Agenda Item 9.1.5
ITU WRC-15
Presented by Koos Pretorius,
SACAA
Regional Frequency Spectrum
Workshop for ITU WRC-15
Nairobi, Kenya
September 3-4, 2013
WRC-15 Agenda Item 9.1
5 (9.1.5);
Consideration of technical and
regulatory actions in order to support
existing and future operation of fixed-satellite service
earth stations within the band 3 400 – 4 200 MHz, as an
aid to the safe operation of aircraft and reliable distribution
of Meteorological information in some countries in
Region 1 (Resolution 154 (WRC-12))
Historic Background
Aviation safety across the African
Continent has been compromised by
a lack of reliable fixed aeronautical telecommunications
infrastructure used for providing Air Traffic Services/Direct
Speech (“ATS/DS”) and Aeronautical Fixed
Telecommunications Network (“AFTN”) voice and data
services
Historic Background Continued
The South African Air Navigation Service Provider, Air
Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) in
collaboration with the International Air Travel
Association (IATA) introduced the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Very Small
Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network in the Fixed
Satellite Service (FSS) C-Band in 1998 called
SADC/1
Historic Background Continued
When the SADC/1 VSAT network reached its
“end-of-life” it became imperative to replace
the network due to maintenance costs, and in
particular the repair of VSAT equipment that
became unaffordable as the basic VSAT
technology platform was not supported
anymore.
Historic Background Continued
As part of the on going support of
aeronautical and navigational
services in the SADC region, ATNS
and the individual States therefore
collectively decided to replace the SADC VSAT
network with a new baseline VSAT technology
platform that will provide and support legacy as well
as new communications facilities and protocols.
(The SADC/2 network)
Historic Background Continued
As a result of the leading role
ATNS played in resolving the
aeronautical fixed communication deficiencies
in the SADC Region, ICAO and the North East
African States accepted an offer from ATNS and
IATA to implement a similar fixed aeronautical
VSAT network in the North East AFI (AfricaIndian Ocean) Region, to address the ATS/DS
and AFTN deficiencies within this region (The
NAFISAT network).
Historic Background Continued
The SADC/2 and NAFISAT VSAT networks
are supported by ATNS in terms of the
bilateral agreements reached with all the
States in the SADC and North East African
regions.
Historic Background Continued
Not all the individual States have
the capability to maintain their
in-country VSAT terminals, and as a
result of the high availability and maintainability
requirements, 2 (two) Maintenance Management Centres
were established to co-ordinate fault and failure
management. These centres are also responsible for
physical maintenance site visits to those sites that do not
at present have their own maintenance capability.
Historic Background Continued
The two main centres are:
•Entebbe, serving mainly the States in the
North East African Region and;
•Johannesburg, serving mainly the States in
the SADC Region.
These two centres also provide the master
timing for the TDMA signals to the network.
Historic Background Continued
Additional Multi-Channel per Carrier (“MCPC”)
point-to-point links are provided in the SADC and
NAFISAT VSAT network for interconnection to the
ASECNA (“Agency for the Safety of Aerial
Navigation in Africa”) AFISNET (“Africa Indian
Ocean Satellite Network”) VSAT network operated
in West Africa.
