[CW] We're not a privileged SERVICE

[John Rippey]

I found Fred's characterization of the ARRL as "corrupt" was a bit over the 
top. I would reserve that word for Cook County, Jefferson Parish and the 
Jersey docks, among other places.

I would characterize ARRL as overburdened and underfunded. ARRL's CEO, 
David Sumner, has just returned from a month in Geneva attending the WARC 
meeting while the ARRL has had two bills pending in Washington where no-one 
full-time from ARRL has been minding the store. You cannot be in two places 
at once. Besides I don't think Sumner has been in Washington in years. But 
that's a subject for another day.

Giving credit where due, the WARC decision in Geneva, which Sumner helped 
to bring about, to move SW broadcasters in ITU regions 1 and 3 out of 
7.1-7.2 MHz is by any standard a major coup for us U.S. hams. Certainly 
Sumner and the ARRL deserve our thanks.

Now the fun begins. What will happen to that 1000 kHz segment? As you 
recall, the ARRL submitted to the FCC a proposal in March 2002 extending 
phone privileges down to 7.125 MHz (Advanced and Extra) while giving Novice 
licensees and their Tech Plus look-alikes CW privileges equivalent to 
General Class licensees on the 40 meter band (as well as other HF bands) 
but limiting the newbies to 200 watts ouput.  That still leaves a generous 
slice of 7.000-7.125 for CW on 40, even though it's less than what it is 
today. (How many QSO's have you heard lately in the 7.125-7.150 MHz 
sub-band, anyhow?)

But with the foreign broadcasters in regions 1 and 3 gradually vacating 
that space over the next several years, I can hear the kilowatt SSB hams 
licking their chops over the possibility of moving all the way down to 7.1 
MHz, in order to give themselves 1000 kHz of clear channels (7.1-7.2 MHz) 
on 40 meters. CW ops had better start using the 7.100-7.125 MHz segment 
ASAP, and using it a lot, if we want to keep it. (No sense trying to save 
the 7.125-7.150 segment; given the ARRL's March 2002 proposal, that's a 
gone goose.) In fact, given observed CW activity on 40, how about SSB going 
down to 7.075 MHz?

I suspect the FCC has been awaiting the outcome of the WARC proceedings 
before proceeding with any significant rulemaking in the amateur service 
(the recent 60-meter band allocations being the exception). If so, we can 
expect in late summer or early fall an "omnibus" rulemaking proposal that 
could well knock our collective socks off.

In the coming weeks, the Commission, among other things, very easily could: 
(1) take up the ARRL's proposal (and related ones) of last year; (2) work 
in a proposal to eliminate the current 5 wpm code requirement for HF 
operations in light of the July 3 WARC action; and (3) propose further 
reallocation of permissible modes on the HF sub-bands, going well beyond 
the ARRL's proposal.

We live in interesting times.

73,
John, W3ULS