No. 185

16 October 2003

Meeting on 6-8 September in Amsterdam, the IARU Administrative Council received nominations for the offices of President and Vice President for the five-year terms beginning 9 May 2004 and unanimously recommended that the nominations be ratified by the member-societies. The nominees are:

The IARU Constitution provides that "No later than 12 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. The nomination of a single candidate shall be made by the International Secretariat, but not until agreement has been reached between the International Secretariat and the Administrative Council that the candidate is suitably qualified." The Constitution further provides that "The nomination of a President by the International Secretariat shall be subject to ratification by a vote of the Member-Societies." Finally, "The qualifications, method of election, and term of office for the Vice President shall be identical with that of the President."

Policy #5 of the IARU Administrative Council, adopted in 2001, provides as follows:

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.

2. The purpose of these 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.

3. No later than the meeting of the Administrative Council immediately following the completion of the list and after due consideration, 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.

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

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

The American Radio Relay League serves as the IARU International Secretariat. ARRL International Affairs Vice President Rod Stafford, W6ROD, initiated the discussions with the Administrative Council as required by the Constitution and in accordance with Policy #5. These discussions culminated in the presentation of the nominations by the International Secretariat at the Amsterdam meeting.

The two nominees have extensive experience in the IARU and the ITU.

Larry E. Price, W4RA, has served as President of the IARU since 1999. He holds the degrees Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (electronics major), Master of Business Administration (management major), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) (finance major). Professionally, he retired as Professor and Department Head, Georgia Southern University, in 1991 and is now Emeritus Professor of Finance and Economics. Mr. Price was IARU Vice President in 1983-1984 and served as Secretary in 1989-1999. He has attended 17 IARU regional conferences, six each in Regions 1 and 2 and five in Region 3, and has represented the IARU at every ITU World Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Development Conference held since 1992 as well as at numerous other ITU meetings. He is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). He was first licensed at age 16 in 1951 and held elected offices in the ARRL continuously for more than 25 years, including service as President from 1984 to 1992, until stepping down as ARRL International Affairs Vice President in January 2000. He resides in Statesboro, Georgia.

Timothy S. Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, is a Barrister and Solicitor with the law firm of McCarthy Tetrault LLP and is a partner in the firm's Calgary, Alberta and London, UK offices. Born in England, Tim emigrated to Canada in 1972 and holds both Canadian and British/EU citizenship. He earned the degrees Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and Economics from the University of Calgary and LLB, Faculty of Law from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and is a member of the Law Societies of Alberta and England & Wales as well as of the International Bar Association. He has served as an IARU Expert Consultant since 2000, represented the IARU at the 2002 meeting of the ITU Special Committee on Regulatory and Procedural Matters and the 2002 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, and appeared as a speaker and panelist at the ITU Americas Telecom 2000 in Rio de Janeiro and ITU Africa Telecom 2001 in Johannesburg. First licensed in 1977 at the age of 16, he has held executive positions in the Radio Amateurs of Canada and one of its predecessor organizations, the Canadian Radio Relay League, starting in 1990. Tim was a delegate to the 1998 IARU Region 2 Conference and was elected to the Region 2 Executive Committee in 2001. If his nomination as IARU Vice President is confirmed, he will step down from his position on the IARU Region 2 Executive Committee.

The incumbent Vice President, David Wardlaw, VK3ADW, announced last year that he would not be available for renomination. Dr. Wardlaw has served as IARU Vice President since 1999 and has been involved in the IARU since the founding of IARU Region 3 in 1968.

The following proposals are offered for the consideration of the member-societies:

Proposal No. 238

The International Secretariat, following consultation with the Administrative Council and with the unanimous recommendation of the Council, nominates Larry E. Price, W4RA, for a five-year term of office as President, IARU, commencing on 9 May 2004. This nomination is offered to the member-societies for ratification, in accordance with Article III, paragraph 3(e), of the IARU Constitution.

Proposal No. 239

The International Secretariat, following consultation with the Administrative Council and with the unanimous recommendation of the Council, nominates Timothy S. Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, for a five-year term of office as Vice President, IARU, commencing on 9 May 2004. This nomination is offered to the member-societies for ratification, in accordance with Article III, paragraphs 3(e) and 5, of the IARU Constitution.

Vote sheets and a return envelope are enclosed. The closing date for receipt by the International Secretariat of ballots on this proposal is five months from the date of issuance of this Calendar, or 16 March 2004.

