2 Federal Communications Commission DA 21-219 DA 21-219 February 26, 2021 INTERNATIONAL BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON RECOMMENDATIONS APPROVED BY THE WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATION CONFERENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IB Docket No. 16-185 On February 23, 2021 the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WRC-23 Advisory Committee or WAC) approved and provided for Commission consideration of its draft recommendation on issues that will be considered by the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23). This recommendation is attached to this Public Notice (Attachment A). Based upon an initial review of the draft recommendation forwarded to the Commission, the International Bureau, in coordination with other Commission Bureaus and Offices, tentatively concludes that we can generally support most of the content attached in the WRC-23 Advisory Committee draft recommendation. We seek comment on the draft recommendation provided by the WRC-23 Advisory Committee (Attachment A). The comments provided by interested parties will assist the FCC in its upcoming consultations with the U.S. Department of State and NTIA in the development of U.S. positions for WRC-23. The recommendation that is attached to this Public Notice may evolve in the course of interagency discussions as we approach WRC-23 and, therefore, does not constitute a final U.S. Government position on any issue. The deadline for comments on the proposed recommendation is March 9, 2021. It is necessary that all comments be received by March 9, 2021, in order to allow sufficient time to finalize the U.S. position before commencement of regional WRC-23 preparatory meetings. All comments are to reference IB Docket No. 16-185 and to specific recommendations by WAC document number. Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on or before March 9, 2021. Comments may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998). · Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/. · Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. o Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. o Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.U.S. o Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 45 L Street, N.E., Washington DC 20554 · Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings. This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. See FCC Announces Closure of FCC Headquarters Open Window and Change in Hand-Delivery Policy, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 2788 (2020). · During the time the Commission’s building is closed to the general public and until further notice, if more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of a proceeding, paper filers need not submit two additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number; an original and one copy are sufficient. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 1-888-835-5322 (tty). In addition, one copy of each pleading must be sent to: Dante Ibarra, Designated Federal Official, Global Strategy and Negotiation Division, International Bureau, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20554; email: WRC-23@fcc.gov. The complete texts of these recommendations are available by accessing the FCC’s WRC-23 web site at: www.fcc.gov/wrc-23. Filings and comments are also available for public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 45 L Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20554. For further information, please contact Dante Ibarra at (202) 418-0610 or by email at: WRC-23@fcc.gov. -FCC– ATTACHMENT (A) Agenda Item 1.18: to consider studies relating to spectrum needs and potential new allocations to the mobile-satellite service for future development of narrowband mobile-satellite systems, in accordance with Resolution 248 (WRC-19) BACKGROUND: This agenda item is to consider studies relating to spectrum needs and potential new allocations to the mobile-satellite service (MSS) for the applications of low-data rate systems for the collection of data from, and management of, terrestrial devices in the mobile-satellite service. Based on the results of sharing and compatibility studies, agenda item 1.18 will consider the suitability of new allocations to the MSS in the frequency bands 1695 - 1710 MHz in Region 2, 2 010 – 2 025 MHz in Region 1, 3 300 – 3 315 MHz, 3 385 – 3 400 MHz in Region 2. In Resolution 248 (WRC-19), the ITU-R is invited to: · conduct studies on spectrum and operational requirements, including system characteristics of low-data rate systems in the MSS; · conduct sharing and compatibility studies with existing primary services (co-frequency and in adjacent bands) to determine the suitability of new allocations to the MSS; and · based on the results of sharing and compatibility studies, consider possible new primary or secondary allocations to the MSS with the necessary technical limitations to ensure the protection of existing primary services. There is growing usage for mobile satellite services globally, and a number of systems have been proposed and are being launched to meet the needs for MSS including a number of applications. U.S. VIEW: For the frequency bands under study in Region 2, in the United States the 1 695-1 710 MHz band is used for terrestrial IMT operation; the 3 300-3 315 MHz band is used for radiolocation and the 3 385-3 400 MHz band is used for radiolocation, and is currently under study for advanced wireless services FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Facilitating Shared Use in 3.1-3.55 GHz band.” https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-130A1.pdf . The United States uses the band 3 300-3 500 MHz for operating various types of government high-resolution/powered shipborne, land-based, and aeronautical mobile radar systems. The United States has significant investments in these systems. The United States supports the sharing and compatibility studies to determine the suitability of new primary or secondary allocations for NGSO MSS in the frequency bands, or portions thereof, 1 695 - 1 710 MHz 3 300 - 3 315 MHz, and 3 385 - 3 400 MHz in Region 2, as well as 2 010 - 2 025 MHz in Region 1, taking into account the need to ensure protection and to not impose constraints on the future development of existing primary services in these frequency ranges and adjacent frequency bands. The United States supports appropriate regulatory actions based on examining technical limitations that demonstrate, through sharing and compatibility studies, protection of existing services without causing undue constraints to their future development. 2