Note 1 In these two examples, the Ka-band at 20/30 GHz.

Note 2 In some cases on a "co-primary" basis where GMPCS has equal priority with one or more service, and in other bands on a "secondary" basis where other services have priority.

Note 3 Some specialists in this field object to the process being characterised in this way, because the international Radio Regulations (RR) do put a general obligation on spectrum users who are earlier in the date-priority order to work in good faith with those who notify requirements subsequently in order to accommodate those requirements. However, there is no specific obligation on administrations who have date-priority to change the characteristics of their assignment(s).

Note 4 A clause of the RR (No. 2613) states that feeder links of non-geostationary systems shall not interfere with geostationary systems, without placing a reciprocal obligation on the operators of the geostationary systems.

Note 5 Prospective operators such as Ellipso and Iridium have indicated that they will use their geolocation capability to detect the location of the user's terminal for every call attempt, and that they will use the same access control capability that they will use to prevent fraudulent use of the space-segment for the purpose of preventing calls to or from the territory of countries that have not licensed the GMPCS-based service.

Note 6 CDMA and TDMA are two different technical approaches, explained in Chapter 2 of the report. Both involve digital transmission, but they embody different approaches to:
- "Modulating" the radio-frequency (RF) carrier to carry the digital signal
- Providing large numbers of ground terminals (e.g. handsets) with access to shared satellite capacity ("multiple access").

Note 7 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Tentative Decision, ET Docket No. 92-28, 7 FCC Rcd 6414 (1992).

Note 8 Despite the fact that the WARC 92 decisions were not scheduled to come into force until October 1993, this was possible under the general provisions of Article 11 of the RR. The date given is the date of Advance Publication in the IFRB Weekly Circular.

Note 9 1610-1626.5 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz.

Note 10 1980-2010 MHz and 2160-2200 MHz.

Note 11 In addition to the GLONASS satellite navigation system, which uses the L-band, sharing part of the GMPCS allocation, a Russian GMPCS system, Ellikom, is also proposed.

Note 12 However, INMARSAT subsequently decided that its GMPCS proposal, INMARSAT-P, will be implemented at "arm's length" by a new corporate entity operating under normal commercial law. This new entity will not inherit the original date-priority of filing with the ITU, and in fact the relevant UK government agency (DTI) has submitted a new Advance Publication filing to the ITU on its behalf.

Note 13 In the Matter of Amendment of the Commission's Rules to Establish Rules and Policies Pertaining to a Mobile Satellite Service in the 1610-1626.5/2483.5-2500 MHz Frequency Bands, CC Docket 92-166, NPRM, released 18 February 1994.

Note 14 Joint Proposal and Settlement Agreement among Constellation Communications Inc., Mobile Communications Holdings Inc., Motorola and TRW, 1994.

Note 15 NPRM, op. cit., para 24.

Note 16 FCC, "In the matter of "Amendment of the Commission's Rules to Establish Rules and Policies Pertaining to a Mobile Satellite Service in the 1610-1626.5/2483.5-2500 MHz Frequency Bands, CC Docket No. 92-166, FCC 94-261, released 14 October 1994 ("the Report and Order").

Note 17 For a review of institutional structures and processes for telecommunications regulation in several countries, see Briefing Report No. 1 in this series: Tyler et al, "The Changing Role of Government in an Era of Deregulation. Briefing Report: Options for Regulatory Process and Procedures in Telecommunications, ITU, Geneva, May 1993.

Note 18 For geostationary satellite systems, the orbital characteristics can be defined very straightforwardly by the orbital position (longitude) and the station-keeping requirements that specify how close to the nominal orbital position the satellite will remain. For non-geostationary systems, other parameters must be specified: "right ascension of the ascending node", "argument of perigee", and so on. See Annex to Resolution 46 (WARC 92).

Note 19 US regulatory institutions and processes are described in Briefing Report No. 1, op. cit.

Note 20 Report and Order in CC Docket No. 92-166, February 14, 1994, op. cit.

Note 21 CDMA and TDMA are explained in outline in Chapter 2 of the report. The details of the band splitting are given in Chapters 3 and 4.

Note 22 Requiring that "at least one satellite is visible above the horizon at an elevation angle of at least 5° for at least 18 hours" per day within certain latitudes. Report and Order, op. cit., para 23.

Note 23 Joint Proposal and Settlement Agreement between Constellation, MCHI, Motorola, and TRW. (Op. cit.)

Note 24 Note Verbale from the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities to the US Department of State, Washington DC, 1 June 1994.

Note 25 Private Communication from A Halprin to M Tyler. Such a status would not supplant national licensing, but would facilitate it. It would not provide GMPCS operators with favourable tax treatment and legal "privileges and immunities" such as are currently enjoyed by INMARSAT.

Note 26 FCC, Report and Order, in CC Docket 92-166, op. cit.

Note 27 Feeder links are expected to be established in higher frequency bands than those assigned for uplinks and downlinks to and from handsets. The favoured allocations are in the 20/30 GHz bands ("Ka­band")

Note 28 NPRM, in CC Docket 92-166, op. cit., paras 70-77; Report and Order in CC Docket 92-166, op. cit.

Note 29 KPMG Peat Marwick, "Satellite Personal Communications and their Consequences for European Telecommunications, Trade and Industry, Main Report", March 1994: EC Contract No. 48186.

Note 30 As we noted earlier, this is made possible by the geolocation capability and the automatic handset authorisation ("registration") and access-control features of GMPCS systems.

Note 31 Established by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Note 32 The European Economic Area (EEA) was created by an agreement between the European Union (EU) and five member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden). The EEA agreement came into effect on 1 January 1994, and requires the EEA countries to harmonise their policies with the requirements of EU legislation.

Note 33 NPRM, op. cit., paras 88-89.

Note 34 NPRM, op. cit., para 89.

Note 35 KMPG Peat Marwick, op. cit.

Note 36 S Cheston, "The Need for ITU Registration of Transceivers Used on in Mobile Satellite Services", informal paper, 1994.

Note 37 Given the FCC policy outlined in the NPRM, op. cit., this in practice would mean handsets approved by US-licensed GMPCS operators.

Note 38 KPMG Peat Marwick, op. cit.

Note 39 Including handset distribution and registration, number assignment airtime resale, customer assistance/customer service functions, and billing.

Note 40 Note Verbale by the European Commission, op. cit.

Note 41 In the case of the US, the possibility that there may be some difficulty in achieving this, in relation to domestic regulatory practice and administrative law, needs further consideration.

Note 42 In the case of the US, the extent to which the FCC can in practice do this may involve issues in US administrative law, which require analysis beyond what was possible during the preparation of this report.

Note 43 Note Verbale of the Delegation of the European Communities to the US Department of State, op. cit.

Note 44 Except as regards matters concerning international frequency allocations and the international notification/co-ordination/registration processes, where decisions are made multilaterally through the ITU.

Note 45 For example, MR for handsets might apply only to handsets that comply with certain technical recommendations of ITU-R or ITU-T, just as MR for GSM handsets in Europe only applies to handsets that comply with ETSI standards.