HANDBOOK OF FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS AND SPECTRUM PROTECTION FOR SCIENTIFIC USES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the task group responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Grant No. AST-0410006 from the National Science Foundation and Grant No. NNH05CC15C-Task Order 103 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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PANEL ON FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS AND SPECTRUM PROTECTION FOR SCIENTIFIC USES
KAREN ST. GERMAIN,
NPOESS Integrated Program Office,
Chair
MICHAEL DAVIS,
SETI Institute
DAVID DeBOER,
SETI Institute
STEVEN W. ELLINGSON,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
AARON S. EVANS,
State University of New York at Stony Brook
JAMES M. MORAN,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
JEFFREY PIEPMEIER,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
MELINDA PIKET-MAY,
University of Colorado at Boulder
F. PETER SCHLOERB,
University of Massachusetts
DANIEL SMYTHE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PAUL A. VANDEN BOUT,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
LUCY ZIURYS,
University of Arizona
Staff
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
ROBERT L. RIEMER, Senior Program Officer
BRIAN D. DEWHURST, Senior Program Associate
DAVID B. LANG, Research Associate
PHILLIP D. LONG, Senior Program Assistant
VAN AN, Financial Associate
COMMITTEE ON RADIO FREQUENCIES
KAREN ST. GERMAIN,
NPOESS Integrated Program Office,
Chair
DAVID DeBOER,
SETI Institute,
Vice Chair
STEVEN W. ELLINGSON,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
DAVID G. LONG,
Brigham Young University
JAMES M. MORAN,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
JEFFREY PIEPMEIER,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
MELINDA PIKET-MAY,
University of Colorado at Boulder
STEVEN C. REISING,
Colorado State University
DANIEL SMYTHE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PAUL A. VANDEN BOUT,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
LUCY ZIURYS,
University of Arizona
Consultants
PAUL FELDMAN,
Esq., Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth
MICHAEL DAVIS,
SETI Institute (retired)
A. RICHARD THOMPSON,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
NRC Staff
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
BRIAN DEWHURST, Senior Program Associate
DAVID B. LANG, Research Associate
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
BURTON RICHTER,
Stanford University,
Chair
ANNEILA L. SARGENT,
California Institute of Technology,
Vice Chair
ELIHU ABRAHAMS,
Rutgers University
JONATHAN BAGGER,
Johns Hopkins University
RONALD C. DAVIDSON,
Princeton University
RAYMOND J. FONCK,
University of Wisconsin at Madison
ANDREA M. GHEZ,
University of California at Los Angeles
PETER F. GREEN,
University of Michigan
LAURA H. GREENE,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
WICK HAXTON,
University of Washington
FRANCES HELLMAN,
University of California at Berkeley
ERICH P. IPPEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MARC A. KASTNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE,
University of California at Berkeley
JULIA M. PHILLIPS,
Sandia National Laboratories
WILLIAM PHILLIPS,
National Institute of Standards and Technology
THOMAS M. THEIS, IBM T.J.
Watson Research Center
C. MEGAN URRY,
Yale University
Staff
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
TIMOTHY I. MEYER, Senior Program Officer
MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Senior Program Officer
ROBERT L. RIEMER, Senior Program Officer
NATALIA J. MELCER, Program Officer
BRIAN D. DEWHURST, Senior Program Associate
DAVID B. LANG, Research Associate
PAMELA A. LEWIS, Program Associate
PHILLIP D. LONG, Senior Program Assistant
VAN AN, Financial Associate
Preface
This handbook was developed by the National Research Council’s Panel on Frequency Allocations and Spectrum Protection for Scientific Uses, a panel whose membership was drawn predominantly from the Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF). The volume sets forth the principles adopted by the panel for the allocation and protection of spectral bands for services using the radio spectrum for scientific research. The purposes of the handbook are as follows:
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To document the panel’s positions on spectrum issues,
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To guide spectrum managers and spectrum regulatory bodies on science issues,
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To serve as a resource for scientists on spectrum regulation for research, and
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To provide information to other spectrum users on the concerns of the scientific users of the spectrum.
Among the resources used to prepare this handbook were the following: Radio Astronomy Handbook of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU);1 the “Redbook” of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration2 (NTIA) (please note that the panel used the NTIA Redbook as of 2005; it is suggested that readers check the NTIA Web site, listed below, for the latest allocations and regulations); and the handbooks for radio astronomy and frequency management from the European Science Foundation’s Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF). Because
1 |
International Telecommunication Union, ITU Handbook on Radio Astronomy, 2nd Ed., Geneva, Switzerland, 2003. |
2 |
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management (Redbook), May 2003 edition, revised January 2006, available at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/redbook/redbook.html. |
radio-frequency regulations, regulatory footnotes, and frequency allocations are subject to change, readers are advised to check the ITU, NTIA, and Federal Communications Commission Web sites, listed below, for the latest information.
Further information on frequency management for scientific uses can be found at the following Web sites:
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Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) of the National Research Council: www.nationalacademies.org/corf;
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International Telecommunication Union: www.itu.org;
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Scientific Committee on Frequency Allocations for Radio Astronomy and Space Science (IUCAF) of the International Council for Science: www.iucaf.org;
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Federal Communications Commission: www.fcc.gov;
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National Telecommunications and Information Administration: www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/redbook/redbook.html;
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National Radio Astronomy Observatory Spectrum Management: www.cv.nrao.edu/~hliszt/RFI/RFI.htm;
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Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Frequency Allocations in Remote Sensing (FARS) Committee: http://www.grss-ieee.org;
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Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF) of the European Science Foundation: www.astron.nl/craf; and
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National Science Foundation Electromagnetic Spectrum Management (ESM): http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5654.
This handbook was edited and updated between its release in prepublication form and this final published form.
Acknowledgments
This handbook grew out of materials presented and ideas expressed in the report Views of the Committee on Radio Frequencies Concerning Frequency Allocations for the Passive Services at the 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference.1 The efforts of previous and current members of the National Research Council’s Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) in compiling that document are gratefully acknowledged.
The development of the handbook spanned several years, and the panel thanks the past members of CORF for their contributions to this effort. The panel received invaluable assistance from spectrum managers Tomas Gergely of the National Science Foundation and Charles Wende of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (retired), whose detailed knowledge and insight were an essential resource. The panel also received substantial help from A. Richard Thompson, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (retired), and John Kiebler, former consultant to CORF. Finally, special thanks are extended to former CORF member T.B.H. Kuiper for his extensive work on the early draft of the handbook.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Bernard F. Burke, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Martha P. Haynes, Cornell University,
Michael J. Marcus, Marcus Spectrum Solutions,
John M. Osepchuk, Full Spectrum Consulting, and
Charles D. Wende, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (retired).
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Albin J. Gasiewski, University of Colorado at Boulder. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.