WRC: Broadcasters vs US Navy

Mike Barraclough has spotted this article regarding alternative proposals for the use of 4-10 MHz at the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) which starts October 22nd.

What's Brewin: Let the Spectrum Games Begin
By Bob Brewin GovernmentExecutive.com October 15

The article on WRC includes 'The Beeb vs the Navy'

Shortwave broadcasters such as the BBC and Defense users such as the Navy will battle at the WRC over spectrum used for high-frequency communications in the 4 to 10 MHz bands, Richard Russell (associate director for technology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) said.

The broadcasters want to use this band to replace their
scratchy and noisy analog broadcasts with a new digital service that will provide near FM-radio quality. But the Navy wants to use HF bands - underutilized since the demise of Morse code - to support the broadcast of data over new IP-based services at far less cost than sending data by satellite.

Russell said that except for the European Union, countries are heading into the WRC aligned with the U.S. position to not allow an expansion of shortwave broadcasting in the HF band.

Full article:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm
?articleid=38276&dcn=todaysnews

World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07)
http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/index.asp?category
=conferences&link=wrc-07&lang=en