SILVER SPRING, MD. OCTOBER 6, 2002
To All RADIO AMATEURS
WRC-03 70-CM BAND THREAT DISCUSSED BY SARL
It has come to the attention of the South African Radio League, SARL that the threat to the 70-cm band WORLD WIDE is once again very real.
The SARL has just received a discussion paper which will be tabled at the World Radio Conference next year (WRC-03) which directly targets the portion of 432 to 438 MHz for exclusive use by the planned
Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) due to be launched soon.
If this proposal is carried at the World Radio Conference next year it will see this portion of spectrum allocated on a worldwide basis and this spells the death knell of all 70-cm operation.
The SARL is engaged in urgent talks with the SA regulatory body, ICASA, and other interested parties to try and convince them that this would be a severe blow to amateur radio.
The section of the proposal and the motivation is as follows:
Agenda Item 1.38:
'to consider provision of up to 6 MHz of frequency spectrum to the Earth exploration-satellite service (active) in the frequency band 420-470 MHz, in accordance with Resolution 727 (Rev. WRC-2000).'
Background.
According to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development(UNCED), Rio de Janeiro, 1992, there is an urgent need for assessment and systematic observations of forest cover and rate of forest degradation in tropical and temperate regions. Active space borne sensors (Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs) are needed to enable the monitoring of forest biomass.
Systems operating on frequencies around 450 MHz can penetrate the canopy of forests, and have the capability to determine the ground-trunk interaction and are in the context of forest cover information of
particular importance.
Systems operating at 1,3 GHz, or higher frequencies cannot penetrate
the canopy.
The spectrum around 450 MHz is also optimal for monitoring of continental ice and for monitoring of vegetation and soil surfaces for desert and tropical areas.
Probably, as the SARL are saying, "never before have we needed as many
amateurs as possible to join and illustrate to the regulatory authority
that strength lies in numbers.'
Article courtesy: Alec, M1BNK