Work is already under way by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to address agenda items of interest to Amateur Radio during the run-up to the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19). The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) convenes WRCs every 3 or 4 years in Geneva; the last WRC was in 2015. The IARU’s prime focus is spectrum privileges — gaining or retaining spectrum for the amateur radio services and spectrum protection — making sure that amateur spectrum remains available for use and free from serious man-made interference. The IARU works within international standards organizations and with regional telecommunication organizations to accomplish its goals.

In the past month, IARU representatives have attended the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) Electronic Communications Committee (ECC). This is CEPT’s policy-making body and just one of the many CEPT committees at which the IARU has a seat at the table. IARU was also present at ITU Working Parties under Study Group 5 (SG5), which is charged with studying matters related to terrestrial radiocommunication services. Working Party 5A met November 7-17, preparing for WRC-19 with a focus that included the Amateur Radio services. The panel:

¨ Completed revisions to Recommendation ITU-R M.1732 dealing with parameters to be used in sharing studies regarding the compatibility of Amateur Service operations with other radio services, mainly in the 50–54 MHz band. It also generated four liaison statements to other groups. “Liaison statements” are how working parties alert each other to matters of common interest.

¨ Continued work on sharing and compatibility studies required for WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.1, which addresses an Amateur Radio allocation at 50–54 MHz in ITU Region 1 in common with those already available in Regions 2 and 3. Sharing studies consider criteria under which spectrum can be shared among different radio services.

¨ Addressed other WRC-19 agenda items that could impact the Amateur Service.

¨ Updated the WP5A web document, “Guide to the use of ITU-R texts relating to the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services.”

¨ Reviewed liaison statements from other ITU working parties on topics of relevance to the Amateur Services and generated some liaison statements of its own.

IARU will continue to be active in ITU and regional telecommunication organizations as preparations go forward for WRC-19. In the coming weeks, IARU plans to participate in CEPT’s Conference Preparatory Group for WRC-19 and in its Project Team meetings.

WRC-19 will take place in Geneva from October 28 to November 22, 2019.