New flight tracking radio spectrum to enhance civil aviation safety: ITU

Following the loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 last year, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced Wednesday that an agreement on the allocation of radiofrequency spectrum for global flight tracking in civil aviation has been reached.

"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," ITU said in a statement.

This effectively enables real-time tracking of aircraft regardless of location, a significant improvement for global aviation safety and efficiency given that over 70 percent of the earth's airspace is not tracked by any device or radar.

The loss of Flight MH370 with 239 people on board in March 2014 catalysed discussions pertinent to global flight tracking and exposed the need for coordinated action from ITU and other relevant organisations.

"In reaching this agreement at World Radiocommunication Conference-15 (WRC), ITU has responded in record time to the expectations of the global community on the major issue concerning global flight tracking," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, adding that "ITU will continue to make every effort to improve flight tracking for civil aviation."

"The allocation of frequencies for reception of ADS-B signals from aircraft by space stations will enable real-time tracking of aircraft anywhere in the world," explained Francois Rancy, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau.

"We will continue to work with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and other international organizations to enhance safety in the skies," he added.

The agreement was reached during the WRC which is currently taking place in the International Convention Centre Geneva (CICG). Enditem