FCC Invites Comments on ARRL\'s 60-Meter Petition

From the ARRL...


ARLB033 FCC Invites Comments on ARRL's 60-Meter Petition



The FCC has begun accepting comments on the ARRL's petition seeking
the allocation of 5.250 to 5.400 MHz to the Amateur Service on a
domestic (US-only), secondary basis. The Commission put the proposal
on public notice this week and assigned a rulemaking number,
RM-10209, to the proceeding.




Interested parties may comment on the proposal via the Internet or
e-mail using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (EFCS). Those commenting should
reference ''RM-10209'' in their postings. Even if the FCC eventually
okays the petition, it's likely to be several years before the new
band actually becomes available.



In its petition, the ARRL told the FCC that the new band would aid
emergency communication activities by filling a ''propagation gap''
between 80 and 40 meters, particularly for emergency communications
during hurricanes and severe weather emergencies. The ARRL also said
a new 150-kHz allocation at 5 MHz also could relieve substantial
overcrowding that periodically occurs on 80 and 40.



The ARRL has proposed that General class and higher amateurs be
permitted to operate CW, phone, data, image and RTTY on the new band
running maximum authorized power. No mode-specific subbands were
proposed. If allocated to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis,
hams would have to avoid interfering with--and accept interference
from--current occupants of the spectrum, as they already do on 30
meters.



The ARRL said that its successful WA2XSY experimental operation
between 1999 and this year demonstrates that amateur stations can
coexist with current users and that the band is very suitable for
US-to-Caribbean paths.