Region 1
AARA (Albania), ARA (Algeria), URA (Andorra), OeVSV (Austria), BFRR (Belarus), ARABiH (Bosnia & Herzegovina), BFRA (Bulgaria), HRS (Croatia), CRC (Czech Republic),  ERAU (Estonia), EARS (Ethiopia), RSM (FYR of Macedonia), DARC (Germany), MRASZ (Hungary), IRA (Iceland), IRTS (Ireland), ARI (Italy), KARS (Kuwait), LRMD (Lithuania), MARS (Mauritius), ARM (Moldova), ARM (Monaco), NARL (Namibia), VERON (Netherlands), NARS (Nigeria), NRRL (Norway), ROARS (Oman), PZK (Poland), REP (Portugal), FRR (Romania), SRR (Russia), ARRSM (San Marino), ARAS (Senegal), SRS (Serbia), SARL (South Africa), URE (Spain), SSA (Sweden), USKA (Switzerland), UARL (Ukraine), and RSGB (United Kingdom).

Region 2
ARSB (Barbados), RSB (Bermuda), LABRE (Brazil), RAC (Canada), CARS (Cayman Islands), RCD (Dominican Republic), GRC (Ecuador), GARC (Grenada – only on Proposal No. 248), FMRE (Mexico), RCH (Haiti), LPRA (Panama), RCP (Peru), TTARS (Trinidad & Tobago), RCU (Uruguay), and ARRL (USA).

Region 3
WIA (Australia), CRSA (China), CTARL (Chinese Taipei), ARSI (India), JARL (Japan), and KARL (Rep. of Korea).

It is a pleasure to welcome Federation of Radio Sport of Azerbaijan and St. Vincent & Grenadines Amateur Radio Club to membership in the IARU.

IARU Administrative Council Adopts Revisions to Policy Related to Guidelines for the Election of President and Vice President

The Administrative Council adopted revisions to guidelines for the election of IARU President and Vice President.  The revised IARU Policy #5 is set forth below:

IARU Policy #5 (amended 2012)
concerning guidelines for the election of IARU President and Vice President

1. No later than 12 months, and preferably between 18 and 14 months, prior to the expiration of the term of office of the President then in office, the International Secretariat shall initiate discussions with the Administrative Council to identify suitably qualified candidates available to serve as President. If a member of the Administrative Council is the subject of such discussion, he or she may be asked to withdraw from the meeting during that portion of the discussions.  An IARU Calendar shall be distributed advising the member-societies that the consultative process has been initiated and inviting member-societies to propose to their Regional Organization the names of individuals who are suitably qualified to serve as President.  Any such proposals shall include information demonstrating the individual is suitably qualified to serve as an IARU officer.  The Regional Organizations may also propose individuals.  The Regional Organization shall timely forward to the International Secretariat all of the proposed individuals from their respective region along any appropriate supporting material and any comments regarding the qualifications of such individuals that the Region deems appropriate. The current President shall be included among the list of individuals unless the President has notified the Administrative Council that (s)he is not standing for reelection.

2. The purpose of the consultative process and discussions shall be to assemble a list of available candidates who the International Secretariat and the Administrative Council agree are suitably qualified, do not have professional interests that conflict with the objectives of the IARU, and who, prior to taking office, will relinquish any elected position with a regional organization. The list shall be completed no later than 10 months prior to the end of the current term. The term “suitably qualified” shall be construed to mean an individual who possesses the necessary skills, background and experience to effectively carry out the duties of the President of IARU.

3. If the International Secretariat receives any proposed individuals directly, it shall immediately notify the appropriate Regional Organization of  such proposed candidate or candidates. The International Secretariat shall immediately consult with the appropriate Regional Organization as to that person’s qualifications to serve as an IARU officer.

4. No later than the meeting of the Administrative Council immediately following the

completion of the list and after due consideration of the discussions with the Administrative Council, the International Secretariat shall select its nominee from the list of candidates and shall advise the Administrative Council of its selection together with supporting material.

5. The International Secretariat shall be invited to this meeting of the Administrative Council to present its nomination.

6. The same procedure shall be used in the case of the Vice President.

At the November, 2012 meeting of the IARU Administrative Council, the International Secretariat initiated the consultative process as set forth in the above-mentioned guidelines.  Member-societies are invited to submit the names and the supporting information to their IARU regional organization of any individual the member-society believes is suitably qualified to act as IARU President or Vice President.

