Radio Spectrum Scarcity for Maritime Communication and Navigation Systems

This paper presents an overview of the used radio spectrum for maritime communication and navigation systems. The scarcity of radio spectrum worldwide triggers the joint development of communication and navigation systems and requires propagation models for the joint used spectrum. Current developments on vehicular systems lead to a common use of radar and communication spectrum. The opportunities to utilize jointly a common spectrum are mostly driven by the need of additional communication capacity. However, common maritime communication spectrum is scarce. By jointly utilizing the same spectrum new opportunities could be developed for the mutual benefit of all systems. Therefore, we ask regulatory and scientific bodies to consider mutual systems.