From COST 271 to 296 EU actions on ionospheric monitoring and modelling for terrestrial and Earth-space radio systems

The ionospheric community has long been aware that co-operative research on an international basis is essential to deal with temporal
and spatial changes in the ionosphere that influence the performance of terrestrial and Earth-space radio systems. The EU COST (Cooperation
in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) 271 Action on "Effects of the Upper Atmosphere on Terrestrial and Earthspace
Communications" has had during the period of October 2000-August 2004 the following main objectives: (1) to evaluate the influence
of upper atmospheric conditions on terrestrial and Earth-space communications, (2) to develop methods and techniques to improve
ionospheric models over Europe for telecommunication and navigation applications and (3) to transfer the results to the appropriate
radiocommunication study groups of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) and other national and international
organizations dealing with the modern communication systems.
At the beginning of 2005 the new 296 Action in the COST Telecommunications, Information Science and Technology domain on
"Mitigation of lonospheric Effects on Radio Systems (MIERS)" was approved for the period 2005-2009. The main objectives of the
MIERS are: (a) to support and enhance the existing European facilities for historical and real-time digital ionospheric data collection
and exchange; (b) to develop an integrated approach to ionospheric modelling, create the mechanism needed to ingest processed data
into models, extend and develop suitable mitigation models and define the protocols needed to link models together; and (c) to strengthen
the areas of expertise that already exist by stimulating closer cooperation between scientists and users, focusing the scope of all the previous
COST ionospheric related studies to the mitigation of ionospheric effects on radio systems.
This paper summarises briefly how the major objectives of the COST27l Action have been achieved and what are the most important
activities to be undertaken in the follow-on COST296 Action.

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