World Amateur Radio Day 2013

Each year on 18 April, radio amateurs around the world celebrate World Amateur Radio Day.  On that day in 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union was founded.  In 1913 there occurred the first recorded instance of amateur radio being used to provide communications in a natural disaster, during severe flooding in the Midwest of the United States. Accordingly, the theme of the event for 2013 is “Amateur Radio: Entering Its Second Century of Disaster Communications.”  Activities on the occasion of World Amateur Radio Day 2013 can be a great opportunity to spread the word about what the “hams” are doing in the field of disaster communications in the 21st Century.

73,

Rod Stafford W6ROD
Secretary

1. The Council reviewed the successes achieved at WRC-12, including the new amateur secondary allocation at 472-479 kHz, the avoidance of frequency sharing with HF radiolocation services and an agenda item for WRC-15 relating to an amateur allocation at 5 MHz.

2. The agenda items for WRC-15 were reviewed and initial IARU positions were formulated on the agenda items to the amateur and amateur-satellite services.

3. The working document that sets out the spectrum requirements of the amateur and amateur-satellite services was reviewed and updated.

4. The AC received the final report of the IARU 2025 Committee. In the current economic climate the committee was unable to develop a viable financial model that would permit the implementation of its proposed new organizational structure for the IARU. The committee did complete proposed revisions to guidelines for the election of IARU President and Vice President; these were adopted by the AC.

5. The consultative process for the election of IARU President and Vice President was initiated for the 2014-2019 terms of office. An IARU Calendar will be issued notifying the member-societies that the consultative process has begun.

6. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) meetings at which IARU representation will be required for the coming year were identified, and plans for representation at these meetings were reviewed.

7. The Michael J. Owen VK3KI Award was established to recognize an individual or individuals that best exemplify the dedication and hard work of IARU volunteers.

8. The Council reviewed the work of the committee drafting an updated handbook for experts and representatives attending meetings on behalf of the IARU. The handbook will be completed by Spring 2013 and will be distributed to IARU volunteers upon completion.

9. The theme “Amateur Radio: Entering Its Second Century of Disaster Communications” was adopted for the next World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, 2013.

10. A revised IARU web site was introduced. International Secretariat staff, particularly Magdalena Owczarska, W1MGZ, were thanked for their efforts in revising the web site.

11. Dale E. Hughes VK1DSH and Colin J. Thomas G3PSM were selected by the AC as IARU Technical Representatives. Technical Representatives represent the IARU at ITU and other international meetings.

12. The budget for 2013-2015 as presented by the IS was reviewed and adopted. The budget is based upon anticipated financial contributions from the three regional organizations to defray a portion of the expenses, in accordance with previously adopted policy.

13. The Monitoring System Committee (MSC) report was reviewed and accepted. With the establishment of the MSC the position of Monitoring System International Coordinator is no longer required. Chuck Skolaut K0BOG was thanked for his service in that capacity.

14. Reports of the IARU international coordinators and advisers were received. They are International Beacon Project Coordinator Peter Jennings, AB6WM/VE3SUN; Satellite Adviser Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV; EMC Adviser Christian Verholt, OZ8CY; International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, F5VKP/HB9AQS; and Interim Monitoring System International Coordinator Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG.

Attending the Ho Chi Minh City meeting were IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR; Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD; regional representatives Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Dennis Green, ZS4BS, Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE, Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM, Ramon Santoyo, XE1KK, Jay Bellows, K0QB, Peter Lake, ZL2AZ, Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, and Shizuo Endo, JE1MUI; and recording secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ.

The next scheduled in-person meeting of the AC will be held in the vicinity of Cancun, Mexico, in September 2013 in conjunction with the IARU Region 2 Conference.

-end-

The officers are:
President: Natig Gasimov 4J5T, 15, Rasul Rza St., menzil 10, Baku, AZ-1000 AZERBAIJAN
Secretary: Farhad Baloglonov 4K3M, H. Aliyev prosp, mehelle 3, ev 4/8A, Kurdamir City,
AZ-3000 AZERBAIJAN

The official address of FRS is:
FRS
15, Rasul Rza St., menzil 10, Baku, AZ-1000 AZERBAIJAN

Email: 4j5t@azhams.net or teknatig@azercell.com

The President and the Secretary of FRSA have confirmed that the Federation of Radio Sport of Azerbaijan has the ability to meet its financial obligations as a member of the IARU, is legally able to act in the furtherance of IARU objectives within its country, and will adhere to the Constitutions of both the IARU and IARU Region 1.

