BlankSatellite tracking of jets gets OK. Jamey Keaten Associated Press

GENEVA-- A deal reached at a U.N. meeting on Wednesday opens the way for 
satellite tracking of airliners, a major breakthrough motivated by the mystery 
disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last year.

The agreement allows nations to set aside radio frequencies so airplanes can be 
tracked by satellite 'not just from the ground.

Under current radar-based systems, the movement of planes is monitored by 
land-based systems, leaving around 70 percent of the world's surface uncovered, 
according to the International Telecommunications Union, the U.N. communications 
agency.

Modern planes that can send what are known as Automatic Dependent 
Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, signals to the ground are now on track to send 
signals to satellites too 'with implementation expected by 2017.

The accord to set aside the 1087.7-1092.3 MHz radio frequency for satellite 
tracking of planes came at the World Radiocommunication Conference, an 
international gathering organized every four years by the ITU. International 
civil aviation regulator ICAO has pushed for satellite tracking of aircraft, as 
long as current safety measures aren't jeopardized.

"The WRC's action today will enable better tracking and location of aircraft 
that otherwise could disappear from terrestrial tracking systems," said U.S. 
Ambassador Decker Anstrom, who is leading the U.S. delegation at the conference. 
"This is an excellent example of the ability of nations, working through the ITU 
process, to take action in improving peoples' lives."

The March 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 with 239 people on 
board exposed weaknesses in worldwide air navigation systems. Debris from the 
Boeing 777 was found in the Indian Ocean in July.

Officials praised the relatively quick work toward improving the ability to 
track planes. Shortly after the plane vanished, Malaysia's communication 
minister urged the ITU to help find new ways of transmitting flight data in 
real-time. In May 2014, ICAO called for quick action to allocate the spectrum so 
that satellites could help track planes in the future.

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said the agency has "responded in record time 
to the expectations of the global community on the major issue concerning global 
flight tracking."