SB QST @ ARL $ARLB019
ARLB019 FCC puts regulatory ball in amateurs' court

ZCZC AG19
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 19  ARLB019
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  May 25, 2001
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB019
ARLB019 FCC puts regulatory ball in amateurs' court

The FCC says the ball is in the court of the Amateur Service to
determine the course of future Amateur Radio regulation. Speaking
May 20 at the Dayton Hamvention FCC forum, Bill Cross, W3TN, of the
FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, said that the days of
Commission-imposed regulation are past.

''Detailed regulation of the nitty gritty of communication services,
including the Amateur Service, is not in the picture,'' Cross said.
''Rather, the FCC is shifting to strong and effective enforcement of
truly necessary regulations.'' The FCC, he said, now plans to look to
the amateur community to reach consensus on any new regulations it
thinks it wants and needs.

''I hope that those of you who are thinking about asking us to carve
up a band by fiat will think again,'' he said. ''You really are asking
us to tie your hands regarding your use of your spectrum.''

Before the FCC initiates any rulemaking proceedings in the Amateur
Service to change privileges, Cross said it wants to see proposals
involving the implementation of ''new and more modern communications
technologies,'' such as digital. In addition, he said, any future
proposal ''must include all licensees, and it must include all
bands,'' and--most important--the amateur community must reach a
consensus on the topic.

Cross said the FCC does not want and cannot handle ''multiple
proceedings that address piecemeal changes in operating privileges''
that affect only certain classes of licensees or certain bands.
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