Baltia Air Lines Inc. (fka BLTA)

[mysterymeat]

I wouldn't put too much faith in that source's claims about the frequencies.

Aviation ICAO

Global aviation
Not your average spectrum user


Loftur Jónasson, Technical Officer, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

The aviation sector is characterized by aeronautical and safety-related factors that distinguish it from other frequency spectrum users. This article discusses three WRC-12 agenda items which are of major interest to the global aviation community.

Modern airliners travel at speeds of up to 1000 km/h. In busy airspaces, aircraft are separated by distances which are covered in mere seconds. They travel over vast, often intercontinental distances. The equipment carried on board needs to be compatible with the services provided at airports around the world. Every kilo added to the weight of airborne equipment adds to the fuel consumption of the aircraft. For economic reasons, there is little room for redundant equipment.

Today’s commercial aircraft are equipped with two to four VHF radios, voice and digital link. They may also carry two HF radios and a dual-redundant satellite communications link. There are also precision radionavigation and landing systems, radio altimeters, radar transponders, airborne collision avoidance systems, weather radar and so on.

There are approximately 30 antennas or more on an average-sized modern aircraft; a modern Boeing 747-400 has between 40 and 50 antennas fitted. Needless to say, for global and airborne communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) operations to work effectively in the confined environment of these aircraft, careful consideration needs to be given to the spectrum used.

ICAO standardization

The Convention on International Civil Aviation is an international treaty providing the required provisions for flights over the territories of the 191 ICAO Member States and over the high seas. It includes measures to facilitate air navigation, including international standards and recommended practices (SARPs).

The ICAO standards constitute rule of law through the ICAO Convention and form a regulatory framework for aviation, covering personnel licensing, technical requirements for aircraft operations, airworthiness requirements, aerodromes, and CNS systems, as well as other technical and operational requirements.

Aeronautical CNS systems provide functions critical to the safety of aircraft and rely on the continued availability of appropriate frequency spectrum. Civil aviation administrations coordinate their positions on the agenda of world radiocommunication conferences (WRCs) through the development of a common ICAO position catering to the continued and evolving spectrum requirements of CNS services.

Three spectrum concerns have been highlighted as high priority areas for the global aviation community during WRC-12: unmanned aircraft systems; aeronautical safety allocations; and requirements for the aeronautical mobile satellite (route) service.

http://www.itu.int/net/newsroom/wrc/2012/features/aviation_icao.aspx