[NvHam] Summary of IARU Changes to Amateur Service

[Dick Flanagan]

NOTE:  None of these changes will be effective in the United States until 
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implements them.  This could 
take years.  In the meantime, the following is what is ahead for the 
international amateur radio community.

73, Dick

NEWS RELEASE
International Amateur Radio Union
P.O. Box 310905
Newington, CT 06131-0905 USA
FAX: +1 860 594 0259
E-Mail: iaru@iaru.org

3 July 2003

For immediate release

New Regulations For The Amateur Services
By Michael Owen, VK3KI

WRC-03 IARU Observer Team Member

Introduction

On 4th July 2003 the World Radiocommunication Conference, Geneva,
2003 ended and on the following day, the 5th July 2003 the new
international regulations governing the amateur and amateur satellite
services, Article 25 of the Radio Regulations, that had been adopted
by the Conference come into effect.

The language of many provisions in Article 25 as it was before 5th
July 2003 was the language of many years ago, reflecting the
priorities, structures and attitudes of a time long gone. Provisions
such as requiring amateur stations to use "plain language", that
communications be limited to messages "relating to experiments", and
remarks "for which by reason of their lack of importance, the use of
the telegraph service could not enter into consideration", the
prohibition of "international communications emanating from third
parties", though that provision "may be modified by special
arrangements between the interested countries", the requirement for
Morse Code, and a number of other provisions are to be found in
Article 8 of the General Radio Regulations annexed to the
International Telecommunication Convention, Madrid, 1932.

The IARU policy was to seek the simplification of the Regulations
affecting the amateur services by removal of regulations that were no
longer necessary, the removal of provisions that were redundant
because the subject matter was covered elsewhere in the Radio
Regulations, the updating of provisions to reflect today's attitudes
and activities, the identification of some standards for the
qualification of amateurs and the addition of provisions that
encouraged amateurs to be given the ability to provide emergency
communications and to encourage the international recognition of
amateur licences.

The Radio Regulations, the international regulations, define the
fundamentals of the amateur services, and regulate international
communications between stations in the amateur and amateur-satellite
services. Administrations may and do make additional regulations, and
regulate in detail the amateur services in their country.

This article compares the previous regulations with the new
regulations and attempts to identify what is new and what is
different. It does not attempt to explain why the particular
provision was adopted in a particular form, which is another story
told elsewhere. The numbers used to identify provisions are the
temporary numbers used by the ITU in the course of the WRC.

Banned countries list

The first provision of Article 25, the so called "banned countries"
list is a provision that is to be found in the 1932 Regulations, and
is almost the same as the previous regulation except that it is now
expressed positively rather negatively. The provision reads:

25.1 Radiocommunications between amateur stations of different
countries shall be permitted unless the administration of one of the
countries concerned has notified that it objects to such
radiocommunications.

That is a provision that has only a limited effect on most amateurs.
The balance of Article 25 is more directly relevant to the day to day
activities of radio amateurs.

What may be transmitted by Amateur Stations
The old international regulation relating to what an amateur station
may transmit was as follows:

"When transmissions between amateur stations of different countries
are permitted, they shall be made in plain language and shall be
limited to messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to
remarks of a personal character for which, by reason of their
unimportance, recourse to the public telecommunications service is
not justified."

This dealt with two distinct matters, the content of messages and the
encryption of messages.

The phrase "messages of a technical nature relating to tests and to
remarks of a personal character" could be construed unnecessarily
narrowly, and did not reflect today's world, and the qualifying
phrase "which, by reason of their unimportance, recourse to the
public telecommunications service is not justified" was both vague
and uncertain, and certainly reflected a time when in most countries
the common carrier was a government monopoly.

So, the old provision was replaced by a new provision as follows:

25.2 Transmissions between amateur stations of different countries
shall be limited to communications incidental to the purposes of the
amateur service, as defined in No. 1.56 and to remarks of a personal
character.

The term "incidental to" is wide, certainly not requiring a narrow
connection with the "purposes of the amateurs service" and as
the "purposes" of the amateur service set out in the definition
are "self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations",
the subject matter goes much beyond "tests". The new provision much
more accurately reflects what in fact is the subject matter of
amateur transmissions today.

Coded Messages

It is assumed that the phrase in the old provision requiring
transmissions to be in "plain language" meant something transmitted
by either voice or Morse that anyone could hear and understand. But
today amateurs use many codes, and so what is meant by the
phrase "plain language" could become a question in some countries.
The language is no longer really appropriate. And, in any event a
total prohibition is not appropriate as encryption is required for
the control of satellites by command stations.

The requirement is not for "plain language" but a prohibition of
messages encoded for the purposes of obscuring their meaning.

So, the simple phrase in the old regulation was replaced by a new
provision, as follows:

25.2A Transmissions between amateur stations of different countries
shall not be encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning,
except for control signals exchanged between earth command stations
and the space station in the amateur satellite service.

