World Radiocommunications Conference: Switzerland’s objectives achieved
Biel/Bienne, 27.11.2015 - The World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-15), which closes today in Geneva, enabled identification at the global level of new spectrum to accommodate the development of mobile broadband communications. Consensus was reached after four weeks of negotiations. This represents a success for the Swiss delegation, with all objectives set by the Federal Council achieved.
The Conference, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, enabled identification at the global level of additional spectrum for mobile broadband communications. These frequencies can be made available to the mobile telephony operators in Switzerland. It was also decided to launch studies ahead of the next Conference (WRC-19) in order to identify spectrum for mobile broadband of the 5th generation (5G).
The Conference also allocated frequencies for global flight tracking in civil aviation. Furthermore, additional radiocommunication capacity was granted to Earth observation applications, which are crucial for climate monitoring, combating climate change and predicting natural disasters. Finally, the conference proposed additional studies on remotely piloted aircraft, the terms of use of which must be defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The Swiss delegation has signed the final acts revising the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits. The delegation was led by Philippe Horisberger, Deputy Director General of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). OFCOM will now begin work on implementing the WRC-15 results at the national level.
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Federal Office of Communications
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