ATNS VSAT NETWORK
NAFISAT and SADC/2 - AFTN Connectivity
Tunis
Tripoli
Cair o
MID Region
MUSCAT
Jeddah
Asmara
Dakar
Niamey
Khartoum
Sana'a
N'Djamena
Djibouti
Mumbai
Addis
Ababa
Abijan
Bangui
Accra
Mogadishu
Entebbe
Brazzaville
Kigali
Nair obi
Kinshasa
Victoria
(Seychelles)
9.6
Bujumbura
9.6
Dar es Salaam
9.6
Luanda
Lilongwe
Lusaka
9.6
NAFISAT Circuits
Antananar ivo
Harare
Future Planned Circuits
Beir a
Plaisance
(Mauritius)
Gabor one
SADC/2 Circuits
Windhoek
Maputo
Johannesburg
MCPC Circuits
Manzini
Maseru
9.6
Shared circuits between
NAFISAT and SADC/2
Revision 4.0 1-07-2013
ATNS VSAT NETWORK:
NAFISAT and SADC/2 - ATS/DS Connectivity
Tunis
Tripoli
Cair o
MID Region
Muscat
Jeddah
Asmara
Dakar
Khartoum
Niamey
Sana'a
N'Djamena
Djibouti
Mumbai
Abijan
Addis
Ababa
Accra
Bangui
16
Mogadishu
Entebbe
16
Brazzaville
Kinshasa
Kigali
Bujumbura
Victoria
(Seychelles)
Nair obi
16
16
16
16
Dar es Salaam
16
Luanda
16
Lilongwe
Lusaka
Antananar ivo
Harare
Beir a
Planned NAFISAT Circuits
Plaisance
(Mauritius)
Windhoek
Gabor one
Future Planned NAFISAT Circuits
Johannesburg
Maputo
Manzini
Planned SADC/2 Circuits
Maseru
Future Planned SADC/2 Circuits
Planned MCPC Circuits
Future Planned MCPC Circuits
16
Planned shared circuits between NAFISAT and SADC/2
Revision 2.0 1-07-2013
Historic Background Continued
In West Africa a network was also
initiated by ICAO and funded by the European
Economic Community (EEC)
and implemented by ALCATEL in the period 1992
to 1995.
This network called AEROSATEL was
implemented to provide reliable aeronautical fixed
and mobile services in the West and Central Africa
region in the ACCRA, KANO, N`DJAMENA and
NIAMEY FIR.
Historic Background Continued
This initial network was expanded and became
AFISNET.
This service covers the ASECNA area including
Roberts FIR, Madagascar, Reunion and Mayotte,
The Comoros, Angola, Algeria, Sao Tome &
Principe with links to South Africa and France.
The CAFSAT (Central Atlantic Firs VSAT)
Network
The CAFSAT network links the SAM, EUR
and AFI regions and provides interconnectivity
between the AFI networks and the
South American digital network (REDDIG)
Toulouse
AFISNET network
Lisbonne
Sante Maria
Tunis
Alger
Casablanca
Tripoli
Las Palmas
Le Caire
Bir-Mogreïn
Tessalit
Nouadhibou
Atar
Dirkou
NKT
Faya
Agadez
Gao
Sal
Dire
Zinder
Tamba
Khartoum
NMY
Bamako
NDJ
Ouaga
AmTiman
Kano
Maiduguri
Conakry
Garoua
Lagos
Bria
Lome
Abidjan
Accra
Bouar
Bangui
Douala
Malabo
Ouesso
RECIFE
Nairobi
Libreville
Dar es Salaam
Brazzaville
Pointe Noire
Moroni
Kinshasa
Dzaoudzi
Antsirana
Luanda
Station B (11 M)
Mahga
Station F2 (7m30)
Maurice
Station F1 (3m60)
Toamasina
St Denis
Links via AFISNET network
Tana
Beira
Links via CAFSAT network
Links via SADC network
Toliara
Planned links
JOHANESBURG
Aeronautical Communication VSAT
Links
Historic Background Continued
These VSAT networks support all
aeronautical communications services
including the extension of VHF
aeronautical mobile, navigation and
surveillance.
VSAT networks are also used for data links
for the meteorological services in Africa.
Historic Background Continued
Today, VSAT networks constitute a real
infrastructure, spanning the entire African
continent and beyond. The availability of the
entire 3.4 to 4.2 GHz FSS band is crucial for
the AFI Region to ensure the continued
growth of traffic while maintaining the
required level of safety in this region.
