The World Radiocommunication Conference is underway

The 2007 World Radio Communication Conference (WRC-07) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is being held October 22 through November 16 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Among the more than 2700 attendees are the IARU WRC-07 core team headed by IARU President Larry Price, W4RA and including IARU Vice President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, IARU Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, IARU Reguon 2 President Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH, Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, and Hans Zimmermann, HB9AQS/F5VKP.

While most of the 28 agenda items under consideration at WRC-07 do not directly affect Amateur Radio, several proposals of particular interest will be considered during the four weeks of the conference. Heading the list is the possibility of a new, secondary allocation to the Amateur Service just above 5 MHz.

“Recent natural disasters have again demonstrated the value of the Amateur Service in providing communications in the affected area when other communication infrastructures are unavailable,” the proposal from Mexico states. “This highlights the need for reliable amateur communications round the clock, under changing propagation conditions during solar cycles. When the Maximum Useable Frequency (MUF) is below 7 MHz and the Lowest Useable Frequency (LUF) is too far above the 3.8 MHz, it is difficult for communication to be supported in the 3.8 MHz band using typical amateur power levels and antennas.”

The proposal cites experiments demonstrating the value of the 5 MHz band and showing that amateurs can operate there without causing harmful interference to the primary services.

Some European administrations are taking a slightly different approach toward the same objective. A European Common proposal has been submitted to add a footnote reading: “Administrations may allow stations in the Amateur Service to operate in the band 5260-5410 kHz on a secondary basis. Stations shall not use a radiated power exceeding 24 dBW [250 watts].

According to IARU Secretary Sumner, “The IARU is grateful to these administrations for putting forward their proposals, as well as to other administrations that already have expressed their support. Because of renewed interest in HF broadcasting among government agencies and the military and pressure from HF broadcasters for more spectrum, we know it will not be easy to achieve this location.”

The conference will also consider a secondary allocation to the Amateur Service of 135.7 – 137.8 kHz. The Amateur Service currently has no frequency allocations lower than 1.8 MHz. With today’s widespread use of digital technology, Sumner said, amateurs can now make use of weaker signals than ever before. This opens a window of opportunity for amateurs to conduct technical investigations in the low-frequency range.

More than 20 governments have already allowed individuals, most of them Amateur Radio operators, to experiment on frequencies between 73 and 200 kHz; 15 European governments allow amateur operation on 135.7 – 137.8 kHz. There is considerable support for this allocation in proposals from a large number of administrations.

Source: Radio Bulgaria DX Programme