Strategic Objective A – Safety – Aviation Frequency Spectrum

Aviation Frequency Spectrum

The ICAO Position for the next International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) was approved by the ICAO Council in May and disseminated to all States.

The continuous increase in air traffic movements, as well as new emerging applications, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems, place greater demands on aviation regulatory and air traffic management mechanisms, resulting in increasing requirements for frequency assignments and spectrum allocations.

While these requirements can, to some extent, be met through improved spectral efficiency of new radio systems, it is inevitable that existing frequency spectrum allocations may need to be broadened or additional aviation spectrum allocations sought to meet this demand.

This trend, however, is by no means unique to aviation. At WRC-15 aviation will have to compete with a number of other industries that are actively seeking an expansion of the spectrum available to them; resulting in an ever increasing pressure on existing allocations for safety and regularity of flight, and danger of interference to the services using those allocations.

In keeping with Assembly Resolution A38-6 (Support of the ICAO policy on radio frequency spectrum matters), States, international organizations and other civil aviation stakeholders are urged to support firmly the ICAO frequency spectrum strategy and the ICAO Position at the WRC-15, as well as in regional and international activities conducted in preparation for the Conference.