IARU Council Addresses Strategic Issues

As noted above, the Administrative Council of the IARU held its annual meeting on 6-8 September 2003 in Amsterdam. The meeting was to be held in Taipei in conjunction with the IARU Region 3 Conference but was moved to Amsterdam when the Region 3 Conference had to be postponed to next year as a result of travel restrictions arising from concerns about SARS. The Council took the following actions:

1. Four hours of the meeting were devoted to a strategic planning session with a planning horizon of the year 2010. Several key issues that are likely to influence the future of the IARU were identified. A report is to be drafted and circulated for further consideration by the Council early in 2004.

2. The results of the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference concerning the amateur and amateur-satellite services were reviewed in detail. The Council congratulated and thanked all individuals and organizations who contributed to the satisfactory outcome. IARU member-societies were urged to bring to the attention of their administrations the desirability of adopting specific changes in their domestic regulations for the amateur and amateur-satellite services, so that they will be consistent with the revised Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations.

3. The Council revised an existing Resolution concerning the Morse code in the light of the WRC-03 decision to leave to each administration the question of whether or not to require a demonstration of Morse skill to operate below 30 MHz. Under the revised Resolution, IARU policy is to support the removal of Morse code testing requirements.

4. A working document describing the spectrum requirements for radio spectrum allocations to the amateur and amateur-satellite services was reviewed and updated, particularly to reflect the results of WRC-03. One result of WRC-03 was the adoption of a recommended agenda for the next WRC presently scheduled for 2007. The agenda includes two items of interest to the amateur service: a review of allocations between 4 and 10 MHz and a possible secondary low-frequency amateur allocation at 136 kHz. While considerable progress was made at WRC-03 toward fulfilling amateur service spectrum requirements at 7 MHz, the requirements were not fully satisfied and there may be an opportunity to revisit the issue at WRC-07.

5. The ITU meetings at which IARU representation will be required for the coming year were identified, and plans for representation were reviewed. The IARU will participate in meetings within Study Group 1 of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector concerning the interference potential of high data rate telecommunication systems using power lines (variously referred to as PLC, PLT, and BPL).

6. The budget for 2004-2006 was presented by the International Secretariat (ARRL). The budget includes provision for financial contributions from the three regional organizations to defray a portion of the expenses, in accordance with previously adopted policy. The Council thanked the International Secretariat for its continuing financial support of the IARU.

7. Council reaffirmed the importance of World Amateur Radio Day, celebrated each year on 18 April, as an opportunity to present a positive image of Amateur Radio to the general public. World Amateur Radio Day marks the anniversary of the founding of the IARU in 1925.

8. Preparations for the IARU exhibit at the upcoming ITU TELECOM World 2003 (Geneva) were reviewed. TELECOM World 2003 is the world's largest telecommunications exhibition and is visited by many telecommunications administrators and other important officials.

9. Reports of volunteer IARU international coordinators and advisers were received. At the request of the IARU Satellite Adviser, policies concerning frequency coordination of satellites operating in the amateur-satellite service bands were clarified. In response to the increased emphasis placed on emergency and disaster relief communications in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations, the new volunteer position of IARU Disaster Communications Adviser was created.

10. The International Secretariat presented nominations of candidates for President and Vice President for the 2004-2009 term, and the nominations were unanimously endorsed by the Council. Larry E. Price, W4RA, was nominated for a second term as President. Timothy S. Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, was nominated as Vice President. The nominations will be submitted to the IARU member-societies for ratification.

11. Retiring Vice President David A. Wardlaw, VK3ADW, was recognized for his long and devoted service to the IARU.

12. The Council requested that the ARRL, as the contest organizer, have its Contest Advisory Committee consider the merits of proposals for changes in the rules of the IARU HF World Championship.

13. The next scheduled meeting of the Council will be held in Trinidad & Tobago on 2-4 October 2004, following the Conference of IARU Region 2.

Attending the Amsterdam meeting were IARU President Larry Price, W4RA; Vice President David Wardlaw, VK3ADW; Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ; regional representatives Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, Don Beattie, G3BJ, Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Pedro Seidemann, YV5BPG, Rod Stafford, W6ROD, Tim Ellam, VE6SH, Fred Johnson, ZL2AMJ, K. C. Selvadurai, 9V1UV, and Yoshiji Sekido, JJ1OEY; and recording secretary Paul Rinaldo, W4RI.

The Summary Record of the meeting is in preparation and will be released shortly via the IARU Web site.

