WASHINGTON — On the opening day of the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) in Dubai, government officials leading the U.S. delegation said their top priorities are to make sure spectrum access for next-generation wireless services and to spice up U.S. growth within the space economy.
The four-week long WRC-23 kicked off Nov. 20. The conference is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to review and revise the international treaty governing using the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.
Speaking with reporters from Dubai, U.S. officials said WRC-23 is a major opportunity to advance U.S. interests related to telecommunications, innovation, economic growth and national security. The U.S. delegation includes nearly 200 government officials from the State Department, the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, NASA and the White House.
Organizers of the WRC-23 expect about 4,500 government officials from 193 nations to participate, along with 900 international organizations and universities.
Several U.S. goals
Nathaniel Fick, U.S. ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy, said there are broad objectives the US seeks to realize. These include expanding connectivity through 5G and Wi-Fi, unlocking innovation within the space economy and the following generation of space science, protecting U.S. national defense capabilities, and preserving radio frequency for maritime and aviation safety.
Geopolitics are casting a shadow at WRC-23 amid ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Fick said these ongoing conflicts mustn’t deter progress on technical regulations that all the global digital economy relies on.
“We’re doing all of it in a context of attempting to ensure inclusivity, on condition that a 3rd of the world continues to be not connected,” said Fick.
Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, said the US has to make sure there’s sufficient mobile broadband spectrum to support 5G services and beyond. “Particularly, we now have the chance here at this conference to harmonize the three.3 to three.4 gigahertz band and the three.6 to three.8 gigahertz band for mobile broadband across our region, which can create a 500 megahertz home for 5G.”
Harmonizing means allocating RF spectrum consistently across borders to enable global roaming and interoperability.
National spectrum strategy
The context for the U.S. agenda is the Biden administration’s National Spectrum Strategy released Nov. 13. It identifies greater than 2,700 megahertz of airwaves to check for brand new uses by each the private sector and federal agencies.
Rosenworcel said the U.S. is advocating for spectrum for unlicensed services like a brand new Wi-Fi standard generally known as Wi-Fi 7. “Beyond that, we expect that is the spectrum where we’re going to see the expansion of augmented and virtual reality.”
She said one other key goal is to “foster continued growth and U.S. leadership within the space economy. And which means continuing to support the use and development of space based communications, each geostationary and non geostationary satellite communication systems.”
The U.S. industry expects decisions on frequencies for space-to-space communications, and for spectrum for fixed satellite services within the 17 gigahertz band, she said.
The FCC has proposed opening up more spectrum to non-geostationary satellite operators like Starlink to enhance broadband speeds.
Satellite industry concerns
With several American and global technology industry associations lobbying around latest wireless technologies, the U.S. delegation has its work cut out navigating international regulatory interests while keeping track of fulfilling business domestic policy visions.
Rosenworcel didn’t comment on a proposal to review satellite power limits, which has develop into a divisive issue amongst satellite operators ahead of WRC-23.
These limits, generally known as Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD), affect how powerful a radio signal must be so as to avoid disrupting the geostationary spacecraft they fly under while passing over the equator.
Low Earth orbit operators like Amazon and SpaceX are urging the WRC to update the EPFD rules. An industry group called the Alliance for Satellite Broadband says the EPFD limits constrain the power of non-geostationary satellites to supply broadband connectivity.
These changes are opposed by some GEO satellite operators.
Fick noted that WRC-23 delegations shall be challenged to reconcile a diversity of industry and government priorities from across the globe.
“There’s a vibrant private sector involved here with a set of vital but sometimes differing equities,” he said. “And we now have 193 UN member states, all of that are sovereign, and all of which have their very own points of view.”
5G competition with China
Industry groups have voiced concerns that the U.S. will not be being assertive enough in allocating spectrum for 5G communications.
The CTIA association that represents the U.S. wireless communications industry, said it has “watched with increasing alarm as other countries allocate significantly more mid-band spectrum for 5G services.”
The group said China is ahead of the US “when it comes to prime 5G mid-band allocations for licensed mobile use.”
Rosenworcel noted that the national spectrum strategy puts 2,790 megahertz of spectrum “on the table for possible future mobile use.” But she said it’s also “vitally vital that Congress reinstate the FCC’s auction authority. And people are the things that we shall be focused on as we return to Washington and work on these issues after WRC.”
With regard to the competition with China over 5G spectrum, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Steve Lang said “there are some areas where we are able to work with the Chinese very effectively on some spectrum priorities. There are others where there are real differences, and people differences are sometimes relevant to our approaches to technology and innovation.”