The IARU had suggested that it would be desirable for the exception
to be expressed more widely than limited to satellite control
signals, but a number of countries resisted this for security
reasons. Of course the provision applies only to international
communications. Therefore, repeater control signals, which are almost
invariably transmitted within a single country and so are subject to
national rather than international, regulation, may be encoded unless
prohibited by national regulation.

"Third party" messages

One of the most difficult areas was the old provisions dealing with
so called "third party messages." The provisions were as follows:
It is absolutely forbidden for amateur stations to be used for
transmitting international communications on behalf of third parties.

The preceding provisions may be modified by special arrangements
between the administrations of the countries concerned.

That prohibition of international communication on behalf of third
parties is very wide. What is a communication on behalf of a third
party? School children speaking to an astronaut is a communication on
behalf of a third party, as is participation in the Jamboree on the
Air. The provision inhibited preparation for disaster communication,
and indeed, international disaster relief communications unless a
special arrangements were in place between the two countries
concerned.

The requirement that the prohibition could be modified by "special
arrangements between the administrations of the countries concerned"
was slow and clumsy, in many countries involving the ministry
responsible for foreign relations.

The IARU suggested the suppression of both provisions, taking the
view that each administration was fully empowered to regulate its
amateurs, and in particular to define what communication could and
could not be carried by an amateur station both nationally and
internationally.

Of course, the fundamental requirement that the amateur service is
non commercial is to be found in the definition of the amateur
service and Article
25.2 set out above.

The new provision reads as follows:

25.3 Amateur stations may be used for transmitting international
communications on behalf of third parties only in the case of an
emergency or disaster relief. . An administration may determine the
applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its
jurisdiction.

The exception to the blanket prohibition for cases of emergency and
disaster relief is important, and when read with the new provision
intended to encourage emergency communication by amateur stations
will hopefully lead administrations to adopt new regulations to
facilitate such activities.

This second sentence of this provision enables each administration to
define what is a communication on behalf of a third party, and with
whom the stations under its jurisdiction may exchange such
communications. If the other station's administration permits the
same communication, then the communication may be exchanged
internationally.

The removal of the requirement for bilateral agreements between
countries is significant as the new regulation certainly provides the
means by which each administration can permit many activities, such
as disaster relief, practice for emergency communication, and
educational communications to take place internationally.

Morse Code

The old regulation that Morse was a requirement for the operators of
amateur stations below 30 MHz was found in a provision that read as
follows:
Any person seeking a licence to operate the apparatus of an amateur
station shall prove that he is able to send correctly by hand and to
receive correctly by ear texts in Morse code signals. The
administrations concerned may, however, waive this requirement in the
case of stations making use exclusively of frequencies above 30 MHz.

That was replaced with a provision giving each administration the
right to decide whether or not Morse is a required qualification as
follows:

25.5 Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking
a licence to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability
to send and receive texts in Morse code signals.

The alternative of simply deleting the old provision was rejected
because a number of administrations thought that the matter was so
important that a positive decision not to require Morse as a
qualification was appropriate. The effect is actually the same: Morse
code is no longer an internationally required qualification for an
amateur licence, though an administration may still require it.

The Qualification of Amateurs

Apart from the Morse code as a qualification, the previous regulation
provided:
Administrations shall take such measures as they judge necessary to
verify the operational and technical qualifications of any person
wishing to operate the apparatus of an amateur station.

This was replaced by a new provision as follows:

25.6 Administrations shall verify the operational and technical
qualifications of any person wishing to operate an amateur station.
Guidance for standards of competence may be found in the most recent
version of Recommendation ITU-R M.1544.

The reference to the Recommendation is a non-mandatory reference.
That is, an administration is not bound to follow it, but it is
expected that all administrations will take the Recommendation into
account when setting the qualification for an amateur licensee.

The Recommendation is very general, for example providing that any
person seeking a license to operate an amateur station should
demonstrate a "theoretical knowledge of: Radio regulations,
international, domestic", and under the heading "Radio system
theory", "transmitters, receivers, antennas and propagation and
measurements." Consistently with the decisions of the Conference, the
Recommendation does not suggest any requirement for a Morse skill.

That accords with the IARU position that the Radio Regulations should
give some guidance as to the qualification appropriate for an amateur
licence, but should not attempt to set a syllabus, as the diversity
of environments for which a standard must be set is very great.

The identification of a standard, the topics on which knowledge is
required, reflects one of the essential elements of the amateur
service, namely that an amateur is a person who has demonstrated an
operational and technical qualification, distinguishing that amateur
from many other users of the spectrum.

Power

The next provision in the new Regulations is:

25.7 The maximum power of amateur stations shall be fixed by the
administrations concerned.

That is almost the same as the old regulation, but with the words
after those words in the old provision being omitted, so the
words "having regard to the technical qualifications of the operators
and to the conditions under which these stations are to operate" are
no longer part of the provision.

