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After four hectic weeks of the 2023 World Radiocommunication
Conference, or WRC 23, and a preceding week of Radiocommunication
Assembly meetings, WRC 23 concluded on Friday, December 15. Amateur
radio fared very well overall, despite the enormous pressures across
the radio spectrum from LF to terahertz.  This is a tribute to the
effort of the International Amateur Radio Union team, who at times
had to work from 8 AM to as late as 2 AM the next morning, as well
as on the weekends.  At the top of the amateur radio priority list
was Agenda Item, or AI, 9.1b, regarding the coexistence of the
secondary amateur and amateur satellite allocation with the primary
radionavigation satellite service in the 1240 to 1300 MHz band. This
had seen 4 years of strenuous effort prior to WRC and resulted in a
recommendation being agreed upon at the Radiocommunication Assembly,
followed by WRC 23 participants agreeing to mention the
recommendation in a new footnote for the allocation.  Both the
recommendation and the footnote are an excellent outcome for the
amateur services.  Other items that were relevant to the amateur
service and were prioritized beforehand were, AI 1.12.  40 to 50 MHz
radar sounders. These are now largely limited to the polar area.  AI
1.14.  231.5 to 252 GHz re allocations for Earth sensing.
Fortunately, our secondary 241 to 248 GHz allocation is unchanged,
and the primary allocation of 248 to 250 GHz is unaffected.  AI
9.1a.  Space weather sensors was an item of major interest. A clear
definition for such sensors was confirmed, with frequency protection
being agreed upon as an agenda item for WRC 27.  AI 1.2.  More
broadband in the 3.3 GHz and 10 GHz bands in Region 2.  This is a
difficult challenge, as the amateur services are secondary with
numerous, mainly South American, countries allocating mobile
broadband by way of footnotes. Instead of a region wide designation
for IMT at 10.0 to 10.5 GHz in Region 2, there is a footnote limited
to a dozen countries.  Every WRC agreed to an agenda for the next
conference under AI 10.  This AI had an unprecedented number of
proposals for WRC 27 and preliminary ones for WRC 31. Following the
relatively quick agreement on AI 9.1b, the IARU team switched most
of its efforts to the following future proposals to reduce the
impact on the amateur services, as numerous amateur bands were under
consideration.  The WRC27 agenda will have 19 items. The following
are the most relevant to the amateur services, 1300 to 1350 MHz.  A
previous proposal for this band, adjacent to 23 centimeters, was
suppressed, providing certainty for our secondary allocation.  Space
Weather.  This potential AI was initially very concerning, as the
0.1 to 20 MHz and 28 and 50 MHz bands were initially under
consideration, until concerns were raised, and a team effort
resulted in these allocations being removed from the topic.  Lunar
Communications.  This future agenda item initially included 70
centimeters and other bands where Earth moon Earth could be
restricted. Fortunately, the UHF aspect of this AI was modified to
exclude 430 to 440 MHz.  10 GHz.  We were fortunate that this band
was withdrawn from another round of consideration for mobile
broadband, especially in Region 1.  For WRC31, a record number of
preliminary item resolutions were agreed on. The following two are
especially relevant, Wireless Power Transmission, or WPT.  Both near
field and beamed are being considered as part of the International
Telecommunication Union radio regulations, whilst minimizing the
impact from interference.  275 to 325 GHz Allocations.  This will
include an opportunity for the amateur and amateur satellite
service.  The IARU team worked effectively to minimize the amateur
bands from future studies, which is a great result for amateur
radio.  IARU is very pleased with the overall result of WRC 23. The
IARU team has already started to discuss and consider how to engage
and resource for the next cycle leading up to WRC 27. IARU WRC
Coordinator and Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, expressed his
pleasure with the results and complimented the extraordinary effort
of the dedicated team of IARU volunteers who worked long hours to
achieve the results that will benefit all amateurs.

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