Accordingly, in compliance with the Bylaws pertaining to applications for membership the following proposal is presented to member societies for consideration

Proposal No. 247
The Executive Committee of IARU Region 1 has forwarded to the Administrative Council an application for membership submitted by Federation of Radio Sport of Azerbaijan (FRSA).
Region 1 reports that it has examined the application and has found it to be in order. Region 1 has made a favorable finding with regard to the application.

Therefore, in accordance with Bylaw 3, it is proposed that the Federation of Radio Sport of Azerbaijan (FRSA) be elected to membership.

A vote sheet for Proposal No. 247 is enclosed. The closing date for receipt by the International Secretariat of votes on Proposal 247 is five months after the date of this Calendar, or 1 November 2012. Please note that votes received after this date cannot be counted.

The IARU Constitution requires that a member-society shall cast its vote in writing. Vote sheets must be signed by an authorized official of the member-society.

Vote sheets may be returned by any of the following methods:
By mail addressed to IARU, P.O. Box 310905, Newington CT 06131-0905 USA.
By fax to +1 860-594-0259.
As a PDF or similar scanned attachment to an email sent to iaru@iaru.org.
Votes cast by fax or email attachment should be followed up with the original returned by postal mail for confirmation.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Amateur Radio Club (SVGARC) Proposed for IARU
Membership

An application for IARU membership has been received via IARU Region 2 from the St. Vincent and
the Grenadines Amateur Radio Club (SVGARC). The application has been examined by the Region 2
Executive Committee and has been found to satisfy the requirements of the Constitution and Bylaws
of the IARU.

Based in St. Vincent, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, SVGARC was formally organized in 1951.
There are 21 licensed members of the Society out of a total amateur population of approximately 134.
All of the members of the society are local amateurs.
The officers are:

President: Kumar Persaud J85K
PO Box 606, St. Vincent
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Caribbean VC0100
784-457-5857
J85K.vc@gmail.com

Secretary: Dian Hadaway J88NFV
78 Middle Street, St. Vincent
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Caribbean VC0130
784-458-4472
J88NFV@gmail.com

The official address of SVGARC is:
SVGARC
78 Middle Street, St. Vincent
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Caribbean VC0130
Email: j88arc@gmail.com

The President and the Secretary of SVGARC have confirmed that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Amateur Radio Club has the ability to meet its financial obligations as a member of the IARU, is
legally able to act in the furtherance of IARU objectives within its country, and will adhere to the
Constitutions of both the IARU and IARU Region 2.

Accordingly, in compliance with the Bylaws pertaining to applications for membership the following
proposal is presented to member societies for consideration:

Proposal No. 248
The Executive Committee of IARU Region 2 has forwarded to the Administrative Council an
application for membership submitted by St. Vincent & Grenadines Amateur Radio Club (SVGARC).
Region 2 reports that it has examined the application and has found it to be in order. Region 2 has
made a favorable finding with regard to the application.

Therefore, in accordance with Bylaw 3, it is proposed that the St. Vincent & Grenadines Amateur
Radio Club (SVGARC) be elected to membership.

A vote sheet for Proposal No. 248 is enclosed. The closing date for receipt by the International
Secretariat of votes on Proposal 248 is five months after the date of this Calendar, or 1 November
2012. Please note that votes received after this date cannot be counted.

The IARU Constitution requires that a member-society shall cast its vote in writing. Vote sheets must
be signed by an authorized official of the member-society.

Vote sheets may be returned by any of the following methods:
By mail addressed to IARU, P.O. Box 310905, Newington CT 06131-0905 USA.
By fax to +1 860-594-0259.
As a PDF or similar scanned attachment to an email sent to iaru@iaru.org.
Votes cast by fax or email attachment should be followed up with the original returned by postal mail for confirmation.

Montenegrin Amateur Radio Pool (MARP) Admitted to IARU Membership
On 17 August 2010 voting was completed on the admission of the Montenegrin Amateur Radio Pool (MARP) to IARU membership to represent the radio amateurs of Montenegro.

With 54 affirmative votes required for approval of Proposal No. 246 there were 63 votes in favor. RAST (Thailand) abstained. BFRR (Belarus) returned a blank vote sheet which also was counted as an abstention. Otherwise, all participating member-societies voted in favor.

