Participants at a workshop held in Wroclaw, Poland, in mid-September discussed efficient use of spectrum and orbit resources. They agreed that ensuring this efficiency is getting “more and more difficult,” but there are tools that can be used to make the system work better.

The event was sponsored by the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It was held at the same time as the 20th International Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) symposium held at the Wroclaw University of Technology, located in a lovely university town known for its many bridges and 11 universities. While engineers and scientists focused on arcane EMC technology at the symposium, a small number of ITU mavens discussed the current situation for satellite registration and what steps the BR has taken to make the system more efficient.

The author moderated the Wroclaw panel discussion on these issues. The panel consisted of Valery Timofeev, the BR director; a current and two former members of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) and the head spectrum regulator from one of the largest European administrations.

Starting out the discussion, Yvon Henri, chief of the BR Space Services Department, described the current situation, noting that the BR embarked in 2009 on a campaign to remove unused frequency assignments and networks from the ITU master registry. The results have been encouraging. In December 2009, the BR sent letters to administrations asking for clarification of the status of a large number of satellites supposedly operating in the frequencies 3–7 GHz and 10–14 GHz. Based on its own investigation, the BR has some reason to believe that the information in its books for those satellites did not correspond to real operating facilities. The administrations identified 93 satellites, and clarified by September that 34 were in regular use, 40 could be suspended, 18 were suppressed from the registry, and 1 remained pending.

This effort continues. In April, the BR sent letters to 17 administrations and 1 intergovernmental organization concerning 128 satellites supposedly operating in the 17-30 GHz frequencies. As of September, 48 of these satellites were confirmed to be in regular use, but 13 have been suspended and 6 suppressed, with another 61 still pending.

The BR is reasonably happy with these results and positively surprised by the good reaction from industry and administrations about this effort to clean up the books. Not all is resolved, however, because for a large number of those satellites, the administrations have claimed they should remain registered by application of ITU Constitution Article 48, which related to military radio installations. This provision gives administrations “entire freedom,” essentially meaning none of the other rules applies. This claim has been raised for 56 networks so far in response to the BR efforts.

The status of satellite registrations and whether satellites have been brought into use was a hot topic, but not the only one discussed in Wroclaw. The point was made that even if new efficiency methods and rule adjustments lead to better processing and more orbital slots, this effort still does not ensure that there is “equitable access” to the satellite slots and frequencies. The difficulty remains that defining what is equitable is a very difficult task, and one that cannot be based solely on technical and engineering criteria.

Nevertheless, the point was made that the ITU and the satellite registration process is the best example of management of common international property yet known. However, it is the administrations that set the rules at conferences such as the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference, WRC-12, and those administrations must enforce the rules and ensure against harmful interference. The BR needs to continue informing administrations on strategies to make the system more efficient and on progress towards that goal.

The Wroclaw workshop was one of a series of similar events, including an earlier event at the 19th EMC symposium in 2008, a well-attended workshop in Geneva in May 2009 and a CEO roundtable combined with two days of discussions in June in Singapore sponsored by the BR and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. We may see another such workshop, perhaps in Geneva, towards the middle of 2011 to wrap up discussions for possible actions and decisions at WRC-12.

Gerry Oberst is a partner in the Hogan Lovells Brussels office.