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Space procedures

A closer look at the international framework for satellite networks

John Lewis, Consultant in International Spectrum Management, Added Value Applications Limited

Innovative uses of satellite systems for communication are continually being developed. One recent example is the use of satellites to provide high-speed data and telephone links to aircraft, ships and high-speed trains, which allow passengers to communicate while on the move using their own mobile phones.

As the scale of investment in a satellite network is substantial — several hundreds of millions of US dollars — ITU Member administrations and satellite operators have developed a staged regulatory procedure that, if followed successfully, leads to a high degree of regulatory certainty that interference will be acceptable and the satellite links reliable. A process of coordination for the use of the relevant frequencies is undertaken during these procedures, along with the appropriate choice of a satellite's location in the geostationary-satellite orbit.

A little history

Under the first legislation concerning use of the radio-frequency spectrum, international frequency management was based on the concept of national sovereignty. National administrations regulated the use of radio frequencies and access to communication services. In a large part of the terrestrial radiocommunications domain (microwave radio relay links, land mobile, most of broadcasting, and so on) administrations were (almost) master of their national frequency management, with interference and coordination problems normally remaining limited to their close neighbourhoods. National authorities were thus effectively able to assign frequencies to users, with some exceptions, in particular in the high frequency bands.

This largely national management regime changed with the advent of satellite communications. In 1957, the Space Age was inaugurated with the launch of the first artificial satellite, SPUTNIK 1. The first geostationary satellite was put into orbit in 1963. Now, together with radio-relay systems and fibre-optic cables (including undersea cables), satellites constitute the main means of long-distance communication. In order to meet the challenges of the Space Age, ITU set up a study group in 1959 responsible for studying space radiocommunications. ITU also held an Extraordinary Administrative Conference on space communications in 1963 in Geneva, to allocate frequencies to the various space radiocommunication services.

These services cover applications where the Earth stations communicating with the satellite(s) are in fixed locations (the fixed-satellite service), in mobile locations such as vehicles, ships and aircraft (the mobile-satellite service), or are intended for the reception of broadcasting content by the general public (the broadcasting-satellite service). Radiocommunication services also cover a number of more specialized satellite applications, such as radiodetermination, science services including Earth exploration and meteorology, space operations and links between satellites.

The advent of the Space Age also led to the development of various declarations and treaties by the United Nations (most importantly the 1967 Outer Space Treaty), which stipulate that outer space, in contrast to air space which is under national sovereignty, is not subject to national appropriation by claim or by occupation, but is free for exploitation and use by all States through their governmental or non-governmental entities in conformity with international regulations. Thus, nobody owns any orbital position, but everybody can use this common resource if international regulations and procedures are applied. Another important element of the UN regulations is that States retain jurisdiction and control over objects that they have launched into outer space and they are responsible for space activities carried out by any of their public or private entities (even if the State does not exercise any direct or indirect control over such activities). States are thus obliged to establish appropriate control and supervision mechanisms, normally in the form of licences.

The role of ITU

ITU is the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for the international regulation and management of the radio-frequency spectrum and orbital resources. For more than 40 years between 1963 and 2007, many ITU world administrative radio conferences (succeeded in 1995 by world radiocommunication conferences) have dealt with the regulation of spectrum and orbit use by stations of space radiocommunication services. ITU Member States have established a legal regime which is codified through the ITU Constitution and Convention and the ITU Radio Regulations. These legal instruments contain the main principles as well as specific detailed regulations for:

• frequency spectrum allocations to various radiocommunication services;
• rights and obligations of Member administrations in obtaining access to spectrum/orbital resources;
• international recognition of these rights by recording frequency assignments and orbital positions (used or intended to be used) in the ITU Master International Frequency Register.

The above regulations are based on the main principles of efficient use of, and equitable access to, the spectrum and orbital resources. These principles are laid down in No. 196 of the ITU Constitution (Article 44) and stipulate that:

"In using frequency bands for radio services, Member States shall bear in mind that radio frequencies and any associated orbits, including the geostationary-satellite orbit, are limited natural resources and that they must be used rationally, efficiently and economically, in conformity with the provisions of the Radio Regulations, so that countries or groups of countries may have equitable access to those orbits and frequencies, taking into account the special needs of the developing countries and the geographical situation of particular countries."

