[South Florida DX Association] Amateur Spectrum Bill

[Bill Marx]

> 

> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB014
> ARLB014 Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur
> Spectrum
> 
> ZCZC AG14
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 14  ARLB014
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  May 25, 2011
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB014
> ARLB014 Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur
> Spectrum
> 
> On Thursday, May 19, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John McCain
> (R-AZ) introduced S 1040 -- The Broadband for First Responders Act
> of 2011 -- in the Senate.  While it has a similar objective to HR
> 607 -- introduced in February by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3)
> -- this Senate bill, unlike HR 607, does not call for auctioning any
> portions of Amateur Radio spectrum. Both bills call for the
> allocation of the so-called "D block" of spectrum, 758-763 and
> 788-793 MHz, to facilitate the development of a public safety
> broadband network.
> 
> On learning in February that a Senate version of HR 607 was being
> drafted, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, met with
> staff members of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental
> Affairs Committee who were working on the bill to share the ARRL's
> concerns with regard to HR 607. "They seemed very receptive to our
> argument and appreciative of the public service contributions of
> radio amateurs," Sumner said. "It is gratifying to see that S 1040
> avoids impacting our spectrum allocations."
> 
> Sumner explained that while some media reports are referring to S
> 1040 as "the Senate version of HR 607," it is important that radio
> amateurs not oppose S 1040: "There is no reason for us to do so. We
> support the creation of an interoperable broadband network for first
> responders. Other than to oppose any method that would impact
> amateur spectrum use, we do not support one method over another of
> achieving that objective. We only oppose one aspect of HR 607, not
> the entire bill."
> 
> S 1040 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Science,
> Commerce, and Transportation, chaired by Senator Jay Rockefeller
> (D-WV). Senator Rockefeller earlier introduced his own bill, S 28,
> to address the same general topic. Neither Senate bill would impact
> amateur spectrum.
> NNNN
> /EX