May 14, 2017

New MF and LF US Bands Not Available Yet

May 14, 2017/ Colin Butler

The new 630-meter and 2200-meter bands are not yet available for Amateur Radio use. The effective date of the recent FCC Report and Order (R&O) granting these allocations has not yet been determined, and until the start date has been set, it is not legal under an Amateur Radio license to transmit on either band.

The fact that the new rules contain a new information-collection requirement - notification of operation to the United Telecoms Council (UTC) - complicates the matter of determining an effective date. According to the FCC R&O, the Office of Management and Budget (under the Paperwork Reduction Act) must first approve the information-collection requirements in Part 97.303(g)(2), which must be in place before radio amateurs can use the new bands.

Once that happens, the FCC will publish a notice in The Federal Register "announcing such approval and the relevant effective date."

ARRL will announce the UTC notification procedures and the effective date to use these new bands as soon as these are known.

R&O - (pdf format) - https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-17-33A1.pdf

May 14, 2017

Taiwan to Drop Ham Radio Morse Code Test

May 14, 2017/ Colin Butler

National Communications Commission (NCC) of Taiwan is to abolish the amateur radio Morse requirement and permit 432-440 MHz operation, having already approved the amendments with frequency and resources department deputy director Chen Chun-mu

The commission is obligated to make the amended regulations available for public view for two months and then make any changes deemed necessary before they can take effect.

Following requests from amateur radio operators, the amended regulations stipulate that they can use frequencies between 432-440 MHz, he said.

The amendments also extend the validity of amateur radio operating licenses from five years to 10 years, however to gain the extensions amateur radio operators must pass tests first.

In addition, the amendments stipulate that amateur radio operators would be able to start renewing their licenses five months before their licenses expire.

Current regulations allow them to do so one month before the expiration date.

Commission data showed that 42,900 licenses for qualified amateur radio operators were issued between 2012 and 2016.

Media Story - http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/05/01/2003669754

CTARL (Google English) - http://tinyurl.com/TaiwanCTARL