World nations agree on satellite plane tracking deal
World nations have reached a landmark deal to track planes via satellite in a bid to prevent the recurrence of scenarios similar to last year's disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The decision was made by representatives from over 160 countries at a conference hosted by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva on Wednesday.
"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," said the organization’s secretary general, Houlin Zhao, in a statement.
The statement made clear that the agreement was vastly influenced by the ill-fated MH370 flight, which disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with all of its 239 passengers and crew.
The incident "spurred worldwide discussions on global flight tracking and the need for coordinated action," read the statement.
Based on the new system, which will be fully implemented by 2017, a frequency band formerly used to transmit signals from aircraft to ground stations will be used to send transmissions from aircraft to satellites.
Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau, Francois Rancy, said that the new changes will allow "real-time tracking of aircraft anywhere in the world.”
Rancy noted that since most planes are already equipped with the necessary equipment, implementing the changes will not be a major logistical hurdle.
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