Australia - Update on Proposed Amateur Class Licensing

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Communications regulator ACMA was announced a delay in the consultation process for the proposed amateur radio class licence

The next stage of our consultation on the proposed amateur class licence and supporting arrangements has been delayed until Q3 2022.

At that time, we will consult on an updated draft amateur class licence, which incorporates feedback and practical suggestions made by submitters. We will also update the amateur community on the status of key outstanding matters, including international recognition of amateur qualifications and call sign management, since we released our Response to submissions in November 2021

More Information - https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2021-01/review-non-assigned-amateur-and-outpost-regulatory-arrangements-consultation-012021

"Q" RSL to Celebrate The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

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"Q" RSL to Celebrate The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Holders of a UK Foundation, Intermediate or Full Amateur Radio licence can apply online for a Notice of Variation (NoV) to use the "Q" RSL in their callsign during the month of June

We’ve recently played a part in helping the UK’s passionate amateur radio community to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s forthcoming Platinum Jubilee – and it all comes down to one letter of the alphabet.

Every amateur radio user in the UK needs a licence from Ofcom, and under their licences we assign each user a unique identity, known as a call sign. We also have to keep an eye on how these call signs are formatted, to make sure they meet global rules on how radio is used.

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23cm Band and Sat-Nav Coexistence: ITU-R WP4C Studies

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23cm Band and Sat-Nav Coexistence: ITU-R WP4C Studies

The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the work being done in defending the interests of the Amateur Services in the 1240-1300 MHz band

During the period 4-10 May 2022, the IARU continued to engage in the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b in ITU‑R Working Party 4C (WP4C).

Work continued to develop the coexistence studies between the amateur services in the 23cm band and the radio-navigation satellite services (RNSS) operating across the band. New studies were submitted by France, China and the Russian Federation.

The scale of the problem for the amateur services is becoming clear. For example, the studies predict that even a 10W 23cm band station could cause interference to RNSS receivers at up to 30km on the antenna main beam heading. Although the level of amateur activity and the density of users is quite low (compared to other more popular bands) the issue remains that from a regulatory perspective the amateur services are required to not cause harmful interference to RNSS services.

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