[LCC] ARLB005 ARRL HF Band Planning Committee Seeks Comments on Recommendations

[W5WZ]

> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB005
> ARLB005 ARRL HF Band Planning Committee Seeks Comments on
> Recommendations
> 
> ZCZC AG05
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 5  ARLB005
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  February 5, 2020
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB005
> ARLB005 ARRL HF Band Planning Committee Seeks Comments on
> Recommendations
> 
> The ARRL HF Band Planning Committee is seeking comments and
> suggestions from the Amateur Radio community on its report to the
> ARRL Board. At the Board's January meeting, the committee presented
> its specific recommendations in graphical form for each HF band and
> each US license class, with the goal of increasing harmony on the HF
> bands, particularly between CW and digital users.
> 
> The recommendations can be found online in PDF format on the arrl.org 
> web site.
> 
> "In general, the committee is of the opinion that there is
> justification for additional space to become available for digital
> modes, as well as for the operation of digital stations under
> automatic control," the committee told the Board. "The very changes
> in spectrum usage that have required our committee's resurgence
> indicate that digital modes of communication are already increasing
> in popularity, and the trend is expected to continue or even
> accelerate. To this end, we have tried to ensure that digital
> allocations are sufficient for at least a modicum of growth."
> 
> The committee also anticipates an increase in automatically
> controlled digital stations (ACDS). The report further points to
> "significant use" of modern data modes in emergency communication
> and said its recommendations provide significant support for the
> evolution and continued relevance of amateur radio.  "Our failure to
> adapt to these needs could consign amateur radio to the
> technological scrap heap," the report said.
> 
> The committee was revived last summer to consider conflicts between
> FT and JT modes and other modes. The panel's approach has been to
> designate distinct assignments for CW, narrowband (NB) data 500 Hz,
> wideband (WB) data 2800 Hz, and ACDS. For its work, the committee
> presumed approval of three ARRL petitions to the FCC: RM-11708 (WT
> Docket WT 16-239-"symbol rate" proceeding), RM-11759 (80/75 meter
> allocations), and RM-11828 (enhanced Technician privileges).  The
> committee also assumed that users can agree to sharing arrangements
> within a given allocation-narrowband vs wideband sharing within the
> ACDS allocation, for example. It also took into consideration how
> mode usage is regulated or planned elsewhere in the world.
> 
> In terms of mode classes, the committee agreed on CW, NB data, WB
> data, NB with ACDS, and WB with ACDS. The committee said it
> considered these mode classes incompatible and that they should not
> have overlapping allocations, with the exception of CW, which is
> authorized within any amateur radio allocation. The committee's
> approach would maintain the existing low-end 25-kHz CW-only
> sub-bands for exclusive use by Amateur Extra class licensees.
> 
> The panel encouraged CW identification and a
> listen-before-transmitting protocol for ACDS, if feasible. It also
> decided that a single allocation for ACDS without regard to
> bandwidth would be the best approach. "We note that this will put
> responsibility on the digital community to hold an effective dialog
> on the issue and to then self-regulate the users of this segment to
> adhere to the eventual agreement." A need for flexibility in
> allocations is desirable, the committee said, and considered whether
> allocations might be time-of-day or time-of-week dependent, for
> example.
> 
> "Modern amateurs must expect to adapt to this kind of fluid
> assignment of spectrum to incompatible uses, using time-based
> sharing, rather than only a single assignment," the committee said,
> expressing the hope that as band plan/sharing agreements are reached
> that they consider the advantage of non-simultaneous sharing
> possibilities.
> 
> Reiterating the position ARRL has taken in recent FCC filings, the
> committee said it sees encryption and open-source as enforcement
> matters as being outside the scope of the Band Planning Committee.
> 
> The Committee would like comments by February 19.  Comments may be
> filed online at, http://www.arrl.org/bandplan .
> NNNN
> /EX