"More than just BPL!"
ARRL kicks-off 2005 Spectrum Defense campaign
The ARRL this week kicked off its 2005 Spectrum defense Fund campaign
with the slogan "more than just BPL!"
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, says that while interference from BPL - broadband
over power line - technology is the most prominent and immediate threat
to amateur spectrum, generous donations from ARRL members and supporters
make it possible for the League to face it and other spectrum challenges.
Haynie says that not all of ARRL's advocacy efforts necessarily involve
taking defensive measures, such as with BPL, but all of them are essential.
"Forty meters, Little LEOs some years back, the work that the League's
Technical Relations Office in Washington does - all this makes the spectrum
available to us," Haynie said. "And without spectrum, the license
that we have in our pocket or hanging up on the wall is pretty much useless."
Haynie says that, as he sees it, the League's job is to look out for
the best interests of Amateur Radio and make sure that we have spectrum
to operate on. "And that's a big job, it's a huge job that we've
undertaken. It becomes very important because spectrum is so precious."
It's also a job whose cost and complexity have risen considerably in
the past decade, as new technology-driven demand for spectrum has put
increasing pressure on Amateur Radio frequencies.
World Radiocommunication Conferences, at which ARRL and International
Amateur Radio Union personnel represent Amateur Radio's interests, now
occur every two or three years instead of once a decade. As ARRL CEO David
Sumner pointed out in a fundraising
letter to League members, in such an environment, the League no longer
can cover the cost of its operations and advocacy efforts with dues revenue
and the sale of publications and QST advertising.
"The whole philosophy of spectrum management is being rethought,
with the objective of easing access for new products for consumers and
industry," Sumner wrote. "But as the rules for their introduction
and use are developed, we in the Amateur Radio Service need an advocate
to ensure that
our interests are safeguarded. With your help, the ARRL will continue
to be that advocate, for ourselves and for future generations of radio
amateurs."
In 1985, the League spent perhaps $200,000 on advocacy and spectrum defense.
The League's Washington office at the time consisted of one staff member.
As 2005 looms, it's a much different picture.
"Today we spend close to $900,000, and I know it's something that
hams can't see, touch or feel, but it's just as important as those things
that they can - like QST and the Handbook," Haynie said, "because
we would not have all those things if it were not for the fact that we
have a place to operate."
The 2005 Spectrum Defense Fund depends on membership support and is essential
to the League's continued success. Radio amateurs may contribute online
via the ARRL's secure donor Web
site. Those contributing at or above the $50 level may request a gift
as a token of the League's appreciation.
For more information about the 2005 Spectrum Defense Fund or to discuss
other ways you can support the ARRL's continuing work on behalf of Amateur
Radio, contact ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH.
860-594-0397.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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