[CW] ARRL Letter says "Morse Out" at WRC-03

[David J. Ring Jr - N1EA]

==>NO MORSE CODE CONTROVERSY AT WRC-03

Whatever else happens at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003
(WRC-03), there's no mystery about the delegates' direction regarding the
Morse code requirement. Morse code proficiency will disappear as a treaty
obligation for high-frequency access when the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)-sponsored gathering under way in Geneva
concludes July 4.

"One matter on which there appears to be no disagreement is the Morse
requirement," said International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary (and
ARRL CEO) David Sumner, K1ZZ, in a report
<http://www.iaru.org/rel030623.html> on the second week of activity at
WRC-03. "It is clear that the outcome will be to leave it to
administrations' discretion whether or not to have a Morse receiving and
sending requirement." He said no administration participating in the
sub-working group spoke in favor of retaining the Morse code treaty
requirement.

The modification of Article 25.5 of the international Radio Regulations
cleared Working Group 4C on June 24. Working Group 4C is dealing with this
and other proposals relating to Article 25. The modified text says,
"Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking a license
to operate an amateur station shall prove the ability to send and receive
texts in Morse code signals."

It's possible but unlikely that the text would be tinkered with further at
the committee level or even in the Plenary, which considers items for
adoption. Sumner said delegates continue to wrangle over other aspects of
Article 25, which defines Amateur Radio operation.

Adoption of the Article 25.5 modification would not mean the immediate
disappearance of the Morse requirement to operate on the amateur bands
below 30 MHz. Each administration, including the FCC, would then decide
whether or not to drop the requirement from its domestic regulations. Some
countries have indicated a desire to retain a Morse code requirement.

Sub-working groups this week funneled their reports to larger working
groups assigned to tackle various pieces of the huge WRC-03 agenda. More
than 2600 delegates and other participants are attending the four-week
conference. For WRC-03, the IARU has fielded its largest team of observers
at an ITU conference in more than a decade.

There's less consensus on efforts to secure a "harmonized" 300-kHz-wide
amateur allocation at 7 MHz. Sumner said initial discussions in
Sub-Working Group 4C1 "were spirited and reflected sharp differences of
opinion" between those advocating realignment and those favoring no change
out of deference to the disruption that any realignment would cause
broadcasting services now occupying 7.1 to 7.3 MHz in Regions 1 and 3, and
the fixed services above 7.3 MHz that would be affected by any upward
shift in broadcasting. Amateurs in the US and the rest of Region 2 enjoy a
300-kHz allocation from 7.0 to 7.3 MHz, but hams in the rest of the world,
Regions 1 and 3, have only 7.0 to 7.1 MHz.

Three alternative proposals have been passed on to Working Group 4C. "The
largest group favored realignment in two stages," Sumner explained. That
group included the US, CEPT, CITEL and the African Telecommunications
Union. The two steps would expand the band in Regions 1 and 3 by 100 kHz
in 2007 and add the remaining 100 kHz in 2015. Other plans put forth
contained longer time lines. By week's end, Sumner said, the issue could
be passed on to Committee 4 and then to the Plenary, where items need two
readings for ultimate WRC-03 approval.

The issue of an allocation for satellite-borne synthetic aperture radars
(SARs) in the 70-cm band (432-438 MHz) also appears well on the way to
resolution. "While it appears very likely that there will be an
allocation, it will be secondary," Sumner explained.

Full reports on WRC-03 activities are available on the IARU Web site
<http://www.iaru.org/news-releases.html>.
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73 de

David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA
http://www.qsl.net/n1ea
http://www.qrz.com/callsign?callsign=n1ea

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