The following 65 member-societies participated in the voting:

Region 1
AARA (Albania), ARA (Algeria), URA (Andorra), FRRA (Armenia), BFRR (Belarus), UBA (Belgium), ARABiH (Bosnia & Herzegovina), BFRA (Bulgaria), HRS (Croatia), CRC (Czech Republic), EARA (Egypt), ERAU (Estonia), EARS (Ethiopia), SRAL (Finland), RSM (FYR of Macedonia), REF-Union (France), DARC (Germany), GARS (Gibraltar), MRASZ (Hungary), IRA (Iceland), IARS (Iraq), ARSK (Kenya), KARS (Kuwait), LRMD (Lithuania), RL (Luxembourg), CRAM (Mali), MARL (Malta), MARS (Mauritius), ARM (Moldova), ARM (Monaco), MRSF (Mongolia), NARL (Namibia), VERON (Netherlands), NARS (Nigeria), NRRL (Norway), ROARS (Oman), PZK (Poland), ARRSM (San Marino), SARA (Slovakia), SARL (South Africa), URE (Spain), TARL (Tajikistan), and ZARS (Zimbabwe).

Region 2
RCA (Argentina), AARC (Aruba), RSB (Bermuda), LABRE (Brazil), RAC (Canada), CARS (Cayman Islands), RCC (Chile), FMRE (Mexico), RCP (Peru), RCU (Uruguay), ARRL (USA), and RCV (Venezuela).

Region 3
WIA (Australia), HARTS (Hong Kong), ARSI (India), JARL (Japan), MARTS (Malaysia), NZART (New Zealand), PARA (Philippines), SARTS (Singapore), RAST (Thailand), and VARC (Vietnam).

Member-Society Update: PNGARS and BARTS No Longer Exist
In Calendar No. 189 the IARU Administrative Council solicited evidence that the following IARU member-societies were still in existence: PNGARS (Papua New Guinea), CORA (French Polynesia), and BARTS (Burma or Myanmar). In response, evidence was received to the effect that CORA is still in existence. However, no such evidence was received with regard to PNGARS or BARTS.
In accordance with Administrative Council Resolution 09-1 (Revised 2010), these two former member-societies no longer exist. Any association of radio amateurs claiming to represent those countries shall be required to apply for membership in accordance with the IARU Constitution and Bylaws.

73,
Rod Stafford W6ROD
Secretary

The use of the frequency band 472-479 kHz in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain,
Belarus, China, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation, Iraq,
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Syrian
Arab Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen is limited to the maritime
mobile and aeronautical radionavigation services. The amateur service shall not be used in the
above-mentioned countries in this frequency band, and this should be taken into account by the countries authorizing such use.

The ITU Radio Regulations provide that radio amateurs are limited to 1 watt (e.i.r.p.) however
administrations whose territory is beyond 800 kilometers from the borders of the following
countries may increase the operating power to 5 watts (e.i.r.p.): Algeria, Saudi Arabia,
Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, China, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, the
Russian Federation, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic, Kyrgyzstan,
Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine and Yemen.

The change becomes effective with the adoption of the Final Acts of the Conference. Of course, it will be determined by each administration around the world as to what modes and bandwidths will be used in this portion of the spectrum and when hams in that country will have access to the spectrum.

More activities from the WRC-12 will be reported at the end of the WRC. The WRC continues
until 17 February. There is an effort underway to place an amateur radio agenda item on the
agenda for the next WRC which will take place in 2015.

Each agenda item that will be decided at a WRC has been studied for at least 3 or 4 years leading up to a WRC. ITU Working Parties discuss the issues involved in the agenda item.

Compatibility studies, sharing studies, experiments, etc. take place whenever needed so that discussions and decisions can be made based upon facts rather than opinions. Within a year prior to the start of a WRC an important meeting called the Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) occurs. The CPM report pulls together all of the information dealing with each of the agenda items and sets forth the various ways, if there is more than one, that an agenda item can

be satisfied or decided. By the time of the CPM, most all of the arguments in favor of the agenda item and opposed to the agenda items have been thoroughly discussed in the many meetings that take place regarding each agenda item. When a national administration arrives at the WRC, decisions have generally been made by that administration whether to be in favor or opposed to any particular agenda items. However, it is usually not that clear cut. Some administrations may be in favor if certain adjustments or modifications are made to one or more of the proposed methods to satisfy the agenda item. In other words, discussions and negotiations really get started during the earlier stages of the WRC. For example, Administration X may withhold support or opposition on a specific proposal until other administrations agree to support Administration X’s position on other agenda items that Administration X is very interested in.

