Comments must be filed by July 15th, 2010. reply comments must be filed by July 30th, 2010.

The 60 meter band is from 5060-5450khz. There are 5 channels allocated on a secondary basis to ham radio

5332 kHz, 5348 kHz, 5368 kHz, 5373 kHz and 5405 kHz.

The NPRM is seeking comment on adding an allocation at 5358.5 and dropping the allocation at 5368khz.

Also the FCC is proposing to add 3 new emissions  (CW)150HA1A, (PSK31) 60H0J2B, and (PACTOR-III) 2K80J2D and increase power output limits to 100 watts instead of the current 50 watts.

For more information read the NPRM here

The FCC unveiled this plan to Congress, calling it “an ambitious agenda for connecting all corners of the nation while transforming the economy and society with the communications network of the future — robust, affordable Internet”

According to the FCC report, 100 million Americans lack broadband access at home and 14 million Americans do not have access to broadband.

The ARRL’s interpretation of the report is that BPL plays a small role in the report.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. “There is no mention of BPL as a means of implementing the Plan‘s goals for broadband deployment. In short, the FCC sees no role for BPL in providing broadband Internet connections to more consumers.”

The highlights of the Plan call for:

• 100MB service to 100 million households
• 1GB service to anchor instiutions such as universities, hospital, and military installations.

The FCC has released a spectrum dashboard to allow the public user friendly access to ata regarding licenses and spectrum bands.

The Plan was mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 and produced by an FCC task force.

So take some time, download the plan and take a look, our national interests and future depends on it……

73, Jack K4SAC

Credit: FCC, ARRL

Senators Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine have introduced a bill in the Senate that mandate an inventory of radio spectrum between 300 Mhz and 3.5 Ghz.

The Radio Spectrum Inventory Act requires both the FCC and the NTIA to inventory the spectrum no later than 180 days after the law goes into effect and then every 2 years thereafter.

A report will be generated listing the user, the total spectrum allocation, and the number of radiators. The bill also mandates that this information be published on a web site.

The bill in its current form does not exempt Radio Amateurs and there currently is not corresponding legislation in the House.

This may be a good time to write your Senators and educate them on the public service and other things that Ham Radio provides to your state.

73, Jack K4SAC

The FCC  doesn’t need a warrant to come in and “inspect” your ham equipment, although if they intend on seizing equipment, they need to work with the U.S. Attorney’s office.

One FCC official is taking that power one step furthur.

FCC spokesman David Fiske says that if you have a wireless router, a cordless phone, remote car-door opener, baby monitor or cellphone in your house, the FCC claims the right to enter your home without a warrant at any time of the day or night in order to inspect it.

The FCC’s power to inspect comes from Section 303(n) of the Communications Act of 1934, although it has never undergone a serious court test.

The FCC actually has a inspection document (click to read) which explicitly lays out it authority to inspect.

You might say ok, they can only inspect, they cannot use anything they see as evidence against me for anything else….well you would be wrong.

In  the 1987 Supreme Court Case New York v. Burger,  if inspectors should notice evidence of unrelated criminal behavior — say, a marijuana plant or an unregistered gun — a Supreme Court decision suggests the search can be used against the resident.

“Anything using RF energy — we have the right to inspect it to make sure it is not causing interference,” says FCC spokesman David Fiske. That includes devices like Wi-Fi routers that use unlicensed spectrum, Fiske says.

So make sure that if you hear that knock on the door and it is the FCC asking to inspect your equipment, you have to let them in to inspect it.

credit (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/fcc-raid/)

73, Jack K4SAC

You can download the PDF here

Specifically, Petitioners request that the FCC undertake the
following actions:
· Amend the Commission’s regulations that implement NEPA, “consistent with Council on
Environmental Quality regulations and guidance,” to “cure deficiencies” and to ensure that only
Commission actions that have no significant environmental effects individually or cumulatively
are categorically excluded;
· Prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement addressing the environmental
consequences of its Antenna Structure Registration (“ASR”) program on migratory birds, their
habitats, and the environment;

Promulgate rules to clarify the roles, responsibilities and obligations of the Commission,
applicants, and non-federal representatives in complying with the ESA;
· Consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the ASR program regarding all effects of
towers and antenna structures on endangered and threatened species; and
· Complete the proposed rulemaking in the Migratory Birds Proceeding to adopt measures to
reduce migratory bird deaths in compliance with the MBTA.

