ECC monthly news summary for June 2015

This summary provides a round up of the main outcomes of ECC Working Group and Project Team meetings and events which have taken place in June 2015.

Included this month:
2-5 June: CPG approves the first set of ECPs for WRC-15
2-3 June: STG contributes to the development of future SEAMCAT version
2-3 June: PT ES studies the feasibility of hosting a database to support transnational emergency calls
10-11 June: PT NP progresses on evolution in CLI usage
15-17 June: SE 24 progresses on compatibility studies related to extension bands for 5 GHz RLANs
17-18 June: FM 51 further develops the revision of Recommendation 25-10 on frequency bands and tuning ranges for PMSE
18-19 June: SE21 works on collection of relevant receiver parameters
22-24 June: ECC PT1 updates the regulatory framework for MCV
23-24 June: a workshop informed CEPT experts in maritime radiocommunications about latest developments in VDES
24-26 June: CPG PTD completes the last draft ECPS for WRC-15 on new bands for IMT and on the use of the band 694-790 MHz

2-5 June 2015 – The Conference Preparatory Group (CPG), the lead group for CEPT preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) and the Radiocommunication Assembly 2015 (RA-15), had its seventh meeting in Porto, Portugal

Approval of first set of European Common Proposals (ECPs) to WRC-15

CPG15-7 finally adopted the first set of ECPs for signature by CEPT administrations. It covers many of the items of the WRC-15 Agenda on the following topics:

• General regulatory issues and items related to science services (addressed within CPG Project Team A): agenda items 1.11, 1.12, 1.13, 2, 9.1.4, 9.1.6, 9.1.7 and 9.1.8.
• Satellite issues (CPG Project Team B): agenda items 1.7, 1.9.1, 1.9.2, 1.10, 7 (parts of it), 9.1.1 and 9.2.
• Items related to aeronautical, maritime, radiodetermination and radio amateur issues (CPG Project Team C): agenda items 1.15, 1.16 and 1.17.
• Items related to the mobile service (CPG Project Team D): agenda item 1.1 (6 parts agreed out of 7), 1.2 (3 parts agreed out of 4).

Items for further consideration

• Agenda Item 1.1 (additional spectrum for the mobile service and International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)): whilst CPG adopted ECPs proposing IMT identification the bands 1427-1518 MHz and 3400-3800 MHz and ECPs proposing no change for a list of bands not supported by CEPT for IMT, the decision with respect to the band 2700-2900 MHz was deferred to the next CPG meeting.
• Agenda Item 1.2 (use of the frequency band 694-790 MHz by the mobile service): ECPs were adopted on issues A (lower edge of the mobile allocation), B (compatibility between the mobile service and broadcasting) and D (applications ancillary to broadcasting). Regarding issue C (compatibility between the mobile and aeronautical radionavigation services), CPG invited CPG PTD to finalise the ECP taking into account the progress of cross-border coordination in the relevant countries.
• Agenda Item 1.14 (continuous reference time-scale): CPG noted 3 diverging approaches towards an ECP. In the absence of any consensus, CEPT administrations were urged to provide their position to the final meeting of CPG in September 2015.
• Agenda Item 1.18 (primary allocation to the Radiolocation service in the band 77.5 -78.0 GHz in support to automotive applications): a compromise solution was developed during the meeting, which will need to be assessed by administrations for the next CPG meeting in September 2015.
• Agenda item 10 (proposals for the WRC-19 Agenda): 11 proposals for future agenda items are currently under study and further proposals may be considered at the forthcoming CPG PTA meeting in July 2015. The final selection of the supported proposals will be done at the final meeting of CPG in September 2015. CPG endorsed the view that the development regarding a new Agenda item on IMT above 6 GHz supporting 5G should focus on a manageable number of bands.
  
  In addition, CPG will also have to further discuss at its next meetings the agenda items 1.3 (public protection and disaster relief), 1.4 (amateur allocation around 5.4 MHz), 1.5 (use of fixed-satellite service (FSS) bands for unmanned aircraft systems), 1.6 (extension of the FSS allocations around 14 GHz), 1.8 (earth stations located on board vessels (ESVs)) and the topic of global flight tracking.  

Preparation for the Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-15)

CPG adopted two ECPs for the RA-15: one regarding a new ITU-R Resolution on small satellites and one on a revision of Resolution ITU-R 9-4 dealing with the cooperation between ITU-R and other relevant organisations. In addition, proposals on the future of the ITU-R Special Committee on procedural and regulatory matters, ITU-R´s working methods and studies on characteristics for use of visible light for broadband communications have been discussed and are subject to further consideration.

Please check the CPG page for additional information about the CEPT preparation for WRC-15 (including latest versions of ECPs and CEPT Briefs) and for RA-15.

2-3 June 2015 – The SEAMCAT Technical Group (STG), responsible for the technical support and development of the spectrum engineering software SEAMCAT, met in Ljubljana, Slovenia

STG reviewed the most recent modifications brought to the SEAMCAT software and agreed on various developments, including plugins, to be implemented in the future version 5 currently under test.

Further details are available on the STG webpage and general information on SEAMCAT, including the online user manual can be found on the SEAMCAT page.


2-3 June 2015 – The Numbering and Networks Project Team ES, responsible for emergency services, met in Bucharest, Romania

PT ES focused its work on the preparation of a feasibility study on the possibility for the ECC and for the ECO to host a database of E.164 numbers to facilitate inter-PSAP (public-safety answering point) communications in Europe. In order to inform the study, a questionnaire was discussed and further developed. The objective of the questionnaire is to understand the level of interest for such a service from the emergency services stakeholders and to gather information on other issues that might arise. The questionnaire will be circulated to the national authorities with responsibilities for emergency services.

Further details are available on the PT ES webpage.


