The IARU Region 3 Newsletter Issue 3/2001, September 2001 Preparations for the WRC 2003 meeting are progressing steadily. A report on the recently concluded APT meeting in Bangkok is carried in this issue. As reported in an earlier issue of the Newsletter, the success of IARU at WRC2003 relies on the ability of each Member Society to canvass its local administration to support the position developed by the IARU. Administrations will now be working to develop their national positions for WRC2003. It is appropriate to liaise with our respective administrations to canvass support for these IARU views on the Amateur Service issues at this important conference. Societies needing help or advice relating to dealings with their administrations may contact the undersigned. K C Selvadurai 9V1UV Director IARU Region 3 >>> WRC 2003 <<< Two major issues for WRC-2003, the 7 MHz band and the Morse code position, were discussed in earlier issues of this Newsletter. There are other matters for which IARU seeks change at this opportunity for revision of Article S25. S25 includes regulations with the same intent as other regulations elsewhere applying generally to all radio services, so entries about transmitter power, purity of emissions, and station identification can be safely deleted from a future version of S25, making the international regulations shorter and easier to understand, or "Simplified" in ITU sense. Article S25 opens with: "Radiocommunications between amateur stations of different countries shall be forbidden if the administration of one of the countries concerned has notified that it objects to such communications". If an administration decides to prohibit its amateurs from communicating internationally, it can accomplish this through its own regulations. So this entry is unnecessary too. The IARU draft new Article S25 contains just six paragraphs. It covers everything needed in the international regulations for the amateur and amateur satellite services. Your support for these changes and your administration's support at WRC-2003 are needed. You are encouraged to study the full report and a full proposed new S25 at: http://www.iaru.org/fasc5out.html. >>> APT Conference Bangkok June 2001 <<< The 2nd Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Conference Preparatory Group Meeting was held in June 2001. The IARU was represented by Vice President David Wardlaw VK3ADW, who presented a document covering issues of interest to Radio Amateurs on the WRC-2003 Agenda, & Region 3 Director Y.S Park HL1IFM. Jay Oka JA1TRC of JARL was on the Japanese delegation, Kittipong Ongvarrasopone HS1ASN of RAST was on the Thai delegation and Hyung Suk Song HL1CG and Chong Ho Song DS1PIC of KARL were on the Korean delegation. No Preliminary APT views were firmed up. Some APT Members consider that the spectrum available for HF broadcasting is substantially inadequate in meeting service requirements. The APT Members support assessment of spectrum requirements for HF broadcasting, taking into account the extent of current congestion and introduction of digital technologies. The next meeting of APT to be held probably in mid April 2003 will be critical. The stand presently adopted by many of the administrations on the different issues are known because they were disclosed at the APT meeting in June Those societies that wish to ascertain the position of their administration should contact the Region 3 Secretariat. The importance that all societies follow up with their respective administrations needs emphasis. We need to garner the commitment of all the administrations to support the recommendations of IARU at the next APT meeting. The APT Members generally supported the deletion of the Morse code test requirements in the International Radio Regulations. The 7 MHz issue will be much more difficult to deal with in this Region with a number of specialist broadcasters wishing to target Asia using single hop propagation. >>> The IARU Region 1 Executive Committee Meeting, Muscat, Oman, April 2001 <<< Region 3 was represented by Fred Johnson ZL2AMJ Chairman / Director Region 3. Apart from matters of special interest to Region 1, there were a few matters of importance to the whole amateur service relating to WRC-2003. It was recommended that IARU should circulate an explanation paper on the four or five issues other than the Morse code that could be gained by the Amateur Service by the adoption of the proposed revision to S25. The meeting reaffirmed the need for a worldwide 300 kHz Amateur exclusive provision at 7 MHz. >>> ITU Disaster Communications Documents Approved <<< The IARU is pleased to announce the approval by the International Telecommunication Union Development Sector (ITU-D) of two landmark documents related to amateur radio disaster communications in developing countries. These documents represent the culmination of two years of work by the IARU and ITU-D Study Group 2 The first is Recommendation ITU-D 13, Effective utilisation of the amateur services in disaster mitigation and relief operations. It recommends that administrations include the amateur services in their national disaster plans, reduce barriers to effective use of the amateur services for disaster communications, and develop memoranda of understanding (MoU) with amateur and disaster relief organizations. The second is the Disaster Communications Handbook for Developing Countries. This was a joint effort of the IARU and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) with contributions from L.M. Ericsson (Sweden), Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) (USA), and others. >>> NZART 75th. Anniversary - Auckland June 2001 <<< The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) celebrated its 75th Anniversary at a Jubilee Conference held in Auckland in conjunction with its Annual General Meeting. Director Peter Naish, VK2BPN, attended as a guest of NZART on behalf of IARU Region 3 and submitted this report: The Conference was very well attended with some 150 radio amateurs and their spouses travelling from all parts of New Zealand for the weekend's activities. A local Member of Parliament represented the Government. He delivered a keynote address on behalf of the Minister responsible for Communications speaking of the importance of amateur radio and its benefits to all the people of New Zealand. On the Saturday evening a formal dinner was held at which a number of guest speakers entertained the members with stories and witty comments of events associated with radio and NZART during past 75 years. The weekend was also the occasion of the NZART AGM and several policy matters relating to the amateur radio in NZ were discussed with debate being intense on some sensitive issues. It was pleasing to see how involved all NZART members are in the day-to-day operations of their national organisation and how well informed they are about contemporary issues both domestic and international. This is a direct result of the open communications that exist between the Council of NZART and their membership. The structure of NZART with the local clubs or branches being part of a national organisation enables a consistent theme to be readily established for policy matters. There is a very strong move to encourage more people into amateur radio and especially the young. Special funding is allocated for this purpose together with a foundation for radio science education. On the International scene, NZART have an enviable relationship with the NZ regulatory body, which ensures that the amateur radio voice is heard early and frequently during the formulation of NZ Government policy on ITU matters. This has been accomplished by a close and dedicated association between NZART and the regulator over many years and is an example to other societies. New Zealand is a young country by world standards and the culture and attitude of the people still contain a pioneering instinct that has been harnessed by NZART to ensure a solid position for amateur radio. Of special note is their involvement in emergency communications and the monitoring of intruders into amateur bands where they have established an international reputation. Amateur Radio is alive and well in New Zealand with a strong and vibrant NZART. >-< The Region 3 Web site >-< Go to: http://www.iaru-r3.org/ Newsletter Editor: K C Selvadurai 9V1UV, Director IARU Region 3, 9v1uv@sarts.org.sg Publisher: The International Amateur Radio Union Region 3, P.O. Box 73, Toshima, Tokyo 170-8691, Japan. E-mail: iaru-r3@jarl.or.jp Tel: +81 3 3944 3322 Fax: +81 3943 8282 The statements or opinions in this Newsletter do not, unless otherwise stated, necessarily reflect the view of IARU Region 3, the Directors or the Secretariat. Items from this Newsletter may be freely copied for publication by member societies of IARU