[South Florida DX Association] More comment: RM-11305

[NPAlex at aol.com]

The following is worth reading in light of the W8JI comments -
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Before some of you get your underwear all twisted in knots over the ARRL's
proposal to regulate sub-bands by bandwidth (RM-11305), please read the
entire petition at least twice before you react to it.

The following six key points need to be considered.

1. It takes years to get any amateur radio regulatory changes out of
    the FCC these days.  ARRL still has not seen a ruling on "Novice
    (HF sub-band) Refarming" even though the comment periods were
    completed about 3 years ago.

2. RF communications technologies are changing more rapidly these days.

3. Under our current method of being regulated by "mode" we are already
    seeing increasing interference between wider digital modes and the
    original narrow (CW) digital mode.  This will get worse unless the way
    we define and regulate the use of our sub-bands is up-dated.

4. With the exception of a couple of very small sub-band shifts (not
    increases or decreases), no existing group of users will be moved.

5. Future changes in sub-band assignments would be made by some sort of
    a committee, board, or whatever you want to call it, that would be
    representative of all the operating interests of Amateur Radio Service
    licensees.  Due to the number of representatives participating in
    this organization, decisions might be made by consensus since an
    absolute majority might be hard to come by all of the time.

6. All of this, of course, depends on FCC approval of our petition (pretty
    much as it is written) before the next ice age starts.  I do have hopes
    of a more rapid process by the Commission since it posted the RM in the
    relatively short time of two plus months since we filed the petition.

Truth be told, the ARRL board is reluctant to get into the band-planning
and regulation business.  Sub-band self-regulation will probably be
administered by an independent organization similar to, but much larger
than, the National (license) Question Pool Committee.

73 - Dick Isely, W9GIG
      ARRL Central Div. Director