Ham Radio to end in Europe by 2020

Amateur radio as we know it could be extinct in Europe by the year 2020. That is the only possible conclusion to draw from an unpublished EU policy document that has been leaked to several ham radio bloggers. The document proposes that existing RFI standards protecting the short wave frequencies be torn up as "preventing the use or increasing the cost of essential technology in order to protect the activities of a small number of hobbyists makes no political sense." This policy has already been unofficially in place at the UK's Ofcom, which was one of the major contributors to the report.

The report suggests that withdrawing the standards relating to short wave RFI would save significant costs by removing the need to deal with complaints about interference. It also suggests that the UK Telecommunications Act (and similar laws in other EU countries) be amended to remove any right to protection from interference of the broadcast, amateur or CB services.

To support its recommendations the report claims that "short wave broadcasting is in rapid decline, with most broadcasters moving to the internet" and that "the intended use of Citizens Band as a personal communications service has largely been replaced by cellphone usage." Amateur radio, it says, carries "little communication of any importance that could not be made using the telephone, cellular network or the internet." The main use of ham radio, it suggests, is "largely recreational" and could be replaced by "online simulations and VOIP chat services." Hams could also make more use of the largely interference-free bands above 400MHz which otherwise could be sold to commercial users. Radio amateurs "could still experiment with radio in the time-honoured manner, they just should not expect to be able to enjoy interference-free reception on the short waves."

The reason why the authorities wish to remove the protection of our frequencies becomes clear when you read the part of the report that describes forthcoming technologies that are expected to cause problems with RFI compliance. In order to meet carbon emissions targets and deal with expected power shortages caused by the early closure of nuclear power plants in countries such as Germany, the EU plans to introduce smart grids in all European nations by 2020. These smart grids use BPL technology to communicate with smart meters in each individual home. The smart meters, in turn, use PLT technology to communicate with smart devices in order to regulate their use. When demand for electricity is high, power cuts or the switching on of expensive standby power stations can be avoided by shutting off inessential devices instead. Examples of inessential devices given in the report include amateur radio linear amplifiers - assuming it's still possible to hear anything on short wave over the BPL and PLT QRM in the first place, of course.

The EU is also proposing that 80% of properties in member states should be equipped with solar panels by 2020. To achieve this target, installation costs will be heavily subsidized by governments, which clearly want to cut costs as far as possible. Estimates produced by a Chinese manufacturer of solar power systems suggest the cost saving that would result from eliminating the need for RFI suppression circuits in the power converters would amount to 4 billion Euro for the whole of Europe.

The report concludes that "the cost of protecting the short wave spectrum from interference from technologies that are essential to be installed throughout Europe in the next decade to meet emissions targets and maintain the well-being of all European citizens is quite simply prohibitive" and urges that EU Commissioners pass the necessary laws by 1st April 2012.

 

Feckin' typical....... Those in power seem to do this with almost everything.... they get fed up with grass verges being torn up by inconsiderately parked cars, so they just turn the verges into parking spaces instead of dealing with illegally parked cars. They get fed up with too many criminals for the prisons we have, so they let criminals walk free instead. The list goes on, and it's all just so typical of the way things are going. Maybe if all the RFI restrictions are going to be scrapped, then maybe it'll also be ok for us to just freeband anywhere we want, with however much power we want, on the whole of HF???

 

I'm stocking up on tin cans and string.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

 

This is the kind of EU totalitarianism we've been putting up with for years. It seems the ordinary EU citizen has no rights. The sooner Ireland pulls out of the EU the better!

Fred EI4GMB

 

I see the test results on the web page linked to (ban-plt.co.uk) show that there is notching in place to protect the ham bands on the Belkin.....but I suppose these filters are what will disappear in order to make the PLT devices cheaper. Scumbags.

 

where I live, power line generate some digital type RF noise about 20 seconds long , every 120 second. so SSB on HF is not usable. ( noise is S9 plus 10 dB ) however, CW with narrow filter like 250 Hz can be used to minimize those noises. it start to happen when electric company replaced electric meter with digital kind.

 

Wowsers!

Come on fellows... Did anyone of you follow that link?

Heegotcha!

73 Gary

 

You folks in the EU have been letting your governments get by with a lot of freedom-robbing for ages. I guess that's why I'm a citizen of the USA rather than Great Britain... we were bred of people who were willing to cross an ocean solely for the sake of personal freedoms. I know that at least some of Europe would be willing to stand up to their governments, but will it be enough in this case?

Another issue with this law is, what do you do if you're waiting on your clothing to dry just before you have to go to work and the power company shuts off your clothes dryer for 2 hours because they didn't want to start up their extra power generators. You get fired for not having clothing to wear because the government took away your right to use the electricity that you pay good money to use.

Maybe I'm banging my head a bit in this example, but it reeks of the theft of freedom to me.

-- Matt

Edit: I suppose even if it's an April Fools joke it is still something in the works. I've seen a program on Public TV that went over the same exact points in how to protect the power grid. Even if the RFI doesn't end up being an issue, the fact that they can shut off your appliances, to me, is.

 

Awwww man, thanks Gary. Julian....you git!

 

Who stated this thread? I have a bridge to sell them.

 

Ha! Ha!! Nice one Julian. You certainly got us with that one!

Fred EI4GMB

 

There's always Echolink.

 

it's about time to get rid of those petty eu dictators who sold their very soul to the devil. It's also time to scrap the dictatorial eu and send it to the dustbin of history to where it rightly belongs. If they think that they can stop us radio amateurs from continuing our hobby communicating they are greatly mistaken for we shall use anything on any frequency and any power to disrupt any other communications. Let those b???t???s in brussels try it.

 

I've just seen the post about April 1 and maybe this was an April 1 joke, but this could also be a feeler to see the response, so better everyone answers and tell the eu where to shove their opinions to make it clear that we will not take anything they think against us radio amateurs sitting down.

 

[edit] damn. March 31st.