Frequency Management Office 1 The Space Frequency Coordination Group (SFCG) ESF WorkshopCagliari, 29 October, 2004

Frequency Management Office 2 What is the SFCG The SFCG is an informal group federating all the main space agencies and related national and international organizations. Its main objectives are: 1.To provide working level coordination of international RF spectrum usage among the science services users. 2.To adopt agreements that optimise the use of the allocated bands. 3.To agree common policies and identify long-term targets related to potential changes to the international regulations (ITU-R, WRC, Regional Groups). Note: The second part of this presentation will concentrate on the last topic only

Frequency Management Office 3 The SFCG scope The radio services covered by the SFCG activity are: Space Research (data communications and sensors) Space Operations Earth Exploration Satellite (data communications and sensors) Meteorological Satellite Inter-Satellite It is therefore clear that Passive sensing is only one (important) element of the SFCG activity Passive sensing not from satellite is not within the SFCG scope, but the presence as observer of an organisation like IUCAF has proven very beneficial.

Frequency Management Office 4 SFCG was founded 24 years ago under ESA and NASA initiative. Since then it has regularly met each year. The 24 SFCG member agencies are: ASI (ITA), BNSC(UK), CAST(CHI), CMA(CHI), CNES(FRA), CONAE(ARG), CSA(CAN), CSIRO(AUS), DLR(GER), ESA, EUMETSAT, INPE(BRA), INSA(SPA), ISRO(IND), JAXA(JAP), KARI(KOR), NASA(USA), NIVR(NED), NOAA(USA), NSA(MAL), NSAU(UKR), NSPO(TW), SSC(SWE), RFSA(RUS). The Observers are: WMO, IUCAF, ITWG, CCSDS, ITU-R. The Head of the ESA Frequency Management Office has the task of permanent SFCG Executive Secretary. Further information on SFCG can be found at SFCG history and membership

Frequency Management Office 5 The yearly meetings of SFCG are hosted on a rotation basis by one of the member agencies and have a duration of 7 working days. The work is driven by an agenda and a set of action items agreed at the previous meeting, but the informal nature of the group allows the introduction of any new subject of interest. As a result of its work, the SFCG develops and adopts common resolutions and recommendations to be applied within the member agencies. These cover a variety of subjects, e.g.: spectrum masks, deep-space channels plans, inter-agency frequency coordination procedures, interference criteria, standard transponder turnaround frequency ratios, use of specific bands, common objectives wrt the next WRC, etc. SFCG working methods

Frequency Management Office 6 Some of the SFCG achievements in the passive sensing area 1.Successful world-wide agreement by the satellite passive sensing community on the requirements for the revision of passive allocations above 71 GHz (WRC-2000). This proved decisive in convincing the national delegations that our requirements were scientifically and technically sound. 2.Successful world-wide agreement on the requirements for the revision of the EESS(passive) allocations in the GHz range (WRC-97). Same considerations as under point 1. 3.Global revision of the satellite passive sensors protection criteria, that resulted in the revision of the corresponding ITU Recommendations in Agreement on the mechanisms to coordinate the future cloud radar missions at 94 GHz with the radioastronomy operations (SFCG Resolution 24-2) 5.In general SFCG is effective in raising early alarm bells when one of the members discovers regulatory evolutions that may have impacts on the community

Frequency Management Office 7 Although the SFCG is an informal group, its positions on regulatory aspects have an impact on the decision makers. Its Resolution covering the SFCG position on the various WRC Agenda Items is widely known and used as a “lobbying tool”. The fact of representing a contact point to reach the whole satellite science service community is seen as a key element by the regulators. For example the SFCG, despite being an informal group, has been tasked by WRC-03 to act as the reference point for collecting information on the orbital parameters of future missions flying SAR sensors in P-band ( MHz). CITEL has recently expressed interest in having SFCG attending their meetings as observer. The SFCG international recognition

Frequency Management Office 8 The SFCG limitations SFCG is an informal group. As such: it doesn’t have full authority to speak on behalf of a community; it doesn’t have staff that could work full time also outside the meeting dates and attend international meetings representing SFCG. Some of the SFCG member agencies are bound to policy decisions taken by their national regulatory authority and therefore these members cannot always support the SFCG positions when attending ITU meetings as part of their national delegation. The case of UWB at 24 GHz is exemplary in this context, with NASA and NOAA not being allowed to express their view at ITU level. The SFCG and, more in general, the representatives of passive services, have not been able to be heard at all in some areas (e.g. the European Commission, certain regional groups like the Arab Group)

Frequency Management Office 9 How can SFCG improve its effectiveness Making its voice heard also in those areas not reached yet. A wider and targeted dissemination of the SFCG outputs could be beneficial. It would be important to identify similar groups with common interests to exchange information on policies. For example we do not know how terrestrial passive sensing users are organised. The availability of SFCG staff would surely help a lot in attending regional meetings, breaking into areas where our community is not well known and keeping contacts with other groups with common interests (e.g CRAF, IUCAF, etc..). But this presents economical and organisational problems and may result in a less informal operating mode. Therefore this may not represent a viable way forward. This Workshop could represent an opportunity to tackle some of these limitations