FCC Invites Comments on ARRL's 60-Meter Petition
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 14, 2001--The FCC has begun accepting
comments on the ARRL's petition seeking the allocation of 5.250 to 5.400 MHz to
the Amateur Service on a domestic (US-only), secondary basis. The Commission
put the proposal on public notice this week and assigned a rulemaking number,
RM-10209, to the proceeding. Comments are due by September 12, 2001.
Interested parties may comment on the proposal via the
Internet or e-mail using the FCC's Electronic
Comment Filing System (EFCS). Those commenting should reference "RM-10209"
in their postings. Even if the FCC eventually okays the petition, it's likely
to be several years before the new band actually becomes available.
In its petition, the ARRL told the FCC that the new band
would aid emergency communication activities by filling a "propagation gap"
between 80 and 40 meters. The League noted that there are occasions when 80
meters is too low in frequency and 40 meter too high for reliable ionospheric
propagation. This can be a particular problem on paths between the US and the
Caribbean, when the "propagation gap" can disrupt emergency communications
during hurricanes and severe weather emergencies. A new 150-kHz allocation at 5
MHz also could relieve substantial overcrowding that periodically occurs on 80
and 40, the League's petition asserted.
The ARRL has proposed that General class and higher
amateurs be permitted to operate CW, phone, data, image and RTTY on the new band
running maximum authorized power. No mode-specific subbands were proposed. If
allocated to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis, hams would have to avoid
interfering with--and accept interference from--current occupants of the
spectrum, as they already do on 30 meters. The band 5.250 to 5.450 MHz now is
allocated to Fixed and Mobile services on a co-primary basis in all three ITU
regions.
The ARRL said that its successful WA2XSY experimental
operation between 1999 and this year demonstrates that amateur stations can
coexist with current users and that the band is very suitable for
US-to-Caribbean paths. In comparisons with 80 and 40 meters, the WA2XSY
operation also showed the 60-meter band to be the most reliable of the three.
The subject of an international 5 MHz Amateur Radio
allocation is not on the agenda for World Radiocommunication Conference 2003,
nor has it been proposed for subsequent WRCs. Proposals are pending in Europe
for a band around 5 MHz, however, and the band 5.245 to 5.445 MHz is being
studied as a possible candidate for the Amateur Service in the United Kingdom.
Efforts are under way to get authorization for an experimental operation there.
A copy of the ARRL petition is available
on the ARRL Web site.
Page last modified: 10:44 AM, 16 Aug 2001 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2001, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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