The US Congress has also returned to considering a measure giving hams the right to install antennas that, until now, have been banned or restricted by homeowner associations.
A proposed law has been reintroduced in Washington, D.C. to restrict the power that homeowner associations, or HOAs, have to prevent ham radio operators from installing antennas outside their residences.
This is the latest version of the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act, which has been considered by US lawmakers over the past several years without taking any action.
The measure prohibits HOAs from writing rules that ban amateur radio antennas, which are recognized as part of an essential disaster communications system for public safety. The act also provides hams with a means of resolving disputes that arise in connection with their antennas.
The sponsors are US Senators Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and Richard Blumenthal a Connecticut Democrat. Opponents of the measure in previous years have raised concerns that large antennas spoil the aesthetics of a community. Many of the measure's supporters have countered that ham radio antennas should be given the same consideration as satellite dishes and TV antennas, which many HOAs permit.
