ARRLWeb: FCC Invites Comments on League's "Regulation by Bandwidth" Petition

NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 9, 2006--The FCC is inviting public comments on the ARRL's Petition for Rule Making that asks the Commission to regulate the amateur bands by necessary bandwidth rather than by mode. The petition recommends what the ARRL calls "a shift in regulatory philosophy" to encourage and enable development and refinement of digital techniques and advanced technologies. It has been designated as RM-11306, and comments are due by Monday, February 6.

"This petition seeks for the Amateur Radio Service the flexibility to experiment with new digital transmission methods and types to be developed in the future while permitting present operating modes to continue to be used for as long as there are radio amateurs who wish to use them," the League said in its petition, filed November 14. The ARRL says its suggested changes also will update the FCC's rules and eliminate the need for "cumbersome procedures" to determine whether a new digital mode is legal under Part 97.

Comments may be filed via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). Under "ECFS Main Links" on the right-hand side of the screen, click on "Submit a Filing" to file comments. To view others' comments, click on "Search for Filed Comments." In either case, type "RM-11306" in the "Proceeding" field. Be sure to include the hyphen (but not the quotation marks). You may prepare and file your comments as an attachment.

The next step in this proceeding would be either a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) or a dismissal of the League's petition. An NPRM would kick off a further round of formal comments. For the rules to take effect, the FCC would have to issue a Report and Order putting the changes into place and setting an effective date.

The ARRL is asking the FCC to replace the table at §97.305(c) with a new one that segments bands by necessary bandwidths ranging from 200 Hz to 100 kHz (see table "Proposed Band Segments and Bandwidths"). Unaffected by the ARRL's recommendations, if they're adopted, would be 160 and 60 meters. Other bands below 29 MHz would be segmented into subbands allowing maximum emission bandwidths of 200, 500 or 3.5 kHz, with an exception for AM phone.

The ARRL says the changes it's proposing to Part 97 constitute a balance "between the need to encourage wider bandwidth, faster digital communications and the need to reasonably accommodate all users in crowded bands." Conceding that its regulation-by-bandwidth regime would place increased responsibility on the amateur community to establish workable, accepted band plans, the League has expressed confidence that such an effort would be successful.

"This petition does not favor one mode at the expense of another," the ARRL concluded in urging FCC adoption. "It merely allows expansion of the repertoire of options that amateurs may pursue compatibly."

Proposed Band Segments and Bandwidths (The plan incorporates the ARRL's recommended exception of a maximum bandwidth of 9 kHz for double-sideband AM.)
160 Meters	Maximum Bandwidth
1.800-2.000 MHz	3.5 kHz

80/75 Meters
3.500-3.580 MHz	200 Hz
3.580-3.620 MHz	500 Hz
3.620-4.000 MHz	3.5 kHz

40 Meters
7.000-7.035 MHz	200 Hz
7.035-7.100 MHz	500 Hz
7.100-7.300 MHz	3.5 kHz

30 Meters
10.100-10.120 MHz	200 Hz
10.120-10.135 MHz	500 Hz
10.135-10.150 MHz	3.5 kHz

20 Meters
14.000-14.065 MHz	200 Hz
14.065-14.100 MHz	500 Hz
14.100-14.350 MHz	3.5 kHz

17 Meters
18.068-18.100 MHz	200 Hz
18.100-18.110 MHz	500 Hz
18.110-18.168 MHz	3.5 kHz

15 Meters
21.000-21.080 MHz	200 Hz
21.080-21.150 MHz	500 Hz
21.150-21.450 MHz	3.5 kHz

12 Meters
24.890-24.920 MHz	200 Hz
24.920-24.930 MHz	500 Hz
24.930-24.990 MHz	3.5 kHz

10 Meters
28.000-28.050 MHz	200 Hz
28.050-28.120 MHz	500 Hz
28.120-29.000 MHz	3.5 kHz
29.000-29.700 MHz	16 kHz

6 Meters
50.000-50.100 MHz	200 Hz
50.100-50.300 MHz	3.5 kHz
50.300-54.000 MHz	100 kHz

2 Meters
144.000-144.100	200 Hz
144.100-144.300	3.5 kHz
144.300-148.000	100 kHz

1.25 Meters
219.000-220.000 MHz	100 kHz
222.000-225.000 MHz	No specific bandwidth limit
Bands 70 cm and Above	No specific bandwidth limit