NEWS RELEASE
International Amateur Radio Union
P.O. Box 310905
Newington, CT 06131-0905 USA
FAX: +1 860 594 0259
E-Mail: iaru@iaru.org
12 April 2005

For immediate release

For further information, contact
Allen Pitts
+1 860 594-0328
apitts@arrl.org

Newington, CT, USA. -- The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) and its member societies representing more than 150 countries around the world celebrate World Amateur Radio Day each year on April 18. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Expanding the World of Wireless Communications.”

Amateur Radio operators, sometimes called “Hams,” have been the leaders in developing many of today’s modern electronic and communications marvels. Today the citizens of Earth can think of “wireless” as being the ubiquitous cellular or portable phone because of the pioneering work in radio and associated technologies first explored by these amateurs. Many leading electrical engineers were able to draw from their practical experiences as Amateur Radio operators as they developed modern radio and television receivers and transmitters including two-way radios, adaptive antennas, and many other inventions that are today’s necessities.

Today’s hams continue to explore new frontiers. Radio Amateurs are finding ways to use frequencies at the fringes of the radio spectrum while developing marriages of radio and the internet, and experimenting with ultra-high speed digital communications. Ham Radio operators are “amateurs” only because they are unpaid volunteers; their skills and contributions to the world are of the highest order.

Since 1925, the IARU has been instrumental in coordinating and representing Amateur Radio to the world. For information about the International Amateur Radio Union please see: www.iaru.org

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