Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies

Necessary conditions for coordination agreements in Europe:

Some conditions necessary for successful coordination agreements are:

A coordination agreement between radio astronomy stations and operators of active service facilities must contain the same conditions for all radio astronomy stations concerned and for all operators concerned.
Comment: Differences in the conditions of coordination agreements applying to different countries can easily lead to conflicts. It should be noted that at present no single European organization exists that has the legal mandate to conclude a coordination agreement applicable to all European radio astronomy stations.

Because of the relatively high geographical density of radio astronomy stations in Europe and, e.g. the large satellite footprint dimensions involved, in practice any coordination agreement must be of a regional, European, nature.
Comment: At present the required coordination between radio astronomy stations will be difficult to achieve in practice.

Because of its regional European implications, any coordination agreement anticipated above must involve CRAF and its parent organization, the European Science Foundation, ESF, (Strasbourg, France).

Any such coordination agreement must be legally binding to all parties concerned, i.e. also to all radio astronomy stations involved.
Comment: It is not likely that individual radio astronomy stations will accept such a structure considering their relative sovereignty and duties. This will also require European attention because of the differences in legal frameworks between European countries.

Any such coordination agreement must be reflected in national regulatory provisions, such as licenses.
Comment: It is noted, however, that due to the specific characteristics of the telecommunication legislation in individual European countries, this cannot be achieved in several countries for several systems that need to be coordinated, since e.g. conditions from agreements between private parties cannot always be incorporated in national license procedures. For this reason, the CEPT must be involved in the whole process of agreement completion and its conclusions must be reflected in specific national regulatory provisions.

Acceptance of the concept of a coordination agreement must not depend on specific conditions, e.g. operational scenarios, frequency band(s), or particular operators, since this generates inequality between all potentially concerned parties.
Comment: This criterion implies that a specific agreement needs to include all radio astronomy stations potentially involved and that coordination remains to be done through the concerned national Administrations, in compliance with the ITU Radio Regulations and regional and national legislation.

Any radio astronomy station that wants to adhere to an agreement at a date later than the completion of that agreement must have the right to do so and must be accepted by all parties involved, even if this requires a revision of the conditions in the agreement
Comment: This provision opens the agreement for subsequent addition of radio astronomy stations that are starting operations in the frequency band(s) to which the agreement applies after completion of the agreement.

If one part of the agreement becomes obsolete, e.g. due a significant change in satellite traffic use, the parties to the agreement should commit themselves to revise it in good faith, in accordance with its object and purpose.

Any agreement between a radio astronomy station and an operator of an application in an active service shall be binding on successors in interest to both parties

Enforcement by an Administration on the basis of an agreement may have complications that depend on its specific legal conditions (which may change with time when new radio astronomy stations are involved).

Any agreement should include procedures for arbitration to handle cases of dispute. The legal framework for this must be clearly defined.

Last modified: December 9, 2002