The 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-03) held in Geneva, Switzerland was the first WRC to be chaired by a woman. Dr. Veena Rawat from Canada was unanimously elected.

WRC-03 had an unprecedented work schedule, which was reflected in a record number of agenda items (approximately 50 items and 2500 proposals from 190 Member States). These items dealt with a number of key issues related to access to spectrum for both commercial and public sector applications. To work as efficiently as possible, Dr. Rawat asked delegates to keep three things in mind: “cooperation, consensus, and conservation of time and energy”.

Some of the challenging issues included those related to Earth Stations on Vessels (ESVs), global navigation satellite system (Galileo, GPS, GLONASS), revisions of HF spectrum for use by Amateurs, broadcasting and fixed services, as well as the issue of equitable access to satellite orbital slots. Sub-regional issues such as sound broadcasting at 2.5 GHz and access to specific satellite orbital positions for some countries were also particularly challenging. In addressing these challenges, the Chair was instrumental in bringing together interested or affected parties at a regional or sub-regional level in order to build consensus and reach mutually beneficial solutions.

Other WRC-03 Highlights:

• Allocation of global spectrum for wireless access systems including radio local area networks (RLANs) at 5GHz
• stablishment of technical and regulatory conditions for radionavigation satellite services (RNSS) including Galileo and others
• Establishment of a new Resolution, for the first time, encouraging administrations to consider regional harmonized bands to support public safety and disaster relief communication ¦Establishment of a new Resolution with regulatory, technical and operational conditions with respect to the operation of earth stations on-board vessels at 6 and 14 GHz bands
• Establishment of technical solutions in using the 13.75-14 GHz band by smaller Earth station satellite dishes while protecting radars
• Allocation of spectrum (secondary) for high speed Internet for commercial aircrafts in the 14 GHz range
• Establishment of guidelines for the implementation of high density fixed satellite services (HDFSS) in the Ka-band (20/30 GHz range) and in the V-band (40/50 GHz range)
• Adoption of measures to improve the efficiency of satellite coordination (Resolution 86)
• Allocation of additional spectrum for space science services at various frequency bands
• Establishment of regulatory framework to allow Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS)-TV implementation in the 2.6 GHz band

Despite the challenging and complex agenda, the conference was able to conclude without a single formal vote. Dr. Veena Rawat was awarded an ITU Gold Medal for her chairship by the ITU Secretary General.

​Text contributed by Dr. Veena Rawat (Chair of the 2003 WRC)

For more information, visit the World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 2003) web site.