Geneva hosted last 3-10 June the fourth meeting of Working Party 1A (WP 1A) and the fifth meeting of Working Party 1B (WP 1B), concerning the study period (2012-2015) ahead of the upcoming 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15), to be held this November. WP 1A deals with matters associated to spectrum engineering techniques and WP 1B with spectrum management methodologies and economic strategies.
The most significant issues considered at this WP 1A meeting were the coexistence of telecommunication systems with wires and radiocommunication systems and related matters, including power line telecommunications (PLT) and smart grids. A report about smart grid energy management systems is also being developed. Another major issue with a great deal of activity in the group is wireless power transmission (WPT). The group began revising Report ITU-R SM.2303-0 on wireless power transmission using technologies other than radio frequency beam, approved in 2014; this was justified because there have been many developments over the last year. A proposed recommendation on frequency ranges for global or regional operation and human hazards of non-beam wireless power transmission (WPT) systems continued to be developed, along with a new proposed report on the introduction to wireless power transmission via radio frequency beam. A proposal was put forward to revise Recommendation ITU-R SM.1132 on the general principles and methods for sharing between radiocommunication services, with the notable insertion of sharing techniques based on use of spectrum and geo-localisation databases as well as the use of sensing techniques, among others. The report on use of active services in frequency bands above 275 GHz was completed (Technology Trends of Active Services in the Band above 275 GHz); studies to protect passive services notably must still be carried out. Recommendation ITU-R SM.1541 on unwanted emissions in the out-of-band domain was revised, specifically to update appendix 6 on out-of-band emission limits for TV broadcasting systems.
Major issues dealt with at the WP 1B meeting included development of a recommendation (or report - there is still no consensus on the document type) on global harmonisation of SRD categories, which proposes that common definitions be drawn up for certain categories of short range devices where some level of global harmonisation has been verified, bearing in mind responses received in the 2014 questionnaire. Development continues regarding the report about the spectrum management principle, challenges and issues related to radio systems employing cognitive capabilities, a working item that began with the theme of white spaces in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band based on cognitive techniques but which has evolved to a cover a more generic theme known as dynamic spectrum access (DSA) via systems that apply cognitive techniques. WP 1B completed the report on issues concerning the digital dividend (The Challenges and Opportunities for Spectrum Management Resulting from the Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television in the UHF Bands), whose aim was to gather information about regional and national experience regarding the digital dividend in the very high frequency (VHF) and UHF bands, including regulatory, economic and social issues and spectrum re-planning aspects, among others. WP 1B is also drawing up a report on innovative regulatory tools to support enhanced shared use of the spectrum, which includes the concept of licensed shared access (LSA) developed by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). Revision work also began on Recommendation ITU-R SM.1046 on the definition of spectrum use and efficiency of a radio system, Report ITU-R SM.2012-4 on economic aspects of spectrum management and Report ITU-R SM.2153 on technical and operating parameters and spectrum requirements for short-range devices.
