Growth of the Internet and Implications for Amateur Radio

[NOTE: This paper was prepared by the IARU International Secretariat as an input document for the IARU Administrative Council Meeting in Beijing, September 1997. It is a discussion document only, and is not a statement of IARU policy.]

Background

Over the last several years the loosely organized collection of computer networks collectively known as the "Internet" has grown at an amazing rate which few would have predicted. From rather simple beginnings as a way for certain US government research facilities and Universities to exchange data in order to facilitate and stimulate their creative work, the Internet has now reached into businesses, homes, industries and government offices in literally every corner of the world.

Radio amateurs, by the very nature of their interest in communications and in technology itself, have become, as a group, intense users of the Internet. As we plan for amateur radio in the 21^st Century, we must consider the implications of the Internet.

• Recruitment of youth into amateur radio. Historically, young people interested in science and technology found the excitement of building and operating short-wave radios to be an inducement to learn the fundamentals of radiocommunication in order to become licensed by their Administration to operate a station in the Amateur Service. Today, such persons need only have Internet access through a computer in their home or school to have the ability to communicate with people of like interest anywhere in the world.

• Technological innovation and experimentation. Historically, the transition from spark to cw, from Morse to telephony, from AM to SSB were all pioneered and popularized by radio amateurs. Today, most radio amateur systems use technology that has little progressed in recent years. Moreover, the Internet is in the early stages of providing digital voice person-to-person communication at little or no cost beyond the initial investment in hardware and software. Therefore, the Internet can be seen as challenging Amateur Radio on three fronts simultaneously: there is no licensing requirement, it offers an opportunity to have quick, reliable world-wide communication, and it provides an opportunity to use state-of-the-art technology.

The Future

1. Spectrum requirement for the Internet. Yes, the Internet is not only a wireline system. Those who believe that Internet (the Global Information Infrastructure or GII) must become truly universal during the 21^st Century know that a combination of wire and wireless systems will be required. Within the ITU and the professional telecommunication industry, historic distinctions between wire/wireless are disappearing. Therefore, Internet already has articulated spectrum requirements of two kinds. First, some Mobile Satellite Systems (MSS) -- Teledesic, SkyBridge, and Celestri -- are designed for digital wide-band high data rate communication. Secondly, fixed-wireless-access (FWA) systems are seeking allocations for "radio LANs" and similar office systems. These systems have greatly increased the pressure on spectrum above 2 GHz.

2. The ITU and the Internet. While the ITU was not an early adopter nor advocate of the Internet, in the last three years ITU has decided to attempt to become a major force in the world of Internet. In part, this was a defensive move because ITU data communication standards were running the risk of being seen by the world of users as irrelevant. This new commitment by ITU has taken three forms:

• ITU is attempting to become the Top-Level-Domain Registrar and to establish a system of competitive registrars while introducing new domains. For example, ITU itself has changed from being "@itu.ch" to "itu.int" where int is a newly created domain name for international organization.

• ITU is now sponsoring conferences related to Internet such as Interactive TELECOM in Geneve. These conferences are designed to produce revenue while at the same time reinforcing the idea that ITU is a center for Internet information.

• ITU is making extensive usage of the Internet in the conduct of the business of ITU, including selling products over their web pages, electronically distributing documents related to meetings and conferences, and accepting submissions of input documents through the Internet.

The implications for amateur radio are serious. As more and more individuals come to have access to worldwide communication through the Internet, the unique nature of the Amateur Service will diminish. As entities become reliant on Internet communication they are more likely to be convinced that universal service access is a necessary objective. As the boundaries between wired/wireless become meaningless from both a technical and a regulatory standpoint, the pressure on microwave spectrum is likely to increase dramatically.