Wireless Network Operator suggests to revoke Amateur Radio 9cm and 13cm bands in Brazil.

Wireless Network Operator suggests to revoke Amateur Radio use on 9cm and 13cm bands in Brazil.

Claiming interest to deploy LTE/5G technology on 2.3-2.4GHz (13cm band) and 3.4-3.5GHz (9cm band) Brazilian subsidiary of Telecom Italia - TIM Celular S.A. has suggested to the Brazilian National Telecommunication Agency - ANATEL to revoke Amateur Radio permission to operate on these bands and allocate them exclusively to commercial use in Brazil, if this passes and get ap proved through the current regulatory agency public consultation, HAMs operating Moon bounce, Satellites and other terrestrial communications and experiments will no longer be allowed to use these bands.

 

Are they going to move the frequency of microwave ovens ?

 

In the US, there's already a cell phone band at 2.3 GHz. The frequencies are 2305 to 2320 MHz (handset uplink) and 2345 to 2360 MHz (tower downlink). It's also known as LTE band 30 and is available on most cell phones (for Apple, starting with the iPhone 6s). The 2305 to 2310 MHz segment overlaps with the Amateur Radio allocation at 2300 to 2310 MHz.

Fortunately (at least for now), it's lightly used.

 

THEY BETTER NOT! THAN I WON'T HAVE ANYONE TO TALK TO!!!

 

Our privileges are worth fighting for; and if we don't work together as a world community, erosion of frequencies will continue. One of the last things I would hope to hear from any amateur radio operator is: "Well, it doesn't concern me." Rest assured, I will do everything I possibly can to fight against the bribery system known as commercial use.

 

Sad formula that works.

 

Sadly, that seems to be a popular modus operandi

 

THIS is the type of affairs the ARRL should be addressing, not some silly antenna restriction that people willingly agree to.

 

So true! Or buy a house 'next door' to the international airport, and complain about the noise. True story.

The house was built a few years ago. The airport, in its current form, in 1960. The airport must relocate, they say.

 

As much as I oppose against loosing ham bands, shouldn't we be a bit more realistic? On HF, our bands occupy 450kHz max. On VHF mostly 2MHz and on UHF 10MHz max. So why would we need 100MHz on SHF bands? Try scanning such a range with your VFO knob, searching for activity...

 

They do!! The ARRL Spectrum Defense folks are on top of the relentless assault on all of our bands. They seem to do some good work.

I think they could benefit from better communication about their efforts and results. I looked at the ARRL website, not much there.

Of course, that's only in US, not much help for Brazil.

 

Think beyond CW and SSB. Think about high bit rates. Think about spread spectrum. Think about advancing the state of the radio art!!

 

Welcome to reality...

The UHF spectrum is extremely valuable for commercial users, and we
have been lucky that these assaults have been delayed for so long time.

In Sweden we lost 2300-2400 MHz years ago, and other Nordic countries are likely to lose both 2300 and 3400 MHz in the near future.

The 2400 to 2450 MHz range is still available, but with a power restriction of 100 mW. Amateur radio is considered similar to WiFi and other "short range devices" in the eyes of the regulator.
Hence this restriction, which has been challenged in Administrative Court but currently to no avail.
The lawyers at the Swedish regulator have a very negative view of amateur radio and consider us irrelevant.

More serious is the possibility that both 23 cm and 70 cm may be the next to be lost.

Our generous allocations in the UHF/SHF ranges are a remnant of the conditions prevalent at the 1947 Atlantic City conference, and the world has changed considerably since.

73/
Karl-Arne
SM0AOM

 

A lot of the spectrum given to hams way back when was considered useless to commercial interests. This idea that we were recognized back then, but not now, is a fallacy. OK...maybe be a bit, but nothing to justify the spectrum we were given.

Times have changed, technology has advanced, and the spectrum is worth a lot of money. Spectrum protection is going to be a struggle. Even HF is not safe. Who knows where this is all going to end?

 

Another aspect is that a lot, probably a large majority of all radio amateurs, are convinced that if a frequency range should be allocated to amateur radio in the frequency allocations table (Article 5) in ITU-RR, it will always be provided for all the world's amateurs.

This is not the case. Any Administration have the choice of permitting amateur access to all or a fraction, or even nothing, of a band that has amateur radio as either a primary or secondary user. They however cannot allocate more, without either filing a footnote, or by invoking Article 4.4.

Allocating spectrum that is exclusive amateur in ranges that have regular international propagation to other users is more difficult, but is not unheard of.

One recent example (WRC-15) is the footnote (5.122) that
does not permit amateur radio in the 3750-4000 kHz range in some countries in Region 2:

"5.122 Alternative allocation: in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru, the frequency band 3 750-4 000 kHz is allocated to the fixed and mobile, except aeronautical mobile, services on a primary basis"

Other examples are the "carved up" 80 meter bands in Japan, Korea and Australia.

It is very difficult to make predictions about the future demands for HF spectrum. It appears that "civilian customers" such as broadcasters currently have little interest, but military users still have an almost unsatiable appetite for spectrum.

If the general view that amateur radio is "irrelevant" continues to spread among spectrum regulators world-wide we will have hard times coming at upcoming regional and global spectrum allocation conferences.

We managed, through a stroke of luck, to get the 15 kHz on 60 m.

Without a coordinated effort among the friends that amateur radio still had in the national delegations to WRC-15, this would have ended in nothing, or at best a Region 2 allocation.

Amateur radio has got powerful enemies in some countries, and as more and more "friendly" officials retire, and are replaced by accountants and lawyers, the long-term prospects have become quite bleak.

"Après nous le déluge..."

73/
Karl-Arne
SM0AOM