The application of other provisions of the Radio Regulations
Again, Article 25.8 is a shortened version of the previous article,
and reads as follows:

25.8 All pertinent Articles and Provisions of the Constitution, the
Convention and of these Regulations shall apply to amateur stations.
That changes the reference to "general rules" to "pertinent"
provisions of the current ITU documents and omits the sentence "In
particular, the emitted frequency shall be as stable and as free from
spurious emissions as the state of technical development for such
stations permits." which is unnecessary as the requirements apply to
amateur stations in any event.

In reality, there is no change arising from the different wording.
Probably the provision is unnecessary in any event, but it offered
some assurance to administrations that amateurs will abide by all
pertinent rules.

Call signs

Finally, a provision that is the same as the previous provision:
25.9 During the course of their transmissions, amateur stations shall
transmit their call sign at short intervals.

Emergency Communications

Then, a completely new provision is included in Article 25, a
provision that really needs no explanation.

25.9A Administrations are encouraged to take the necessary steps to
allow amateur stations to prepare for and meet communication needs in
support of disaster relief.

That provision should be read in conjunction with Article 25.3, and
it is hoped that administrations will make regulations that
facilitate amateurs preparing for emergency situations and providing
communications in emergencies and for
disaster relief. This was an important IARU objective.

The international recognition of the licences of visiting amateurs
A further completely new provision is added to Article 25:

25.9B Administrations may determine whether or not to permit a person
who has been granted a licence to operate an amateur station by
another administration, to operate an amateur station while that
person is temporarily in its territory, subject to such conditions or
restrictions it may impose.

This provision has been interpreted by some to mean that an
administration may, if it wishes, permit a licensee from another
country to operate in its territory without issuing a licence, as
would otherwise be required by Article 18 of the Radio Regulations.
There is some substance in interpretation, as the provision deals
with "permissions" and applies only to a person temporarily in the
territory of the other administration.

The interpretation of the provision is, of course, a matter for
administrations, but hopefully it is a provision that will encourage
administrations to allow amateurs to enjoy their hobby while
travelling by recognizing the foreign licence. A global recognition
would fill in the gaps left by the CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 and
the International Amateur Radio Permit of the OAS.

The Amateur-satellite service

The final two provisions deal with amateur-satellite service, the
first being unchanged and reading as follows:

25.10 The provisions of Section I of this Article shall apply
equally, as appropriate, to the amateur-satellite service.

The next provision is the only operative provision in Article 25
dealing with the amateur-satellite service. The previous provision
read as follows:

Space stations in the amateur-satellite service operating in bands
shared with other services shall be fitted with appropriate devices
for controlling emissions in the event that harmful interference is
reported in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 22.
Administrations authorizing such space stations shall inform the IFRB
and shall ensure that sufficient earth command stations are
established before launch to guarantee that any harmful interference
which might be reported can be terminated by the authorizing
administration (see No. 2612).

The provision was unnecessarily complex, repeating obligations that
are found elsewhere in the Radio Regulations, particularly Article
22.

In the end, the following simplified provision was adopted:

25.11 Administrations authorizing space stations in the amateur-
satellite service shall ensure that sufficient earth command stations
are established before launch to ensure that any harmful interference
caused by emissions from a station in the amateur-satellite service
can be terminated immediately (see No. 22.1).

The new provision avoids the repetition in different words of
regulations that already apply to the stations, and simply requires
that sufficient earth command stations are established before launch.

The Definition of the Amateur Service

When, in 1996, the IARU commenced its examination of the issues
raised by placing Article 25 of the Radio Regulations on the agenda
of a future World Radiocommunication Conference, it very quickly saw
that the definition remained as relevant and appropriate as it had
been over the many years that it been a part of the Radio
regulations.

It is worth setting out that definition for the sake of completeness:
1.56 Amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose of
self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations
carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons
interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without
pecuniary interest.

Similarly, the definition of the amateur-satellite service remains
unchanged:
1.57 Amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using
space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of
the amateur service.

The Conference decided that no change was required to those
definitions in Article 1.

Conclusion

The Radio Regulations are the written result of the welding together
of the different views of different people with different languages
and from different cultures. It is no doubt easy to say that some of
the provisions could be expressed more elegantly, and that some of
the provisions are not necessary.

Of course, it is true that the narrower provisions of the old
international regulations have not really inhibited the amateur
service in many countries, with administrations preferring a liberal
interpretation. But in the long run, the amateur service cannot
afford to have countries ignore the international regulations. It is
fundamental that the amateurs have appropriate "operational and
technical qualifications." A speed limit that is unrealistic and not
enforced is going to be ignored. What was appropriate in 1932 may not
be appropriate in 2003.

In the end it is suggested that the meaning of Article 25 is clear,
even if expressed in language different from the language suggested
by the IARU. What is important is the substance, not the form, and it
is suggested that the changes and additions made to Article 25 by WRC
2003 will meet the needs for the future of the amateur service
identified by the IARU.
--
Dick Flanagan W6OLD NV SM
E-mail: w6old@arrl.org