At the beginning of the WRC, each agenda item is assigned to a Sub-Working Group (SWG) to allow interested administrations and other interested attendees the opportunity to discuss the agenda item. This is the stage where most of the negotiations and compromises are made in order to arrive at a consensus as to how to decide the agenda item. The preferred way is to have a consensus by the SWG attendees. Many times the consensus is achieved by all parties realizing that the result may very well turn out to be a situation where “everyone is a little bit unhappy.”

The flow of the work is that the output of the SWG goes to the Working Group level. After the WG level deals with the issue it moves to the Committee level. By the time the issue gets to the Committee level, revisions to the work done at the lower levels is generally not done. Once the agenda item passes the Committee level, it goes to the Plenary for two readings. If it passes the two readings the agenda item appears in the Final Acts of the WRC.

There are also times when a consensus by ALL parties is just not possible. An agenda item can move from the SWG stage to the Working Group stage where most administrations have reached a consensus on how to resolve the issue but there are still some administrations that are in favor of No Change (NOC).

Agenda Item 1.23. In the case of agenda item 1.23, there was a good deal of support among administrations at the SWG level for a secondary allocation to amateur radio just below 500 kHz. However, there was strong resistance by several administrations to the allocation based upon a stated concern that amateur operation in that portion of the spectrum could cause interference to Non-Directional Beacons. SWG 4C3 (the SWG dealing with agenda item 1.23) met 12 times over a period of ten days trying to arrive at a consensus on 1.23. Finally, a consensus was achieved on the issue by adding various footnotes dealing with the allocation that satisfied most

of the administrations opposing the allocation. At the end of the day, there were still a couple of administrations opposing the allocation. As a result, the SWG elevated the issue to the Working Group level with 2 options to satisfy the agenda item:

1.) a secondary allocation to the amateur service in the band 472-479 kHz with certain operating conditions set forth in footnotes to the allocation, or

2.) No Change (in other words, no amateur allocation).

The proposal that has been agreed to by most administrations that support the amateur allocation calls for a worldwide secondary allocation to the amateur service at 472 to 479 kHz with a power limit of 1 watt e.i.r.p., but with a provision for administrations to permit up to 5 watts e.i.r.p. for stations located more than 800 km from certain countries that wish to protect their aeronautical radionavigation service (non-directional beacons) from any possible interference. Proposed footnotes provide administrations with opportunities to opt out of the amateur allocation and/or to upgrade their aeronautical radionavigation service to primary if they wish to do so. In addition to these protections for aeronautical radionavigation, the amateur service must avoid harmful interference to the primary maritime mobile service.


At the Working Group meeting, there was no shifting of positions so the matter was elevated to the next level to Committee 4 with the same 2 options. The Committee 4 meeting takes place on Tuesday, 7 February. I will report on the results of that Committee 4 meeting but based upon the results thus far, I am cautiously optimistic that the amateurs will have a new secondary allocation at 472-479 kHz.

Agenda Item 1.15. Another agenda item being carefully watched by the IARU is agenda item

1.15 dealing with oceanographic radar. One of the candidate bands for the placement of oceanographic radar is 5.250 to 5.275 MHz. There have been a number of administrations that have granted amateurs access to spectrum around 5 MHz. In fact, one of the bands listed by IARU as a future allocation is 5 MHz. If oceanographic radar is operating in the 5.250-5.275

MHz band, that may impact the ability of the amateurs to obtain an allocation in that area. The candidate bands have not been finalized as yet at the WRC.

Distribution Of This E-Letter

This electronic newsletter is sent to many IARU member-societies headquarters around the world.

Individual amateurs should encourage their IARU national society to forward the newsletter to its own members.  The newsletter can also be read and downloaded from the IARU web site at  www.iaru.org.

If you are an ARRL member, you can subscribe to this E-Letter directly on the ARRL web site. When you log into the ARRL web site, go to the page where you can edit your profile and choose the electronic newsletter options that are available.

If you have any information that would be appropriate to publish in this electronic newsletter, please contact me at  w6...@iaru.org.

