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Since experimenters first began to chart the newly discovered electromagnetic spectrum at the turn of the century, Amateur Radio (sometimes called "ham radio") has been a kind of Technological National Park where the capabilities of new electronic circuits and techniques have been explored in the American tradition of the citizen-scientist. Access to small portions of the spectrum has allowed Amateur Radio to nurture generations of scientists, broadcast professionals and electronics specialists, many of whom play key roles in today's telecommunications revolution.
Even more widely recognized is Amateur Radio's emergency and public service capacity. Whether through a personal act of kindness in which a ham radio message relieves the worry of loved ones following a hurricane in the Caribbean, [1] or organized volunteers helping with emergency communication after the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City, [2] Amateur Radio provides a valuable, and sometimes life-saving, public benefit. Indeed, as the nation's telecommunication infrastructure becomes increasingly complex it also becomes increasingly important to have a simple back-up service like Amateur Radio available in the event of serious disruption.
For these and other reasons codified in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Part 97), the Amateur Radio Service has traditionally enjoyed the explicit support of the United States Government. However, in spite of its distinguished record as a voluntary, self-managed service that costs the government little and returns big benefits to taxpayers, Amateur Radio frequencies may be at risk in the new world of spectrum auctions.
Nobody in Congress thinks it's a good idea to auction spectrum allocated exclusively to Amateur Radio. Indeed, special considerations were included in the 1993 OBRA legislation creating auctions. [3] But these considerations have been honored more in the breach than in the observance. Amateur Radio shares a number of bands with existing government services, and those shared allocations have been subject to an incremental "nibbling away" through various reallocations by the FCC and NTIA for potential future commercial use, notwithstanding the OBRA provisions.
Certain Amateur Radio bands have been targeted by commercial telecommunications interests. In 1988, for example, after lobbying by a large national package shipping service, the FCC reallocated a large portion of one amateur band, from 220-222 MHz, to commercial use. Perceived irregularities in this proceeding actually triggered a congressional hearing. More recently, the commercial sector made a run at Amateur Radio's most heavily populated band, 144-148 MHz, when Low Earth Orbit Satellite ("Little LEO") interests attempted to become sharing partners on that band during the US Government's planning process for the 1997 World Radio Conference in Geneva. That attempt was thwarted only after thousands of amateur operators wrote to the FCC, the State Department, and to Congress with their concerns.
Congress itself got into the spectrum reallocation business through the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (PL 105-33) which called for a significant number of new spectrum auctions to raise more than $21 billion in new revenues. Many in Congress may be surprised to learn that some of that revenue could come from the auction of amateur spectrum in the 2300 and 2400 MHz ranges earmarked by an NTIA study mandated by the 1993 OBRA. [4] In all, Amateur Radio has lost at least 107 MHz of exclusive or shared frequencies since the early 1980s, [5] nearly 18 television channels (at six MHz per channel). ARRL has also identified another 145 MHz that are "at risk" of being reallocated or made unavailable to the Amateur Radio community.
To be sure, the viability of the Amateur Service has not yet been compromised. But the tide may be turning, and many in the amateur community fear that Congressional budgeteers, with their desire to generate revenues, and under pressure from commercial interests, may finally be willing to disregard the protections they have traditionally offered. The spectrum management agencies, which have been longstanding allies of Amateur Radio, will have no choice but to fulfill the mandate of Congress. [6]
The evidence of a shift is clear: testimony was presented at spectrum hearings in the House and Senate in the 104th and 105th Congresses urging that virtually all radio spectrum allocations in the US be subjected to unregulated market forces. That testimony went largely unchallenged. The call for wholesale auctions was echoed in editorials in some business publications.
As recently as April of 1997, the Congressional Budget Office actually introduced for discussion the notion that Amateur Radio spectrum might somehow be bought, sold or traded through the auspices of a national organization. [7] (As the only large national organization devoted to amateur radio, the ARRL finds the viability of such a scheme to be unclear, at best.)
Amateur Radio is a partner with police, fire and other traditional public service users in saving lives and property on an entirely non-commercial basis. Most members of Congress understand that a system without protection for the Amateur Radio user community promises more pressure on other services, less responsiveness and ultimately, higher taxes at the local level to pay for it all. Lives, property and tax dollars are at stake. Congress has long implicitly recognized this through legislation and report language. [8]
Now it's time to create explicit protections.
Amateur Radio frequency allocations under current US regulations should be protected by law, whether allocations are on a primary or secondary basis, except that current proposals for reasonable expansion and compatible sharing to accommodate new users should be considered. Congress should require the spectrum management agency (NTIA or FCC) to provide compensatory spectrum of equivalent bandwidth and propagation characteristics whenever Amateur Radio spectrum is reassigned.
As a general principle, only government spectrum that is underutilized and not shared with non-government users should be made available for auction. Further, responsible secondary users of government-primary spectrum such as Amateur Radio should be guaranteed that they would not be paired with incompatible primary users in any future re-assignment. Where such guarantees cannot be made, secondary users should be granted primary status and the spectrum protected from future auction. Moreover, these frequencies should continue to be regulated by the FCC and subject to stringent federal licensing requirements.
By seizing this opportunity to build protections around this critical component in America's public service communication, the 106th Congress will have taken a large and necessary step toward the 21st Century telecommunications system we all envision.
Source: American Radio Relay League
1--"Volunteer Amateur Radio Operators," Senator Wm. S. Cohen, Congressional Record, Oct. 3, 1996 (S12365).
2--"A Tribute to the Relief Volunteers of the Oklahoma City Bombing," Senator Don Nickles, Congressional Record, Aug. 11, 1995 (S12365).
3--PL 103-66, Title VI, Sect. 6001, Part B, Section 113 which requires that, in "determining whether a band of frequencies meets the criteria... the Secretary shall... seek to avoid excessive disruption of existing use of Federal Government frequencies by amateur radio licensees."
4--Spectrum Reallocation Final Report, U.S. Department of Commerce, Feb. 1995, p. 2-17 through 2-33.
| 5-- | ||
| 1982 | 1215-1240 MHz | 25 MHz |
| 1983 | 2310-2390 MHz | 80 MHz |
| 1988 | 220-222 MHz | 2 MHz |
| 107 MHz |
6--The FCC manages "public" spectrum; the NTIA manages government spectrum.
7--Where Do We Go From Here? The FCC Auctions and the Future of Radio Spectrum Management, CBO, April 1997, page 76
8--See, for example, PL 103-408, 108 Stat. 4229 (1994), recognizing the contributions of radio amateurs. See also PL 100-594, 102 Stat. 3025 (1988).
