UK radio amateurs get new bandplan in 2006

Radio hams in Great Britain will ring in 2006 with some new bandplans that will place strict regulation on the introduction of fully automatic digital communications techniques.

The new plans may also hamper growth of current automated robot digital operations by defining where on any given band they can and cannot be.

While it hardly ever uses the word digital, it does refer to such things as automatically controlled data stations in defining available spectrum.

For example, on 40 meters automatic stations are confined from 7.040 to 7.043 MHz for a total of 3 Kilohertz of operating space.
On 20 meters automated data stations are given from 14.089 to 14.099 and 14.101 to 14.112 MHz depending on the signals actual spectrum used by the signal.
In all, automated operation is very carefully defined by specific spectrum and signal bandwidth for each high frequency band where it will be permitted.

On the VHF bands there were very few changes except for enlarging the meteor scatter section of 2 meters and recognizing the use by other European nations of 12.5 KHz repeater spacing in the 70 centimeter band. Also, 70.150 Mhz has been officially adopted as meteor scatter calling
frequency on the Europe only 4 meter band.

Unlike the United States which is looking at regulating Amateur Radio operations by overall bandwidth it appears that for now the U-K and most of Europe is content to stay with defined band segment to separate various modes.
That said, in the introduction the plan notes that on 10 meters and below, the maximum allowable bandwidth for any signal is 2.7 Kilohertz excluding full carrier AM which has special dispensation for its wider audio.

The new U-K plan is based on one defined by Region 1 of the International Amateur Radio Union.

The entire bandplan is available on-line in PDF format at the
http://www.rsgb-pectrumforum.org.uk/Papers/
IARUR1_bandplan_radcom_jan06.pdf

Sources: AR Newsline, Southgate ARC, RSGB

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