Yahoo – AFP,
12 Nov 2015
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Crewman
aboard an RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft looks at his radar screens
while searching
for the missing Malaysia Airways Flight MH370 over the Indian
Ocean on March
24, 2014 (AFP Photo/Richard Wainwright)
|
Geneva
(AFP) - World nations struck a landmark deal Wednesday on using satellites to
track flights, which could prove key to preventing a repeat of the mysterious
disappearance of flight MH370 in March 2014.
Countries
reached an accord at a conference hosted by the UN's International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) that aimed to improve on the current civilian
flight-tracking system which relies on ground-based radars.
"In
reaching this agreement... ITU has responded in record time to the expectations
of the global community on the major issue concerning global flight
tracking," the organisation's secretary general, Houlin Zhao, said in a
statement.
The ITU
statement made clear the deal was driven by the disappearance of Malaysia
Airlines flight MH370 which was lost en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with
239 people onboard.
That
tragedy "spurred worldwide discussions on global flight tracking and the
need for coordinated action," the organisation said.
Representatives
of more than 160 nations attended the talks, known as the World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC).
It was
tasked with determining the technical requirements for a tracking system
capable of providing complete surveillance of global airspace.
The ITU
said a frequency band previously used to transmit signals from aircraft to
terrestrial stations would be enabled to send transmissions from aircraft to
satellites.
This change
will enable "real-time tracking of aircraft anywhere in the world,” said
Francois Rancy, director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau.
The new
system is expected to be fully implemented in 2017, but Rancy noted that most
planes already have the necessary equipment, so compliance will not pose major
logistical hurdles.
US
Ambassador Decker Anstrom praised the deal, saying it would "enable better
tracking and location of aircraft that otherwise could disappear from
terrestrial tracking systems.”
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A photo
taken on October 7, 2015 shows the headquarters of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN specialized agency for information and
communication technologies in Geneva (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)
|
The UN's
International Civil Aviation Organization has previously voiced support for a
proposal that would make it obligatory for airlines to track their aircraft
using a system that gives its location at 15-minute intervals.
The
ground-based radars currently in use can track a plane but coverage is sketchy
and fades when aircraft are out at sea or they are flying below a certain
altitude, shortcomings that intensified the need to develop a better system.
Finding
consensus on other agenda items at the WRC could prove tougher however,
including discussions on using existing satellites to provide coordinates to
civilian unmaned aircraft systems, or drones.
Countries
are also discussing whether to shift the way radio spectrum is used by
different radio transmission technologies and applications.
The United
States among others wants to see a reallocation of a significant amount of
spectrum for mobile technologies and emerging 5G mobile networks.
But this is
a touchy subject, as most of the high-quality spectrum is today used by
broadcasters, and striking a deal by the end of the conference on November 27
is not guaranteed.
World nations reach landmark deal on using satellites to track flights https://t.co/RE9NYeBDxH pic.twitter.com/srF4mQt5rC
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 11, 2015
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