAT SARPS development consideration

SPECTRUM CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE UNIVERSAL

ACCESS TRANSCEIVER (UAT)

Presented by France

Prepared by Alain DELRIEU

As part of its UAT SARPS development initiative the U.S. Aviation Administration introduced the papers AMCP WGC4/ 18 and WGF7/44 dealing with considerations of the needed spectrum for the Universal Access Transponder (UAT), system proposed to operate in the lower portion of the 960-1215 MHz band. In conformance to ITU Radio Regulations , that portion is currently allocated internationally for Aeronautical Radionavigation Service (ARNS) and through footnote 5.328, for “airborne electronic aids to air navigation and any directly associated ground-based facilities”. The paper 44 concluded that “… since UAT is an electronic aid to airborne navigation, it can operate in the 960-1215 Mhz band under existing international footnote 5328 and no changes to the ITU Radio Regulations are expected to be necessary”. Accordingly the U.S. Administration invited AMCP Members to “ … consult with their radio-regulatory agencies “ on such considerations and proposed U.S. interpretation.

The French ANFR (Agence Nationale des Fréquences) has been recently consulted and upon an initial analysis of the matter is of the opinion that:
“…from a regulatory standpoint, it is erroneous to state that this communication system may operate under the ARN service: the footnote 5.328 only applies to the ARNS and cannot be interpreted as “stretchable” in its intent to also include the Aeronautical Mobile Service, since the latter does not benefit from any R.R. allocation in the considered 960-1215 MHz band . As a matter of fact, the recent CEPT and ITU-R conclusions on the VDL M4 “appropriateness “in the VHF ARN band can be directly applied to this new AMS band allocation request, pointing to the need to seek a regulatory change to the RR accordingly, through the usual ITU WRC preparatory process of requesting a dedicated WRC agenda point…”.

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