Read the full PDF and if you want to comment, comment by the dates below:

Comment Date: May 29, 2009
Reply Comment Date: June 15, 2009

The matter at hand is the Amendment of Parts 2 and 95 of the Commission’s Rules to Provide Additional
Spectrum for the Medical Device Radiocommunication Service in the 413-457 MHz band (which covers the ham radio 420-450 band)

The purpose of the NPRM is for the Commission seeks comment on the feasibility of allowing up to 24 megahertz of spectrum in the 413-457 MHz band to be used on a secondary basis under the Medical Device Radiocommunication Service (MedRadio Service) in Part 95 of the Commission’s rules.

This action was in response to a petition for rulemaking filed by Alfred Mann Foundation (Alfred Mann or AMF) in implantable
neuromuscular microstimulation devices using wireless technologies.

This is not the first time the FCC has licensed spectrum for the use of wireless medical communications technologies.

In 1973, for example, the Commission authorized the use of 18 frequencies in the 460-470 MHz band on a license-by-rule basis under Part 90.

Later the Commission designated 14 megahertz of spectrum in the 608-614 MHz, 1395-1400 MHz, and 1429-1432 MHz bands
for the Wireless Medical Telemetry Service (WMTS) under Part 95 of its Rules.

On October 3, 2007, the Commission released a public notice seeking comment on this petition.

According to the FCC the record supports their consideration of additional spectrum in the 413-457 MHz band for the MedRadio Service under Part 95 of their rules to accommodate the bandwidth intensive wireless MMNs described by Alfred Mann or other similar
bandwidth intensive medical implant networks.

They are interested in comments about the suitability of four segments of the 413-457 MHz band requested by Alfred Mann—i.e., 413-419 MHz, 426-432 MHz, 438-444 MHz, and 451-457 MHz—for use by medical micro-power networks or other similar bandwidth intensive medical implant networks that require a high degree of operational reliability.

Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by
accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting comments.

Please consider filing in NPFM 09-36. The FCC’s announcement, with the deadline to file, is below
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publi…CC-09-20A1.pdf

73, Jack K4SAC

This act which was sponsered by John Kerry of Mass. and Olympia Snowe of Maine, would require  all frequencies between 300Mhz and 3.5Ghz to be inventoried by the NTIA and the FCC .

The law will require that 180 days after the bill takes effect, that an initial survey will be conducted and reviewed every two years. After the inventory is completed, the report would then be sent to the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and to the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The legislation has not been taken up by the House as of yet.

This is a great opportunity for Ham operators to remind our elected officials of the services that ham operators provide, as this legislation could possibly affect ham radio operators in the future.

73, Jack K4SAC

Recently on a contest listserv there has been some disagreement about the beacon project and if the beacon project “owns” the frequencies involved. According to my limited research, naturally no operator “owns” any frequency.

However, there was a band plan approved by the XIII General Assembly of Delegates of
IARU Region II held at Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela from September 28 to October 2, 1998.

This in itself does not mean that it is law, however the FCC in the form of Riley Hollingsworth has repeatly stated; “Although band plans are not mandatory, they exist to enhance the required cooperation and sharing of frequencies in the Amateur Service,”  Hollingsworth said in an enforcement inquiry. “Band plans minimize the necessity for Commission intervention in Amateur operations and the use of Commission resources to resolve amateur interference problems,” Hollingsworth wrote in expressing the FCC’s position on band plans. “When such plans are not followed and harmful interference results, we expect very substantial justification to be provided, and we expect that justification to be consistent with Section 97.101.”

As someone on the listserv pointed out;

“Propagation beacons are one of the more useful tools in a DX’er’s and contester’s arsenal, as they can give you a passive indication of propagation on a particular band to a particular part of the world.”

“For the beacons to be useful, they need to be found. Which means that a given beacon is voluntarily coordinated to avoid interference with other beacons in the same band in other parts of the world.”

“Yes, strictly speaking, a beacon operator doesn’t “own” a frequency, any more than a repeater owner “owns” a repeater pair. But it is in our own best interests, for ourselves as contesters and for other amateurs pursuing other types of activities as part of the Amateur Radio Service, to recognize the purpose of the beacons, why they are placed where they are, and to try and avoid interfering with them if at all possible.”

So does the beacon system own the frequencies that they occupy? I think it is safe to say they don’t. Does good amateur radio practice condone QRM’ing them? I think not. Even though Hollingsworth is no longer the enforcement guru, the FCC had repeatedly said that band plans are expected to be adhered to by radio amateurs.

Does the beacon system provide a valuable service? I think that is also without question. How else is one to know if a band is open to JA-land if one does not know if a JA is on 10 meters? The beacons provide a consistent methodical way to tell about band openings during contests as well as dx’ing or just general operating.

What do you think? leave a comment and let me know…

73, Jack K4SAC