Rod Stafford W6ROD
IARU Secretary

The IARU E-Letter is published on behalf of the Administrative Council of the International Amateur Radio Union by the IARU International Secretariat. Editor: Rod Stafford, W6ROD, IARU Secretary. Material from The IARU E-Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The IARU E-Letter and The International Amateur Radio Union.

There are a number of agenda items for WRC-12 that have some impact on amateur radio, immediately or sometime in the future. Each of the agenda items is assigned to a committee and also sub-working groups. Within each of these sub-working groups the agenda items are discussed in detail, the proposals from regional telecommunication organizations are analyzed, and the discussion proceeds toward developing a consensus on the agenda item. It seems to the casual observer to be a slow, tedious process but it works quite well in developing consensus, assuming the parties are at least a little bit flexible in their views.

AI 1.23. The agenda item that has been discussed widely within the amateur community over the last 5 years is agenda item AI 1.23. In 2007, the agenda item was stated as follows: “to consider an allocation of about 15 kHz in parts of the band 415-526.5 kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis, taking into account the need to protect existing services.” There are a number of suggested ways to satisfy this agenda item that are being discussed at the WRC: 1. A secondary allocation of up to 15 kHz to the ARS on a worldwide basis between 472 kHz and 487 kHz. 2. Two non-contiguous worldwide secondary allocations to the ARS at 461-469 kHz and 471-478 kHz, totalling 15 kHz. 3. A CEPT proposal for a worldwide secondary allocation of 8 KHz from 472 to 480 kHz. 4. No change.

It appears from the first several days of committee meetings that many of the member states attending the WRC are in favor of granting the amateur radio service an allocation but the details remain to be established. The member states that are in favor of No Change (NOC) have stated that they are primarily concerned with possible interference to Non Direction Beacons that currently operate in the spectrum under consideration. It is still early in the process to determine if the amateur service will succeed in gaining an allocation in this portion of the spectrum.

AI 1.10. This agenda item is as follows: “to examine the frequency allocation requirements with regard to operation of safety systems for ships and ports and associated regulatory provisions, in accordance with Resolution 357 (WRC-07).” This agenda item might have impacted the IARU goal of achieving a secondary allocation under AI 1.23. However, with the dropping of the AI 1.23 Method for an amateur allocation between 493 and 510 kHz, there should no longer be a conflict between maritime service objectives for AI 1.10 and amateur service objectives for AI 1.23.

AI 1.15. This agenda item is as follows: “to consider possible allocations in the range 3-50 MHz to the radiolocation service for oceanographic radar applications, taking into account the results of ITU-R studies, in accordance with Resolution 612 .” ITU committee meetings leading up to WRC-12 have identified the following bands to be studied under this Agenda Item: 3.5 – 5.5 MHz, 8 – 10 MHz, 12 – 14 MHz, 24 – 30 MHz, 39 – 45 MHz. These have been refined to particular candidate sub-bands including 5.060-5.450 MHz, 13.870-14.000 MHz, 24.000-24.890 MHz and 29.700-30.000 MHz. The IARU position is that oceanographic radar applications are incompatible with the amateur and amateur satellite services in the range 3 to 50 MHz and should not be allocated in bands already allocated to the amateur and amateur satellite service, including 5.250-5.450 MHz in which a growing number of administrations are providing for some access by amateurs on a domestic basis.

Footnotes. At each WRC, there is an agenda item that deals with footnotes contained within the Radio Regulations. Generally, this is a situation where an administration (a country) has “opted out” of the decision of a WRC and therefore creates an exception to the table of frequencies in the Radio Regulations. For example, a country may say that it will not use a certain service in a portion of the spectrum that has been designated for that service by the WRC. Therefore, a footnote is created in the Radio Regulations for that portion of the spectrum indicating a designated use is not available in that country even though it may be available in many other parts of the world. There are a number of examples of footnotes that relate to amateur radio. One of IARU’s tasks during each WRC is to try to get administrations to remove their country’s name from footnotes that prevent amateurs in that country from using spectrum that is available for amateur radio usage in other countries.

There are other agenda items which the IARU has determined to be a low threat to the amateur radio and the amateur-satellite services but those items will be closely watched by the IARU Team at the WRC-12 to make sure they do not negatively impact amateur radio.

WRC-12 started on Monday, 23 January and will conclude on Friday, 17 February. During this four week period, as the working groups and sub-working groups go through the agenda items I will report any significant developments in subsequent electronic newsletters.