At the September 25th meeting of the Montreal Amateur Radio Club, James G. Dean, VE3IQ (Vice President, Regulatory Affairs - Radio Amateurs of Canada) and Dr. Kenneth Pulfer, VE3PU (Vice President, Government and International Affairs - Radio Amateurs of Canada) spoke on the various regulatory topics that will be discussed at next year's World Radio Conference (WRC-2003). Of prime interest to users/listeners on/around 7 MHz, the push for a world-wide Amateur exclusive allocation that is 300KHz wide at or near 7000 - 7300 KHz. This will mean that finally the 40-metre band will be the same in all three ITU regions.
Section S.25 (the Morse Code requirement for HF operation) is also to be discussed at WRC-2003, but it's passage at this time appears to be uncertain given the priority that the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is giving to the 40-metre question. As well, there is at least one country that is opposed to any change in S.25.
They also gave a brief look at various local problems/threats including the possible loss of spectrum at 220-222 MHz in Canada, the problems of primary status in the bands 144 MHz and up, interference from low-powered, unlicenced devices and the threat in Europe of Power Distribution companies using High Voltage power lines to deliver internet and phone service which could cause interference to the HF bands.
Ken Pulfer will be attending the WRC-2003 Conference next year as part of IARU delegation. The IARU only has Observer Status at WRC-2003 but works though local National Member Societies working hand in hand with Regulatory Agencies such as Industry Canada (IC) and the (U.S.) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in helping guide through and formulate proposals to help and protect Amateur Radio interests. Jim Dean will also be attending as a member of the Canadian delegation.
Please consider contributing to the Defence of Amateur Radio Fund via RAC as there are many important issues that need our attention and with many band threats (particularly above 30 MHz), it is extremely important that something be done to save our spectrum for future use and experimentation.
Radio Amateurs of Canada - http://www.rac.ca
International Amateur Radio Union - http://www.iaru.org
Band/Regulatory Threats - http://www.rac.ca/threats.htm
Enforcement of Regulations - http://www.rac.ca/faqgovt4.htm
IARU WRC-2003 Page - http://www.iaru.org/iaru-index.html#wrc2003
Created: Friday, September 27, 2002
Web Page by: Vernon Erle Ikeda
© 2002 - Vernon Erle Ikeda