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

28 September 1999

For immediate release

Convening for the first time under the chairmanship of President Larry E. Price, W4RA, the Administrative Council of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) met in Lillehammer, Norway, September 26-28, 1999. The meeting was held immediately after the IARU Region 1 Conference. The following actions were taken:

1. To reduce the possibility of inappropriate use of the Amateur-Satellite Service an information paper for prospective owners and operators of amateur satellites was adopted. The paper is a joint project of the IARU and AMSAT and is intended to ensure that the operation of satellites in the Amateur-Satellite Service is consistent with the objectives of the Service. It will be placed on the IARU Web site, www.iaru.org.
2. Responding to growing threats of interference from broadband telecommunications over unshielded power and telephone lines, the Council affirmed the seriousness of the threats and resolved that the IARU and its member-societies must develop appropriate responses. The IARU will develop an input paper to Working Parties of ITU-R Study Group 1, which is studying the acceptable levels of radiation from such systems so as not to impair the performance of radiocommunication systems; measurement techniques, and techniques which may be used to minimize the effects of such radiation.
3. Following up on previous work of the Future of the Amateur Service Committee (FASC), the Council prepared a draft Recommendation defining the operational and technical qualifications for persons wishing to operate an amateur station. If a review of Article S25 of the international Radio Regulations is put on the agenda for the next World Radiocommunication Conference after WRC-2000, the draft Recommendation will form the basis for a submission to the appropriate ITU Study Group.
4. An updated Action Plan for the development of support for Amateur Radio in Africa was reviewed and approved. The Plan includes several courses in Amateur Radio Administration to be taught in Africa under the joint sponsorship of the ITU and the IARU.
5. The IARU positions on WRC-2000 agenda items were reviewed and approved. These form the basis for instructions to the IARU delegation to WRC-2000.
6. A report on the status of preparations for the eventual harmonization of the 7 MHz allocation between amateurs and broadcasters was received. The item is on the preliminary agenda for WRC-2003, but the preliminary agenda is expected to be extensively revised at WRC-2000.
7. The present and anticipated future requirements for radio spectrum allocations to the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Services were reviewed, updated, and approved, with special emphasis on the frequencies above 71 GHz.
8. The ITU meetings at which IARU representation will be required in the coming year were identified and the recommendations of the President and International Secretariat with regard to representatives to attend these meetings were accepted.
9. Recognizing the importance of intellectual property rights in the development of new technologies, the Council adopted key points to be included in an intellectual rights policy for Amateur Radio. Tim Ellam, VE6SH, was thanked for his significant contributions to this work.
10. Initial plans were reviewed and approved for the celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the IARU in Paris, April 18, 1925. The Council additionally noted that April 18, 2000 is also the 50^th anniversary of the founding of IARU Region 1.
11. Planning for IARU participation in next month's TELECOM exposition in Geneva was reviewed. There will be an IARU stand where Amateur Radio's accomplishments will be on display to hundreds of thousands of visitors to TELECOM.
12. Reports of regional organizations' plans for IARU participation in the TELECOM of the Americas, Rio de Janeiro, and Asia TELECOM, Hong Kong, were received.
13. A budget for 2000-2002 was adopted as submitted by the International Secretariat. The budget includes provision for financial contributions from the three regional organizations to defray a portion of the expenses that are assumed by the International Secretariat beyond its constitutional obligation.
14. The President announced the signing of an operational agreement between the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Secretariat of the IARU. The agreement calls for close cooperation on matters concerning the facilitation of emergency communications.
15. Reports were received from the international coordinators and advisers who report to the Council on specialized areas of interest. They are Robert E. Knowles, ZL1BAD, IARU Monitoring System; Robert S. Fabry, N6EK, IARU Beacon Project; Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS5AKV, IARU Satellite Adviser; and Christian M. Verholt, OZ8CY, IARU EMC Adviser.
16. Next year's meeting of the Council will be held in two parts. The first part, in Paris on April 18-19, will include a final review of plans and positions for WRC-2000 which is scheduled to open two weeks later in Istanbul. The second part will be held in Darwin, Australia, September 3-4, immediately following the Conference of IARU Region 3.
17. Policies for the IARU Monitoring System were streamlined and updated to reflect the work of the Monitoring System Review Committee, completed in 1998. The IARU Monitoring System is Amateur Radio's front-line defense against intruders operating in the amateur bands contrary to the international Radio Regulations.
18. A new committee is to be made up of experts in future trends related to telecommunications technology and regulation. The members will be selected with due regard to achieving geographic balance in the representation of views. The committee is to prepare a report by June 2001 describing the future telecommunications environment and the committee's views as to the implications for the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Services.
19. Another new committee takes over from the IARU Structural Review Committee, which submitted its report on the issues related to the structure of the IARU. The Council ordered that the IARU member-societies be invited to review and comment upon the issues identified in the report. The new Committee on IARU Structure will review the responses received and will prepare a further report based on distillation of the views expressed.
20. A four-person working group was appointed to review public relations activities and report to the next meeting of Council.

The members of the Administrative Council are IARU President Larry Price, W4RA, Vice President David Wardlaw, VK3ADW, Secretary David Sumner K1ZZ, and regional representatives Lou van de Nadort, PA0LOU, Tim Hughes, G3GVV, Tom Atkins, VE3CDM, Eduardo Estrada, HC2EE, Fred Johnson, ZL2AMJ, and Sangat Singh, 9M2SS. Technical assistance was provided by Paul Rinaldo, W4RI. Additional regional observers invited to be present were Hans Ehlers, DF5UG, and, for a portion of the meeting, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS5AKV. Thus, all six continents were represented at the meeting.