Summary of Radio Regulatory Council Meeting (No. 886)



1. Date and Time
  On July 14, 2004 (Wednesday)
From 16:00 to 17:22
2. Location
  MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) meeting room
(Meeting room No. 1002 on the 10F)
3. Attendees (Honorifics omitted)
(1) Members of the Radio Regulatory Council
  Yasuhiko Yasuda (Chairperson), Junichi Hamada, Koshiko Kodate, Hatsuko Ukigawa
(2) Radio Regulatory Council Hearing Examiner
  Taku Kiyasu
(3) Secretary
  Masao Okamoto (Deputy Director of General Affairs Division, Telecommunications Bureau)
(4) MIC (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
  Horie (Director-General of Information and Communications Policy Bureau), Aritomi (Director-General of Telecommunications Bureau), Fujioka (Deputy Director-General), Takeda (Director-General of Radio Department) and others

4. Minutes of the Meeting

(1) Draft for MIC ordinance to amend respective portions of Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law and Regulations for Radio Equipment
(Consultation No. 21)
      As this case is related to Consultation No. 22, the MIC explained the case together with Consultation No. 22 and a Q&A session took place.
 

(2) Draft to amend part of the Frequency Assignment Plan
(Consultation No. 22)
   As this case is related to Consultation No. 21, the MIC explained the case together with Consultation No. 21 and a Q&A session took place.

 Since the Radio Law stipulates the hearing of opinions in regard to Consultation No. 21, and since it was deemed appropriate to hear opinions on Consultation No. 22 together with Consultation No.21, the hearings were held on the same occasion. Taku Kiyasu was assigned as the hearing examiner to preside over the opinion hearing procedure.

a. Explanation by MIC
 
 There are three issues concerning Consultation No. 21. The issues pertain to introduction of the new INMARSAT system; amendment to minor matters of construction design that does not require permission; introduction of the W-CDMA method, which is a 3G generation mobile communication system, to the 800MHzmegahertz band, etc.

 The first issue pertains to "Introduction of INMARSAT's BGAN to the L-band aircraft earth station (high-speed telecommunication type) and the INMARSAT portable mobile earth station." This is an improvement of the existing INMARSAT mini. It has the merit of not requiring modification construction, since the L-band aircraft earth stations (high-speed telecommunication type) can share the antenna with existing aircraft earth stations. Compared to mini M's transmission speed of 64kbps, BGAN achieves a maximum speed of 432kbps. The introduction of this system is planned for telephone and high-speed data transmission services mainly in areas where the telecommunication infrastructure is immature, or for use as a backup system for existing telecommunication lines.

 Concrete revised content shall be as follows. Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law shall be changed by adding the radio equipment standard for BGAN to the standard for radio equipment of specified radio stations, and require the acquisition of blanket licenses. Regulations for Radio Equipment shall be changed to stipulate technical requirements such as tolerance of spurious radiation strength, modulation method pertaining to respective systems, or transmission speed.

 This matter will go into effect from the date of promulgation.

The second issue pertains to amendment of minor matters in construction design that does not require permission. The e-Japan Priority Policy and the plan to establish an electronic government, IT utilization policies of the Japanese government, are in the background. By applying IT to the administrative area, improvement in convenience to Japanese citizens and the promotion of simplified and efficient administrative management are being driven forward. In line with this, simplification and streamlining of procedures such as applications and notification, and digitalization, etc. of paperwork have been carried out. On this occasion, forms for construction design documents and documents on radio station matters that are necessary for licenses, applications and the like shall be revised. In conformance with this revision, Regulations for Enforcement of the Radio Law shall also be amended.

 This matter will go into effect from May 9, 2005.

 The third issue pertains to "introduction of the W-CDMA method to the 800MHzmegahertz band, introduction of HSDPA technology, and reallocation of frequencies for mobile services in the 800MHzmegahertz band." At present, in regard to CDMA 2000, EV-DO has already been introduced as a high-speed data transmission method in the two 3G mobile communication systems. On this occasion, based on a partial report by the Telecommunications Council (May 24, 2004) on "Measures for improving 3G mobile communication systems (IMT-2000 systems)," HSDPA (High-speed Downlink Packet Access) technology shall be similarly introduced for W-CDMA as a high-speed data transmission method, and the 800MHzmegahertz band shall be assigned as a W-CDMA frequency in addition to the conventional 2GHzgigahertz band. Moreover, concerning the 800MHzmegahertz band that has been used by mobile communication systems, the Frequency Assignment Plan shall be amended in accordance with the MIC ordinance to promote anew frequency reallocation from the viewpoint of efficient spectrum utilization. Part of the 800MHzmegahertz band shall be assigned anew for the 3G mobile communication system in compliance with the new frequency allocation, based on ordinance stipulation.

