Note: WRC-19 is now over. Stay tuned for a special report in the March-April 2020 issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine.
The World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) is now underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and is being held from October 28 to November 22, 2019.
Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN, the RAC Special Advisor at World Radiocommunication Conferences, will be providing updates via the RAC website and social media on the issues and processes that ultimately determine Amateur Radio frequencies around the world.
We will also be including a report on the proceedings and outcomes of WRC-19 in a future issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine.
The September-October 2019 issue of The Canadian Amateur features Bryan’s article “Countdown to WRC-19: A Final Update”. We are pleased to provide you with an updated article below to help set the stage for WRC-19.
Canadian Amateurs who wish to stay abreast of how all of these issues play out should subscribe to RAC bulletins, watch for news postings on the RAC website, and monitor RAC’s Twitter and Facebook accounts during the Conference using the hashtag #RACatWRC19.
Last week the Radiocommunication Assembly 2019 (RA-19) was held from October 21-25 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt just prior to WRC-19.
The Radiocommunication Assembly, hosted by Egypt and represented by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), was organized by the International Telecommunication Union’s Radiocomunication Bureau. For more information please visit:
radio-assembly-2019-of-the-international-telecommunication-union
Articles by Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN:
- “The Importance of Showing Up” (PDF file; 319 KB)
- “An Amateur Radio Approach to Spectrum Sharing Studies” (PDF file; 1.7 MB)
What are World Radio Communication Conferences?
The International Telecommunications Union describes World Radiocommunication Conferences as follows:
“World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) are held every three to four years.
It is the job of WRC to review, and, if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.
Revisions are made on the basis of an agenda determined by the ITU Council, which takes into account recommendations made by previous World Radiocommunication Conferences.
The general scope of the agenda of World Radiocommunication Conferences is established four to six years in advance, with the final agenda set by the ITU Council two years before the conference, with the concurrence of a majority of Member States.”
The World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from October 28 to November 22, 2019.