Preparatory meeting for the 2007 World Radio Conference nears its end

Approximately 1000 delegates representing nearly 100 countries and dozens of Operating Agencies and International Organizations are currently attending a Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva.

This meeting, leading up to a World Radiocommunication Conference this fall, will be completed by March 2.

Amateur Radio representatives including Jim Dean, VE3IQ are part of many national delegations. Also representing Amateur Radio at the CPM are International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Larry Price, W4RA, and Technical Representative Ken Pulfer, VE3PU.

The CPM is finalizing the technical, operational and regulatory information on which the World Radio Conference will base its decisions. The resulting report, which has occupied several working parties for the past three years, will include background information on each of 27 agenda items, various methods of addressing the agenda items and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Agenda items of interest to Amateur Radio which are included in the CPM report are possible changes to the 40 metre band, and possible new secondary allocations to the Amateur Service at 60 metres (5 MHz) and 2200 metres (136 kHz).

WRC-07 agenda item 1.13 will review allocations to all services between 4 and 10 MHz, excluding allocations from 7000 to 7200 kHz. As a result of an earlier decision in 2003, radio amateurs will enjoy a worldwide 200 kHz segment on 40 meters beginning in March 2009.

WRC-07 agenda item 1.15 will consider establishing a secondary Amateur Radio allocation in the band 135.7 to 137.8 kHz. Several countries have already allocated the band to Amateur Radio, although only limited experimental operation by a few Canadian amateurs has been approved by Industry Canada.

Other agenda items will consider new spectrum for radar, cell phones, aeronautical communications and aeronautical telemetry just to name a few. Still others will deal with changes to the radio regulations affecting operations in many services such as the maritime radio service.

Source: Radio Amateurs of Canada

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