 There are three issues concerning Consultation No. 22. The issues pertain to changes relevant to introduction of the W-CDMA method to the 800MHzmegahertz band, changes relevant to termination of aircraft radiotelephony service and transition of airport radiotelephony service, and changes relevant to introduction of a new system to INMARSAT.

 Concretely, the first issue pertains to the consolidation of assigned frequencies that were segmented to correspond to broadband mobile communication, and change in frequencies for base stations and mobile stations to follow the global trend. The global trend for frequency assignment is such that higher frequencies are assigned to base stations and lower frequencies are assigned to mobile stations – it is reversed in Japan. The termination date for frequency use shall be July 2012. Details on the second issue are as follows. As the aircraft radiotelephony service is terminated, it shall be deleted from the Frequency Assignment Plan. In regard to the airport radio telephony service, since the 400MHzmegahertz band digital airport radio telecommunication system has been introduced, the termination date for frequency use by radio stations for airport radio telephony service shall be May 2010 to smoothly introduce the 3G mobile telecommunication system to the 800MHzmegahertz band, The third issue pertains to partial amendment of the Frequency Assignment Plan relevant to the introduction of a new system for the INMARSAT earth stations.

b. Main content of the Q&A session
 
- The council asked about new system introduction for the INMARSAT. The table on page 3 of the explanation document presented the data transmission speed of 432kbps, and the table for technical requirements on the bottom of page 4 presented 604kbps. The council questioned whether this document intends to explain that the actual data transmission speed is 432kbps and the speed including the overhead is 604kbps. The MIC answered "Yes".

- The council asked when the assignment of the 800MHzmegahertz band for W-CDMA will become valid for use, and if the 800MHzmegahertz band must be made available immediately. The MIC answered that although the rule stipulates immediate enforcement, since there are some frequencies used for other purposes, they cannot be made available immediately. The MIC explained that the individual cases need be separately investigated.

- The council asked about probable difficulties concerning frequency transition. With the uplink and downlink becoming reversed, the council inquired about the possible occurrence of congestion among adjacent frequencies during the transition phase. The MIC agreed that there are various difficulties, and explained that frequency transition needs to be advanced carefully by considering the urgency level for each service.

(3) Draft for MIC ordinance to amend the Regulation Concerning Specific Frequency Change Support Service and Specific Frequency Termination Support Service
(Consultation No. 23)
   As this case is related to Consultation No. 24 and No. 25, the MIC explained the case with Consultation No. 24 and 25 together and a Q&A session took place.

(4) Draft to amend part of Frequency Assignment Plan
(Consultation No. 24)
   As this case is related to Consultation No. 23 and No. 25, the MIC explained the case together with Consultation No. 23 and 25 and a Q&A session took place.

(5) Draft for public notice to define specified notified stations
(Consultation No. 25)
   As this case is related to Consultation No. 23 and No. 24, the MIC explained the case together with Consultation No. 23 and 24 and a Q&A session took place.

 Since the Radio Law stipulates the hearing of opinions in regard to Consultation No. 23, the hearings were held on the same occasion. Taku Kiyasu was assigned as the hearing examiner to preside over the opinion hearing procedure.

a. Explanation by MIC
 
 Consultation No. 23 pertains to the law promulgated on May 19 of this year. The law amends the Radio Law and the Wire Telecommunications Law. The draft defines the compensation payment standard for existing licensees of frequencies with early expiration dates. It is based on the assumption that the 4.9 to 5.0GHzgigahertz band, used by relay fixed stations for telecommunication service, will be reallocated. Currently, these frequency bands are all being used, so new entry is difficult. Compensation shall be provided to promote prompt vacation. The planned effective date is late September (date of promulgation).

 Consultation No. 24 pertains to amendment of the Frequency Assignment Plan. For the present, the termination date for frequency use by relay fixed stations for telecommunication service is November 30, 2007. Nevertheless, it was decided to move the due date for the Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka metropolitan area forward two years and to pay compensation.

