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INTRODUCTION
The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) is a gathering of official delegations from over 140
nations and organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). National government
officials come together every few years to negotiate proposals to changes in international spectrum
regulations which, if approved, would then be in‐force internationally through the auspices of the ITU.
These proposals, called Agenda Items, are not brought to the WRC spontaneously; they must be agreed
upon at a previous WRC in order to be considered at the subsequent WRC. In the interim between the
two conferences, national governments work internally and with their regional counterparts to develop
a consensus position on each proposal to the extent possible given varying national priorities and
interests. The national delegates then bring their positions to the WRC and negotiate with other
delegations before a final vote on each proposal.
Agenda Items are very specific in nature, and propose narrow but potentially substantial changes to the
usage of the spectrum that can have significant impact on users. Since the vast majority of spectrum
allocations are for the active use of the spectrum, it is critical for vulnerable passive (or receive‐only)
services to voice their concerns about potentially‐adverse effects on their operations.2
This report identifies the Agenda Items of relevance and the potential impact to U.S. radio astronomers
and Earth remote sensing researchers. It does not assess the relevance of Agenda Items to operations
that support these fields nor to other services or scientific pursuits. The sections are laid out serially in
numerical order to facilitate locating a specific Agenda Item for easy perusal. The committee has
determined that the Agenda Items given in Table ES.1 could, if agreed upon as proposed, impact RAS
and EESS operations. Agenda Items not discussed in this report are not expected to have an impact on
RAS or EESS operations. Sections provide bold‐faced recommendations or conclusions to highlight
particularly noteworthy information.
The committee did not remark on bands outside of those allocated to EESS and/or RAS except in
particular cases where it was appropriate, or where unwanted emissions might pose a threat to
observations in bands that are allocated to RAS and/or EESS.
2
In the United States, the Radio Astronomy Service (RAS) and the Earth Exploration‐Satellite Service (EESS) are
allocated 2.07% of the regulated spectrum on a primary basis and 4.08% on a secondary basis. Allocations for RAS
and EESS are comparable in the ITU’s international allocation tables. From National Research Council, Spectrum
Management for Science in the 21st Century, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2010, pp.137‐138.
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