Good Progress Achieved for Amateur Radio at WRC-03

Years of preparation by the IARU proved to be worthwhile at the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva from 9 June until 4 July 2003. The conference agreed to move the 7100-7200 kHz broadcasting allocation in Regions 1 and 3 to 7350-7450 kHz, effective 29 March 2009, and to allocate the band to the amateur service. This doubles the size of the worldwide 40-meter amateur band without reducing the 300-kHz allocation in Region 2. A footnote will permit fixed and mobile operation in some non-European countries in Regions 1 and 3, but this should not pose a serious problem for amateurs. The undesirable situation at 7200-7300 kHz continues, with amateurs in Region 2 subject to interference from broadcasting intended for use in Regions 1 and 3. However, the 50% reduction in the overlap between the amateur and broadcasting allocations represents a significant improvement. It remains to be seen whether a further improvement can be gained at WRC-07; the IARU will be evaluating the possibilities over the next several months.

Another important spectrum-related matter acted upon at WRC-03 was the addition of a secondary allocation to the earth exploration-satellite service (active) at 432-438 MHz in order to meet the need for spaceborne earth-penetrating Synthetic Aperture Radars. Because this is in the amateur 70-cm band, the IARU was greatly concerned about how the allocation might be implemented. Because the allocation was made on a secondary basis, the amateur service is afforded protection where it is primary (in Region 1 and several countries in Region 2). In addition, SARs are obliged to observe the constraints that are detailed in Recommendation ITU-R SA.1260-1. Protection for both the amateur and the amateur-satellite service is provided by these constraints and should result in most of the world's amateurs rarely, if ever, experiencing interference from a spaceborne SAR.

WRC-03 reviewed Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations. This Article contains the regulations that are specific to the amateur and amateur-satellite services. The newly revised Article 25 that took effect on 5 July 2003 provides greater recognition of the role of the amateur service in providing communications in emergencies and for disaster relief. It leaves to each administration the decision of whether or not to require that an applicant for an amateur license demonstrate the ability to send and receive Morse code. A non-mandatory reference to Recommendation ITU-R M.1544 calls the attention of administrations to the useful guidance that the Recommendation provides with respect to amateur license qualifications. The revised Article 25 also clarifies the permissible content of international amateur communication and makes it easier for an administration to permit communication on behalf of third parties, should it wish to do so. Another clarification explicitly authorizes administrations, at their option, to permit a visiting amateur to operate his or her station without issuing a license, as would otherwise be required by Article 18 of the Radio Regulations. Other improvements in the wording of Article 25 were also achieved.

WRC-03 also adopted changes to Article 19 that provide additional flexibility to administrations in the construction of call signs for amateur stations.

Two items that are on the agenda for WRC-07 (tentatively scheduled for the first half of 2007), subject to approval by the ITU Council, are of particular interest to the IARU. The first is a review of the allocations to all services in the HF bands between 4 and 10 MHz (except for 7000-7200 kHz and the aeronautical and maritime service bands that are subject to planning). The main impetus for this review is a desire on the part of some administrations to find additional spectrum for HF broadcasting. The second agenda item is "to consider a secondary allocation to the amateur service in the frequency band 135.7-137.8 kHz." The latter item resulted from an initiative by Canada, through CITEL, for such an allocation to be considered at WRC-03. Several administrations objected on the grounds that ITU studies had not been done.

Additional details on WRC-03 are available at the IARU Web site, www.iaru.org.

IARU Grows by Five Member-Societies

The International Amateur Radio Union has experienced a spurt in growth, with three new member-societies added in Region 1 and two in Region 3.

On 9 December 2002, Association des Radio Amateurs du Cameroun and Assoçiãcao dos Radioamadores de Macau became members of the IARU when voting was completed on proposals transmitted in Calendar No. 183. Less than four months later, on 4 April 2003, the National Association Radioamateurs of Georgia, the Federation of Radiosport of the Republic of Armenia, and the Vietnam Amateur Radio Club were admitted when voting was completed on proposals contained in Calendar No. 184.