 Moreover, the planned radio stations to be established by frequency reallocation shall become specified notified stations based on Article 71-2-(2) of the Radio Law. Public notice of Consultation No. 25 provides for this public notice. The planned effective date is late July (date of promulgation).

b. Main content of the Q&A session
 
- The council inquired about Consultation No. 23. The number of radio stations that must be removed, and whether the total compensation cost has been already calculated were questioned. The MIC explained that the total number of radio stations located nationwide is 266, and among them, 98 are located in the Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka area. The MIC replied that the compensation cost is as follows. Remaining book value of past capital investments minus the remaining cost is approximately 160 million yen, and the financial charge for front-loading investments is approximately 280 million yen. A total of approximately 440 million yen is assumed to be paid in two years starting from next fiscal year. The MIC answered that budgetary steps will be taken for the remaining 168 stations.

(6) Blanket license for specified radio stations belonging to KDDI Corporation
(Consultation No. 26)
 
 This consultation was regarding a blanket license for specified earth stations owned by KDDI Corporation. The MIC presented the below explanation and a Q&A session took place. After deliberation, the council reported the blanket license to be appropriate.

a. Explanation by MIC
 
 This consultation pertains to the KDDI Corporation application for a blanket license for dual-mode 3G portable phone terminals in the Kanto area. This was intended to introduce dual-mode terminals compatible with the CDMA2000 1X system (800 MHzmegahertz band and 2 GHzgigahertz band) and the EV-DO system (800 MHzmegahertz band).

 The examination concluded that a blanket license should be permitted, since frequency assignment is possible and details conform to the essential standard.

 The following is additional information on the examination pertaining to maximum number of radio station operation. This was to confirm that the 319 thousand stations (terminals), which were the stations the blanket license was applied for, do not exceed the number of terminals that can be accommodated by the base stations owned by KDDI. Currently, the accommodation capability in the Kanto area is 60 million, meaning that the 319 thousand stations will not cause any problem.

b. Main content of the Q&A session
 
- The council asked about concrete judgment criteria for the examination item stating, "...it shall be more efficient and economical in comparison to other telecommunication means." The MIC answered that this case is different from applications that require comparison examinations, where two applicants are asking for one frequency band. The MIC explained that judgment is made by checking if the application meets certain requirements.

(7) Approval for paid broadcasting contract pertaining to MOBILE BROADCASTING CORPORATION
(Consultation No. 27)
 
 This consultation was regarding approval for a paid broadcasting contract for MOBILE BROADCASTING CORPORATION. The MIC presented the below explanation and a Q&A session took place. After deliberation, the council reported the issue to be appropriate.

a. Explanation by MIC
 
 MOBILE BROADCASTING CORPORATION was given a preliminary license on July 25 of last year, launched a satellite on March 13 of this year, and was given the actual license on May 20. Since the company plans to start actual broadcasting from around October and plans to provide paid broadcasting, this consultation is regarding approval for the paid broadcasting contract.

 As a result of examination, it was concluded that approval is appropriate, since matters on responsibilities of paid broadcasters and domestic receivers are appropriate and clearly defined, and it does not discriminate against a particular entity unjustly. After examination of the two points, the MIC judged that this case meets both requirements.

 In concrete terms, the basic structure and content of the paid broadcasting contract is the same as the standard broadcasting contract and the broadcasting contract relating to CS digital broadcasting at longitude of 110 degrees east. However, as this mobile broadcasting is for in-transit entities, regulations and the like have been added regarding stipulations, etc. on exemption from responsibility at times when rain attenuation occurs due to natural hazards, etc.

 The examination concluded that details conform to the stipulations of the Broadcast Law and that the application shall be permitted.

b. Main content of the Q&A session
 
- The council asked which examination item examines personal information protection, and whether an independent item would be considered for this issue in the future. The MIC explained that the handling of personal information is checked as a matter relevant to the responsibilities of broadcasters and the receivers, and that there is no independent item to check the issue at present. The MIC replied that establishment of an independent examination item will be discussed in the future.

- The council asked about the 11 thousand gap-filler stations that need to be established. The question was whether such a large number of stations are necessary, and if it is economically payable. The MIC explained that since the satellite angle is approximately 45 degrees, in theory, when there is a building with a height of 100m, the dead area will become 100m, meaning that a large number of gap fillers become necessary. The MIC answered that, in economic terms, the business plan is to end in the black three years later.
 
(The Radio Regulatory Council Secretariat is responsible for the wording of this document)