10-11 June 2015 – The Numbering and Networks Project Team NP (Number Portability) met in Budapest, Hungary

PT NP continued to develop a draft ECC Report on the evolution in the Calling Line Identification (CLI) usage, which addresses the decoupling of rights of use of numbers from service provision. The goal is to deliver the document to the next meeting of Working Group Numbering and Networks (WG NaN) in October 2015 for approval for public consultation.

PT NP also started work on a new Draft ECC Recommendation on third party use of number portability data and on a new Draft ECC Report on facilitating switching and competition in the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) sector using Over-The-Air provisioning. This latter Report will also consider the relevance of number portability in the M2M sector.

Further information is available on the PT NP webpage.


15-17 June 2015 – The Spectrum Engineering Project Team SE 24, responsible for compatibility studies related to Short Range Devices (SRD), met at the ETSI headquarters in Sophia-Antipolis, France

SE 24 continued its activities on the development of a first draft ECC Report on the compatibility studies related to Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs) in the band 5725-5925 MHz, making progress in particular on compatibility between RLAN and the fixed-satellite service (FSS). In addition, SE 24 initiated its work on a second report on the topic, dealing with the assessment of the mitigation techniques required for the compatibility.

SE 24 also further developed its studies on:

• SRDs with duty cycle up to 2.5% in the band 870-875.6 MHz;
• improvements for SRDs in the 862-870 MHz including the investigation of the potential use of new SRD applications.

Details on these items and on other activities are available on the SE 24 webpage.


17-18 June 2015 – The Frequency Management Project Team FM 51, dealing with spectrum for programme making and special events applications (PMSE), met at the ECO, Copenhagen, Denmark

FM 51 developed further the working document towards a revision of Recommendation 25-10 on the frequency bands and tuning ranges for PMSE. Specifically, FM 51 agreed to initiate the work on two additional annexes, which are intended to contain national information on the availability of each of the frequency range and to address the procedures for issuing frequency authorisations for temporary use of PMSE.

Details on these items and on other activities are available on the FM51 webpage.


18-19 June 2015 – The Spectrum Engineering Project Team SE21, addressing unwanted emissions, met in Portoroz, Slovenia

SE21 continued developing the draft ECC Report on the review of the characterisation of the unwanted emissions. Taking into account the considerable amount of work collected, SE21 agreed on a new structure for the draft Report and reorganised it accordingly.

SE21 continued its activity, in cooperation with ETSI, on the collection of relevant receiver parameters and invited feedback from other WG SE Project Teams.

More details are available on the SE21 webpage.

22-24 June 2015 – The ECC Project Team PT1 on IMT and other communications networks in the mobile and fixed services met in Montreux, Switzerland

ECC PT1 addressed all the comments received during the public consultation related to the draft revision of ECC Decision (05)05 (harmonised utilisation of spectrum for Mobile/Fixed Communications Networks (MFCN) operating within the band 2500-2690 MHz) and developed a revised version. It will be submitted to the next ECC Plenary meeting (30 June-3 July 2015) for approval for publication.

ECC PT1 resolved the comments received during the public consultation on Draft ECC Report 237 on compatibility study between wideband Mobile Communication services on board Vessels (MCV) and land-based MFCN networks. The amended draft ECC Report 237 will be further considered by the ECC for final approval for publication.

As a follow-up activity, ECC PT1 also finalised a draft revision of ECC Decision (08)08 on the harmonised technical conditions for Mobile Communications on Board Vessels. It is sent to ECC for approval for public consultation.

ECC PT1 also finalised a draft new ECC Report on compatibility studies related to Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications in the bands 733-736 MHz/788-791 MHz. It is sent to ECC for approval for public consultation.

More details are available on the ECC PT1 webpage.


23-24 June 2015 – The Conference Preparatory Group Project Team C organised a workshop on VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) at the ECO, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Within the framework of CPG-PTC activities in preparation for WRC-15 Agenda Item 1.16 (new Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology applications and possible new applications to improve maritime radiocommunication), CEPT identified that the concept of the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) would enhance maritime radio communications.

In this context, a workshop was organised to offer the opportunity to receive the latest technical information related to VDES, through various presentations from satellite and terrestrial experts.

The presentations made at the workshop are available here.

24-26 June 2015 – The Conference Preparatory Group Project Team D (which is preparing for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) on WRC-15 agenda items 1.1 and 1.2) had its tenth meeting in Montreux, Switzerland

Considering the outcome from the CPG meeting earlier this month, CPG PTD finalised the last draft European Common Proposals (ECP) on WRC-15 Agenda Items 1.1 (additional spectrum for the mobile service and IMT) and 1.2 (use of the frequency band 694-790 MHz by the mobile service) and amended the corresponding draft CEPT Briefs for both items.

Agenda Item 1.1
The activities towards draft ECPs focussed on the band 2.7-2.9 GHz where PTD agreed on an ECP proposing no change (i.e. no allocation to the mobile service) in this band.

CPG PTD also improved and finalised the draft CEPT brief supporting the various ECPs agreed for this item.

The draft ECP on the 2.7-2.9 GHz band and the draft brief will be considered at the September 2015 meeting of CPG for final adoption.

Agenda item 1.2
Taking into account the ECPs already approved by CPG, PTD activities were devoted to the conditions for compatibility between the mobile service and the aeronautical radionavigation (issue C). Two alternative ECPs have been developed for approval at the September 2015 meeting of CPG. PTD has also updated a table of the progress on bilateral coordination agreements between RCC countries and CEPT countries.

The draft CEPT brief on agenda item 1.2 has been further developed.

Further details are available on the CPG PTD webpage. Please check the CPG page for additional information about CEPT preparations for WRC-15 (including latest versions of draft CEPT Briefs).