The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) holding in Geneva has reached agreement on the allocation of radiofrequency spectrum for global flight tracking in civil aviation, in a decision taken following the disappearance and tragic loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in March 2014.
According to ITU, the frequency band 1087.7-1092.3 MHz has been allocated to the aeronautical mobile-satellite service (Earth-to-space) for reception by space stations of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) emissions from aircraft transmitters.
The frequency band 1087.7-1092.3 MHz is currently being utilised for the transmission of ADS-B signals from aircraft to terrestrial stations within line-of-sight. The WRC-15 has now allocated this frequency band in the Earth-to-space direction to enable transmissions from aircraft to satellites. This extends ADS-B signals beyond line-of-sight to facilitate reporting the position of aircraft equipped with ADS-B anywhere in the world, including oceanic, polar and other remote areas.