The procedures

Coordination, planning, notification and registration

In the process of establishing ITU's space-related regulations, from the outset emphasis was placed on efficient and rational use of spectrum and orbital resources. This concept was implemented through a "first-come, first-served" approach. The procedure ("coordination before use") is based on the principle that the right to use a satellite position is acquired through negotiations with the administrations that are using the same portion of the orbital arc. If applied correctly (i.e. to cover actual requirements), the procedure offers a means of achieving efficient spectrum and orbital management; it serves to fill the gaps in the orbit as needs arise, and it results, in principle, in a homogeneous orbital distribution of satellites. In the frequency bands where this concept is applied, ITU Member administrations designate the volume of orbital or spectrum resources that is needed to satisfy their actual requirements. It then falls to administrations to assign frequencies and orbital positions, to apply the appropriate procedures from the Radio Regulations (international coordination and recording) for the space segment and Earth stations of their (governmental, public and private) networks, and to assume continuing regulatory responsibility for these networks.

The progressive exploitation of finite orbital and radio-frequency resources, and the resulting likelihood of congestion in the geostationary-satellite orbit, prompted ITU Member countries to consider the question of equitable access. This resulted in the establishment (and introduction into the ITU regulatory regime) of frequency and orbital position plans, in which a certain amount of spectrum is set aside for future use by all countries, particularly those which are not in a position to make use of these resources at the time such plans are drawn up. Under these plans, each country has a predetermined orbital position associated with the free use, at any time, of a certain amount of spectrum. Together with the associated procedures, the plans guarantee equitable access to spectrum and orbital resources for each country, thereby safeguarding their basic rights. They govern a considerable part of the frequency usage of the space radiocommunication services most in demand; namely, the fixed-satellite and broadcasting-satellite services.

In order to put the principles of efficiency and equitable access into effect, the two major mechanisms for the sharing of orbital and spectrum resources are:

—    Coordination procedures, which cover:

• geostationary-satellite networks (in all services and frequency bands) and non-geostationary-satellite networks in certain frequency bands, which are subject to the advance publication and coordination procedures of Article 9 of the Radio Regulations;
• other non-geostationary-satellite networks (all pertinent services and certain frequency bands), for which only the advance publication procedure from Article 9 is required before notification.

—    A priori planning procedures to guarantee equitable access, which include:

• the Allotment Plan for the fixed-satellite service using part of the 4/6 and 10–11/12–13 GHz frequency bands contained in Appendix 30B of the Radio Regulations;
• the Plan for the broadcasting-satellite service in the frequency band 11.7–12.7 GHz (Appendix 30 of the Radio Regulations) and the associated Plan for feeder links in the 14 GHz and 17 GHz frequency bands (Appendix 30A of the Radio Regulations);
• implementation procedures in the Plans of Appendices 30, 30A and 30B to allow for those modified requirements which were not foreseeable at the time of the establishment of the Plan concerned.

The application of these procedures requires an administration to submit the relevant information to the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau for examination and publication in its International Frequency Information Circular (IFIC), which is published every two weeks and which lists those administrations considered affected by a submission for a new or modified system. All administrations can thus become aware of all new proposed satellite systems through the IFIC and can react accordingly, entering into detailed coordination and/or agreement discussions when necessary.

Successful coordination of space networks and Earth stations, as well as agreements to modify an entry in a Plan, leads to application of the notification procedures of Article 11 of the Radio Regulations. This paves the way to international recognition of the use of frequencies by these networks and stations and the subsequent recording of the frequencies in the Master International Frequency Register.

An important aspect of the coordination and notification process, which relates to the need to cover only the real use of resources, is that administrations have seven years from the start of the process (the submission of advance publication information) to bring into use the satellite(s) concerned. If this administrative time limit is not respected, the relevant advance publication and coordination submissions lapse and the administration concerned loses its processing priority in the regulatory process.

Future developments

Over the last 40 years, the ITU regulatory framework has been constantly adapted to changing circumstances and has achieved the necessary flexibility to satisfy the two major, but not always compatible, requirements of efficiency and equity. With the dramatic advances in telecommunications, there is ever-increasing demand for spectrum and orbital resources for virtually all space radiocommunication services. This has given rise to more complex mechanisms to facilitate frequency sharing, as well as revised (and again often more complex) associated regulatory procedures.

The Radio Regulations are under constant review. The next World Radiocommunication Conference, to be held in 2011, could decide on further revisions to the frequency allocations and associated procedures for space services, especially as new applications of space radiocommunications will continue to be developed.