Industry Canada authorizes commercial activity on two amateur radio bands

Industry Canada authorizes commercial activity on two amateur radio bands

Industry Canada advised both RAC and RAQI on Friday, September 10, 2010 that their Montreal office had authorized a number of 430 to 450 MHz frequencies and a single VHF frequency on 145.555 mHz. According to IC, frequencies were chosen to avoid known amateur repeater channels.

These frequencies in the 70 cm and 2m amateur bands were temporarily authorized to support communications for many European entrants of a cycling event to be held on Quebec City and Montreal on Sept 10 and Sept 12 respectively.

This type of authorized intrusion by Industry Canada of non-amateur communications in amateur spectrum is highly unusual and is a matter of great concern to Radio Amateurs of Canada. RAC will be taking the matter up with Industry Canada officials.

RAC will be interested in knowing if actual interference has been caused to amateur communications; please report any observations to regulatory@rac.ca


Norm Rashleigh, VE3LC

Vice President, Industrial Liaison







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Just a start

The camel's nose is officially in the tent. The rest of the camel will be in soon.

73,

John W5JON

 

Highly unusual is the 145MHz frequency

I'm afraid there is precious little RAC can do against Industry Canada allowing non-amateur operation in the 430 to 450 MHz band, because - according to the Canadian frequency allocation table - the Land Mobile Service is the primary user in that band! The Amateur Service and the Amateur Satellite Service only enjoy secondary status. So the regulator could even tell the Canadian amateurs to move over and for example shut down repeaters if their frequencies are needed by the primary user of the band.

What is highly unusual and quite worrying however is that Industry Canada allows non-amateur operation in the middle of the two meter band where the Amateur Service is designated primary and actually exclusive user.

Here RAC can rightly request and insist that no frequencies in the 144-148 MHz band are allocated to other services -not even on a temporary basis. The only operation permissible by non-amateurs would be the use in disaster relief operations and the training for such operations under the so called "Tampere Convention". In Switzerland the Swiss Disaster Relief Corps regularly practices on three spot frequencies on 145 MHz FM with call signs like HBK20 or HBK30.

Peter W. Frey, HB9MQM
Union of Swiss Shirt Wave Amateurs
Regulatory and IARU Liaison

 

I'm sure other frequencies could have been found that were not in the ham bands. What I suspect, though, is the relatively cheap availabliliy of ham HTs and mobiles was a serious factor in putting these commercial (temporary?) channels in the ham bands. They will almost certainly use ham radios, since there aren't any other radios readily available in quanitity that operate on those frequencies.

That means a precedent of using ham radios, IN the ham bands, for commercial purposes, has been set. A whole herd of camels will follow.

This could happen in the US, though it is not as likely. Canada has had seriously different outlooks toward ham radio for a long time. As far as I know, though, this is the first government approved intrusion in that nation in the ham bands.

It will not be the last.

Ed

...

 

commercial use of amateur radio freqs/bands

here it is 2010, and it's finally gonna happen.
the dam is breaking, soon the ham bands will overflow with idiots.
i knew it was a matter of time.
i am surprised it is canuks to start it off.

 

Canada and Frequencies

Odd that Industry Canada would do such a thing. Tisk, Tisk!
I remember several years ago when I tryed to get a repeater licensed for our Parole Officers in the Cleveland area on a 150 MHz frequency for safety reasons, when I was ODRC Telecommunications Manager, and they (Industry Canada) held it up for 14 months (Cleveland is above the "A" line) because the input frequency "might" cause interferance (using a five watt hand held) with some small Constabulary office some 100 miles North of the border on a regular basis. To bad they (Industry Canada) didn't give the U.S. Amateur Radio operators the same consideration.
We are supposed to be tolerant. No one stood up for us I expect.

 

I wouldn't get yourselves into a lather. This has happened many times before. For example: The Edmonton Honda Indy race this past July. IC authorized portions of the 70cm band for race teams and officials to use before, during, and after the race. The time period was for a total of 4 days. Locals were warned not to interfere.

As was mentioned before, we as amateurs are only secondary users in these portions of the spectrum. We should expect more "intrusions". We don't "own" the airwaves as some people theorize. And really, the 70cm band is extremely under utilized in Canada. I know.... some of you will say "It's only the beginning". Yes true, but I don't think the more used portions of the amateur spectrum are in any "grave danger".

And yes, RAC really hasn't got any legs to stand on. They are a very small voice that IC really only hears when they choose to.

Flame away.

 

VK hams lost part of the 70cm band after they sanctioned a similar 'temporary' arrangement for the 2000 Olympics.

Indeed we have been advised we will temporarily (years) lose another two x 500 khz segments from the 70cm band in the near future and are still waiting for the return of the 11m band which was 'temporarily' allocated to CB about 35 years ago.

There are plenty of non amateur transcievers which are capable of transmitting on our frequencies. You should be more concerned that they will buy them then decide they have to recover the cost by selling them to another commercial or gov user who will want to keep the frequencies after the event.

73 Frank

 

Its all about MONEY and GREED.

 

Hey! No politics!!!! LOL

I see graft, corruption and greed aren't only an American problem.....it must be world wide.

 

Oh Great....

Like they REALLY needed to do this to us!Make sure all you Canadian hams send a thank you letter to these bozos.They are just seeing what happens,if it goes well and nobody complains expect a takeover!

 

1 meters

Ahwell, back to 11 meters it is then.........

 

I wouldn't bet against it happening in the UK for the Olympics in 2012. Apparently the powers that be have just realised that they don't have enough frequencies for the event.

When I was down in London a couple of weeks ago I didn't hear anything on my dual band HT at all.

 

We're still waiting to send the thank you note to IC for dealing with the infamous unmentionable problem child,on that unmentionable 20 meter frequency ..... allowing a one time commercial use on an Amateur exclusive frequency.... yup, go ahead and say it.... IC attempt at stirring up trouble.....it does'nt bode well for exclusive amateur use of our other bands...

73

 

Give them an inch and they will take a mile, or in this case a good portion of spectrum.