Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) has announced that its proposal to establish an international 60 meter Amateur Service allocation has been accepted by the Industry Canada consultative committee for World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). The regulator uses that panel’s conclusions to determine its position on WRC-15 issues. The RAC proposal specifically addresses WRC-15 Agenda Item 1.4 — to establish a 60 meter allocation for Amateur Radio on a secondary basis. The Canadian proposal will be considered by other International Telecommunication Region (ITU) Region 2 countries in October.

“This proposal will be [submitted] at the CITEL meetings in Merida, Mexico, next month to be considered as the CITEL position going into WRC-15,” said RAC International Affairs Officer George Gorsline, VE3YV. CITEL, the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission, is the telecommunications and telecommunications technology advisory body of the Organization of American States. Its members include all ITU Region 2 countries except Cuba.

The RAC proposal recommends two 25-kHz band segments for Amateur Radio — 5330 to 5355 kHz and 5405 to 5430 kHz. Amateur access would be on a secondary, non-interference, listen-before-transmit basis.

Gorsline credited the efforts of Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN, the RAC representative on domestic committees and a Canadian and International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) delegate at ITU meetings.

“His role and the hours of work — essentially an unpaid job — attending many, many formal and informal meetings with our regulator and with interested parties in Canada and internationally are a key factor in gaining formal Canadian government support,” he said. “We are very fortunate to have his talents and willingness to sacrifice his on-the-air time for all of us.”

RAC also acknowledged “the strong support of Industry Canada at Working Party meetings and on other committees and at ITU WRC-15 preparatory meetings.

Gorsline said that a “firm proposal” from his country citing specific frequencies for support by Region 2 countries at the CITEL meeting “is a giant step toward a favorable outcome at WRC-15.”