On Proposal 233 (Cameroun) contained in Calendar No. 183 there were 72 affirmative votes received by the deadline from the member-societies listed below:

Region 1

AARA (Albania), ARA (Algeria), URA (Andorra), OeVSV (Austria), BFRR (Belarus), BFRA (Bulgaria), ARAI (Cote d'Ivoire), HRS (Croatia), CARS (Cyprus), CRC (Czech Republic), ERAU (Estonia), EARS (Ethiopia), FRA (Faroe Islands), AGRA (Gabon), DARC (Germany), MRASZ (Hungary), IARC (Israel), ARI (Italy), ARSK (Kenya), KARS (Kuwait), AFVL (Liechtenstein), RL (Luxembourg), RSM (FYR of Macedonia), MARS (Mauritius), ARM (Monaco), VERON (Netherlands), NARS (Nigeria), NRRL (Norway), ROARS (Oman), PZK (Poland), QARS (Qatar), FRR (Romania), SRR (Russia), ARRSM (San Marino), SARA (Slovakia), URE (Spain), SSA (Sweden), USKA (Switzerland), TIR (Syria), UARL (Ukraine), and RSGB (United Kingdom)

Region 2

RCA (Argentina), LABRE (Brazil), RAC (Canada), FRC (Cuba), CRAS (El Salvador), FMRE (Mexico), MARS (Montserrat), LPRA (Panama), RCP (Paraguay), RCP (Peru), TACARS (Turks and Caicos Islands), ARRL (USA), RCU (Uruguay), and RCV (Venezuela)

Region 3

WIA (Australia), BARL (Bangladesh), CRSA (China), CTARL (Chinese Taipei), FARA (Fiji), HARTS (Hong Kong), ARSI (India), ORARI (Indonesia), JARL (Japan), KARL (Rep. of Korea), NZART (New Zealand), PARS (Pakistan), PARA (Philippines), SARTS (Singapore), SIRS (Solomon Islands), RAST (Thailand), and ARCOT (Tonga)

In addition, a blank vote sheet was received from CRAG (Guatemala) and late "aye" votes were received from IRTS (Ireland), LRAL (Latvia), RSS (Swaziland), and TTARS (Trinidad & Tobago).

Voting on Proposal 234 (Macau) was identical except that ARM (Monaco) and Ireland (IRTS) did not vote, AARA (Albania) and FARA (Fiji) voted nay, and Argentina abstained. Thus, there were 68 affirmative votes.

On Proposals 235, 236, and 237 contained in Calendar No. 184 there were 76 affirmative votes received on each from the member-societies listed below:

Region 1

AARA (Albania), ARA (Algeria), URA (Andorra), OeVSV (Austria), UBA (Belgium), ARABiH (Bosnia & Herzegovina), BFRA (Bulgaria), HRS (Croatia), CRC (Czech Republic), EDR (Denmark), ERAU (Estonia), FRA (Faroe Islands), SRAL (Finland), RSM (FYR of Macedonia), DARC (Germany), GARS (Gibraltar), MRASZ (Hungary), IARC (Israel), ARI (Italy), ARSK (Kenya), LRAL (Latvia), RAL (Lebanon), AFVL (Liechtenstein), LRMD (Lithuania), RL (Luxembourg), MARS (Mauritius), MRSF (Mongolia), VERON (Netherlands), NARS (Nigeria), ROARS (Oman), REP (Portugal), QARS (Qatar), FRR (Romania), SRR (Russia), ARRSM (San Marino), SARA (Slovakia), URE (Spain), SSA (Sweden), USKA (Switzerland), TIR (Syria), TARL (Tajikistan), TRAC (Turkey), RSGB (United Kingdom), SRJ (Yugoslavia), and RSZ (Zambia)

Region 2

RCA (Argentina), RSB (Bermuda), LABRE (Brazil), RAC (Canada), CARS (Cayman Islands), LCRA (Colombia), DARC (Dominica), RCD (Dominican Republic), CRAS (El Salvador), RCH (Honduras), FMRE (Mexico), RCP (Paraguay), VRAS (Suriname), TACARS (Turks and Caicos Islands), ARRL (USA), RCU (Uruguay), and RCV (Venezuela)

Region 3

WIA (Australia), CRSA (China), CTARL (Chinese Taipei), FARA (Fiji), HARTS (Hong Kong), ARSI (India), ORARI (Indonesia), JARL (Japan), KARL (Rep. of Korea), NZART (New Zealand), PARS (Pakistan), PARA (Philippines), SIRS (Solomon Islands), and RAST (Thailand)

In addition, a nay vote on each was received from KARS (Kuwait) and a blank vote sheet on each was received from CRAG (Guatemala).

Name Change for SRJ

Reflecting a change in the name of the country that it represents in the IARU, Savez Radio-Amatera Jugoslavije (SRJ) has changed its name to Savez Radio-Amatera Srbije i Crne Gore (SRSCG). The English translation is Amateur Radio Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

73,

Sincerely,

David Sumner, K1ZZ
Secretary

Enclosures:

Vote sheets for Proposals 238 and 239 Return envelope