[LeArc] ARLB035 FCC Invites Public Comments on New Amateur Band Proposals

[Tony Coniglio]

> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB035
> ARLB035 FCC Invites Public Comments on New Amateur Band Proposals
> 
> ZCZC AG35
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 35  ARLB035
> >From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  June 18, 2002
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB035
> ARLB035 FCC Invites Public Comments on New Amateur Band Proposals
> 
> Public comments on FCC proposals to create two new amateur bands and
> to create a new Amateur Service primary allocation in the vicinity
> of 2.4 GHz are due July 29, and reply comments are due by August 12.
> In response to an ARRL petition, the FCC last month released a
> Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ET Docket 02-98) that proposed to
> create a new 5-MHz HF allocation and a new low-frequency band in the
> vicinity of 136 kHz in addition to elevating amateurs from secondary
> to primary at 2400 to 2402 MHz.
> 
> The FCC adopted the NPRM May 2 on a unanimous vote. The NPRM was
> published June 14 in The Federal Register. A copy of the petition is
> available on the ARRL Web site,
> http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/et02-98/ .
> 
> Interested parties may file comments via the FCC's Electronic
> Comment Filing System (ECFS) website,
> http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html .  Click on ''Search for Filed
> Comments'' and enter ''02-98'' in the ''Proceeding'' field. All comments
> and other correspondence--plus a copy of the NPRM--are available for
> viewing via the ECFS.
> 
> If the proposals eventually are approved, amateurs would gain a new,
> secondary, domestic (US-only) HF allocation at 5.25 to 5.40 MHz and
> a new LF ''sliver band'' at 135.7 to 137.8 kHz. The 5 MHz band would
> be the first new HF allocation since the early 1980s, when amateurs
> got 30, 17 and 12 meters. The LF allocation would be the first ever
> for US hams.
> 
> The Commission has recommended permitting amateurs to operate at
> full legal limit on a new 5-MHz allocation, but it left open for
> further discussion whether to restrict band access to certain
> license classes. The FCC also has invited further comment on whether
> the band should be broken down into mode-specific subbands. The band
> 5.250 to 5.450 MHz now is allocated worldwide to Fixed and Mobile
> services on a co-primary basis.
> 
> On 136 kHz, the FCC has proposed limiting output to 1 W effective
> isotropic radiated power (EIRP) with a transmission bandwidth of
> only 100 Hz and limiting access to the band to General and
> higher-class licensees.
> NNNN
> /EX
>