Agenda Item 1.4 at the World Radio
Conference of 2007
(WRC-07), addressed the issue whether
the band 3400 MHz to 4200 MHz (“Cband”) should be identified for the
International Mobile Telecommunications
(IMT) on a global basis with the
longstanding primary allocation to the
fixed satellite service (FSS)
Historic Background Continued
WRC-07 rejected the global identification for
IMT in the C-band because of the recognised
need to protect FSS communications from
harmful interference evidenced in studies by
the ITU
Historic Background Continued
WRC-07, subject to certain restrictions,
adopted new footnotes to Radio Regulations
to allow the band 3400MHz to 3600MHz for
use by the IMT, but only by countries listed in
the foot notes (opt-in countries).
The restrictions established additional
protection for the C-band earth stations by
the opt-in countries in each of the three ITU
regions.
Historic Background Continued
81 Countries in Region 1 opted-in and the
band 3400- 3600MHz was allocated and
became effective in November 2010 on a
co-primary basis for the mobile (including
IMT ) with PFD limit restrictions and
coordination requirements
Historic Background Continued
In the 14 opt-in countries in Region 2, the
3400 MHz – 3500 MHz band was allocated by
footnote to mobile services (which includes IMT) on
a co-primary basis subject to coordination with
affected administrations
The 3500 MHz – 3600 MHz band has also been
identified for IMT in opt-in countries in Region 3.
*Since the effective date, interference interruptions
have occurred throughout Africa, and in Australia,
Bolivia, Peru, the Caribbean, China, Fiji, Hong Kong,
Indonesia and Russia.
*Source - Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.
IMT INTERFERENCE
The main culprit of interference to aeronautical VSAT
networks is WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access)
Tests indicated that interference was not caused by
co-channel assignments, but by the harmonic content
in the side lobes of the radiated signal
Instance of Interference recorded
Plot of Interference found on the VSAT carriers (NAFISAT network)
Instance of Interference recorded/continued…
•Interference was neither present during installation of the
VSAT terminal nor during subsequent preventative
maintenance visits
•The fault that developed on the particular terminal is caused by local
interference as all the VSAT terminals connected to this VSAT are
operational
•It was concluded that local WiMAX transmissions could be the most
likely source of the interference
•It was decided to change the home channel of the terminal to a
channel with less interference
Interference caused to Ouagadougou Earth Station
(Burkina Faso) by WIMAX
Spectrum Analysis of the intermediate frequency (IF) 141.9125 MHz
Spectrum analysis without IMT signal - 8 March 2013
Interference caused to Lima Earth Station (Peru) by
WIMAX from 31 August to 07 September 2012
Spectrum Analysis of Frequency Band 3.513 –
3.533 GHz with WIMAX signal – 6 September 2012
Spectrum Analysis of Frequency Band 3.4 – 3.7 GHz
without WIMAX signal – 6 September 2012
Resolving the interference
Different methods used to resolve interference
• Changing the channels
• Using Filters
• Relocating antennae
CONCLUSION
• Regulatory measures are needed to ensure
an appropriate level of protection for the FSS
C-band spectrum which is used to augment
terrestrial communication networks through
the use of VSAT technology. VSAT
technology is used to facilitate safety-of-life
CNS services within the aeronautical
community.
• Long-term VSAT spectrum availability and
protection from interference should be
guaranteed across the entire African
Continent and other parts of the world. The
meeting is invited to support the following
recommendation:
Recommendation – Long-term very small
aperture terminal spectrum availability and
protection:
a) that ICAO Member States should not support additional
international mobile telecommunications spectrum allocation
in the fixed satellite services C-band spectrum at the
expense of the current or future aeronautical very small
aperture terminal networks; and
b) ICAO and ICAO Member States to pursue this matter in ITUR and during the World Radio Conference (WRC-15,
Agenda Items 1.1 and 9.1.5), to prevent any international
mobile telecommunications spectrum allocation that
compromises the availability of the aeronautical very small
aperture terminal networks
Thank You
?