RESOLUTION  645  (WRC-2000)

Global harmonization of spectrum for public protection and disaster relief

The World Radiocommunication Conference (Istanbul, 2000),

considering

a)         the growing telecommunication needs of public agencies and organizations dealing with law and order, disaster relief and emergency response;

b)         that future advanced solutions used by such public protection agencies and organizations will require high data rates, video and multimedia;

c)         that there is a need for interoperability and interworking between security and emergency networks, both nationally and for cross-border operations, in emergency situations and disaster relief;

d)         the importance of the needs of public protection agencies and organizations, including those dealing with emergency situations and disaster relief for:

i)     maintenance of law and order;

ii)     emergency and disaster response;

iii)     safety of life and property,

recognizing

a)         the benefits of globally harmonized frequency bands for such applications;

b)         the increased potential for cooperation between countries for the provision of effective and appropriate humanitarian assistance during disasters;

c)         the needs of developing countries for low-cost solutions for public protection agencies and organizations;

d)         that global harmonization of spectrum for such usage will lead to economies of scale and reduced the costs of such solutions,

resolves to invite ITU-R

1          to study, as a matter of urgency, identification of frequency bands that could be used on a global/regional basis by administrations intending to implement future solutions for public protection agencies and organizations, including those dealing with emergency situations and disaster relief;

2          to study, as a matter of urgency, regulatory provisions necessary for identifying globally/regionally harmonized frequency bands for such purposes;

3          to conduct studies for the development of a resolution identifying the technical and operational basis for global cross-border circulation of radiocommunication equipment in emergency and disaster relief situations,

instructs the Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau

to report on the results of these studies to WRC-03,

urges administrations

to participate actively in the aforementioned studies by submitting contributions to ITU-R,

recommends

that WRC-03 consider the identification of globally/regionally harmonized frequency bands for future advanced solutions to meet the needs of public protection agencies and organizations, including those dealing with emergency situations and disaster relief, and make regulatory provisions, as necessary.

 Adopted by the 10^th Plenary Meeting of the Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET), New York, NY, 1 December 2000.

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