More on the bandwidth petition

Here is another take on the Bandwidth Petition by the ARRL. Interesting reading. If you are an ARRL member, contact your Director, do so even if you aren't a member.

Bandwidth Petition Bullet Points

· The ARRL Board has not decided what changes in the rules, if any, to propose to the FCC. The Board is looking at a committee recommendation and is open to comments and suggestions.

· Current rules set no real bandwidth limits for HF digital signals. A digital voice or data station could occupy 10 or 20 kHz and still be within FCC Part 97 rules!

· The communication world is "going digital," and this trend already is carrying over into Amateur Radio, which must be ready to deal with analog vs. digital voice in the present phone bands. The tradeoff is between future flexibility through voluntary band planning on the one hand, and the potential for competition for spectrum among incompatible modes on the other, if things stay as they are.

· Regulation by bandwidth is not new. Section 97.307(a) already limits bandwidth, and FCC Pan 2 rules define the necessary bandwidth of a commercial-quality SSG signal at 2.7 kHz. Hams are limited to 2.8 kHz bandwidth on 60 meters. So, the proposed 3 kHz bandwidth limit- with an exception for double-sideband AM phone is actual1y less restrictive than current rules!

· While the FCC restricts phone emissions to certain subbands, it does nor restrict RTTY or data to protect CW, or SSTV and AM to protect SSB. RTTY, SSTV and AM operators voluntarily limit the frequencies they use.

In much of the rest of the world, voluntary band plans, not government rules, separate the various emission modes. The band plans don't have the force of law, but there is a lot of peer pressure to conform.

. Today's FCC puts a premium on fewer rules, not more. The goal is to embrace new technologies and maintain existing privileges without making the rules more complicated. It makes better sense for radio amateurs to have maximum (and voluntary) flexibility in the future instead of being stuck with obsolete; hard-to change rules as technologies develop and are adopted.

. The line between "data" and "image" is becoming increasingly blurred. The rules now require digital data-which could include an image-in one part of the band and digital voice and image in another.

. The ARRL has heard the amateur community's concerns and suggestions and made changes to its draft proposals as a result. The League is still listening! Share your specific concerns with your Director. The ARRL Board of Directors will not act on these proposals any earlier than its July 2005 meeting.

. No one at ARRL has a vested interest in the outcome of this discussion. The ARRL Board believes that part of its job is anticipating future challenges and opportunities. HF digital technologies offer both. Doing nothing is still and option, but it won't prevent change.