The IARU E-Letter, Number 1
September 2006

IARU INAUGURATES ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

At our mid-August meeting in Bangalore, the members of the IARU Administrative Council discussed ways to improve communications with IARU member-societies and individual radio amateurs. We agreed that a monthly electronic newsletter describing IARU activities would be a good investment of time. The IARU E-Letter will be distributed to the iaru-news email list that is maintained by the IARU International Secretariat. Anyone holding a position as an IARU volunteer or with an IARU member-society will be included on this distribution list, upon email request to iaru@iaru.org.

So without further ado, let's begin!

REGION 3 CONFERENCE IN BANGALORE ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP

The 13^th Conference of IARU Region 3 was held in Bangalore, India August 7-11. IARU Region 3 consists of the member-societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in the Asia-Pacific area. Conference arrangements were made by an outstanding team of volunteers of the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI), the IARU member-society for India.

There were 13 IARU member-societies represented in person with another five represented by proxy. The conference considered more than 60 input documents containing reports and proposals from Region 3 member-societies, coordinators and committee chairmen, as well as from IARU Regions 1 and 2. The conference documents are available on the Web at www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3.

Two Working Groups dealing with policy and operational issues met in parallel. A third Working Group to consider constitutional issues met when the other two Working Groups were not in session. Proposals to amend the Constitution that had been proposed in advance by member-societies were considered, and modest amendments were adopted. Recommendations were adopted addressing a wide range of Amateur Radio issues, including the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference, BPL/PLC interference, international licensing, development of Amateur Radio in the Pacific Islands, interference from unauthorized non-amateur stations operating in the amateur bands, emergency communications preparedness, and signal reporting for digital modes.

A new slate of Directors was elected to manage the affairs of the Region between conferences. They are Michael Owen, VK3KI, who also was elected Chairman of Directors; Shizuo Endo, JE1MUI; Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN; Peter B. Lake, ZL2AZ; and Prof. Rhee-Joong Guen, HL1AQQ. The new Directors assume their duties on September 15. The contributions of retiring Directors Y. S. Park, HL1IFM, Chandru Ramchandra, VU2RCR, Yoshiji Sekido, JJ1OEY, and K. C. Selvadurai, 9V1UV were noted with great appreciation. Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, continues as Secretary of Region 3.

The 14^th Region 3 Conference is planned for Christchurch, New Zealand in 2009.

IARU ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL ALSO MEETS IN BANGALORE

The Administrative Council of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) held its annual meeting on August 12-14 in Bangalore following the IARU Region 3 Conference.

A news release summarizing the results of the meeting was distributed to the iaru-news mailing list at the conclusion of the meeting and need not be repeated here. The news release is available at http://www.iaru.org/rel060814.html.

IARU PREPARES FOR NEXT ROUND OF ITU WORKING PARTY MEETINGS

One of the most important functions of the IARU is to ensure that the amateur and amateur-satellite services are properly represented whenever decisions are made that affect our frequency allocations. The next major international event of this kind is the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) that will be held in Geneva next October and November.

Delegates do not just show up at a WRC and make up their minds on the spot. Years of preparation are behind every WRC decision. Most of this work is done within the framework of the Working Parties of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector. For example, Working Party 8A is responsible for studies related to the land mobile service (excluding IMT-2000) and to the amateur and amateur-satellite services.

Working Party 8A will meet at ITU Headquarters in Geneva September 6-14. Other Working Party meetings will be taking place in the same general time frame, including 8B (maritime and aeronautical mobile), 9C (fixed service below 30 MHz), and 6E (terrestrial broadcasting). The timing of these meetings is not coincidental. All four of these Working Parties have a stake in WRC-07 Agenda Item 1.13, which deals with spectrum between 4 and 10 MHz. Delegates with an interest in this issue will hold a joint meeting during the week of September 11.

The IARU will be represented at these meetings by Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, and Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ. Other amateur service representatives will be present as members of their national delegations.

More information about the ITU Radiocommunication Sector is available on-line at: http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/. For information on individual Working Parties, go to "Study Groups" and then to "Structure." Access to some documents is restricted, but there is a wealth of information available to the public.

IARU RESOURCES ON-LINE

Many IARU member-societies maintain excellent Web sites for the benefit of their members, other radio amateurs around the world, and anyone else who is interested in amateur radio. Did you know that each of three IARU regional organizations has its own Web site? They are:

Region 1: www.iaru-r1.org

Region 2: http://www.iaru-regionii.org/

Region 3: www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3

The IARU Web site is at www.iaru.org. We plan significant improvements to this site in the coming months.

Until next time,

73,

David Sumner, K1ZZ
Secretary, IARU

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