The IARU Region 3 Newsletter Issue 3/2003, September 2003 The job is not over until the paper work is done! In the case of WRC 03, we need to seek implementation of the many decisions so as to appropriate the 'goodies' that have resulted from the Conference. The Directors have gone to much effort to circulate a comprehensive report on WRC 03. Member Societies should carefully study that document and make their best endeavors for early implementation by discussion with their administration. K C Selvadurai 9V1UV Director IARU Region 3 >>> WRC 2003 <<< The long awaited Conference is now over and by all counts, amateurs should be pleased for the breakthrough achieved. We not only had a doubling of the 7 MHz frequency band for radio amateurs in Regions 1 and 3 to 7.0 to 7.2 MHz from the 29th March 2009, amateurs were also able to achieve the desired changes to Article 25. It is generally understood that no one leaves a Conference of this importance completely happy and neither does anyone leave it fully unhappy. Considering that the amateur and amateur-satellite services were the only services to achieve an additional allocation of frequency spectrum, albeit less than our full aspirations, we have every reason to be happy with the result. Our grateful thanks go to all members of the IARU team at WRC 03, some of them on the official IARU delegation with many others on the delegations of their respective countries. Work was intensive. The main conference hall had over 1500 seats. There was simultaneous translation in 7 languages. Sometimes there were more than 10 meetings going on at the same time, distributed in three adjacent buildings. Some meetings went on till the wee hours of the morning and resumed at the usual time on the next day. The growing number of completely new radio services clamoring for spectrum allocation, such as for example space borne radars for terrestrial observation, high altitude platforms together with the ever increasing number of new ITU Member States with active participation made the deliberations that much more difficult. In reviewing the Conference, the IARU Team leader Larry Price W4RA President IARU felt that doing early home work of identifying key issues, problem areas and possible solutions with building a core team supplemented by dedicated volunteer nationals had contributed substantially towards our success. Region 3 amateurs who participated in WRC 03 were Chairman/Director Fred Johnson ZL2AMJ on the New Zealand delegation, David Wardlaw VK3ADW and Keith Malcom VK1ZKM on the Australian delegation, Director Y S Park HL1IFM as R3 representative and Rhee Joong Guen HL1AQQ on the Korean delegation, Secretary K Komuro JA1KAB and Jay S Oka JA1TRC from the Region 3 Secretariat on the Japanese delegation. >>> Implementation Matters <<< The Region 3 Secretariat mailed out a comprehensive report addressed to the Liaison Officers of all societies in early August with a request that additional copies be made for other members of the management council of their society so that they too may be fully informed of what has been achieved. It contains many items for implementation. Article 25.5 for the removal of Morse code as a mandatory requirement for a license should take importance. In that regard, SARTS has reported that the requirement of Morse code for HF operating privileges in Singapore is being removed as of 15 Sept 2003. Singapore is probably the first in Asia to implement the change. Article 25.3 on third party traffic reads "An administration may determine the applicability of this provision to amateur stations under its jurisdiction". This means that Member Societies must work with their administrations so that it may be favorably regulated. It is possible that some administrations may sympathetically consider granting amateurs under their authority earlier access to the 7.1 to 7.2 MHz band on a non-interference basis. >>> AC Meeting 6-8 Sept 2003 <<< The results of the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference concerning the amateur and amateur-satellite services were reviewed in detail. IARU member-societies were urged to bring to the attention of their administrations the desirability of adopting specific changes in their domestic regulations for the amateur and amateur-satellite services, so that they will be consistent with the revised Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations. There was a strategic planning session with a planning horizon of the year 2010. Several key issues that are likely to influence the future of the IARU were identified. A report is to be drafted and circulated for further consideration by the Council early in 2004. Retiring Vice President David Wardlaw, VK3ADW, was recognized for his long and devoted service to the IARU. Larry E. Price, W4RA, was nominated for a second term as President. Timothy S. Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, was nominated as Vice President. >>> 12th Region 3 Conference <<< The Region 3 Secretary has already communicated that the 12th IARU Region 3 Conference has been provisionally scheduled for Monday 16 to Friday 20 February 2004. All Member Societies are urged to prepare for this Conference in the usual way. As stated by the Secretary, a formal announcement will be sent out 4 months in advance of the firm date. >>> PLT and the future of the HF Spectrum <<< Around the world, the debate is hotting up about PLT (Powerline Telecommunications). This is the technology which claims to provide broadband high speed Internet services, using domestic power lines for the last few km to the home. PLT injects the data signal into the powerline near the electricity sub-station, and it travels along the line to the user. The problem, of course, is that powerlines are not rf cables, and they leak rf energy, causing a level of wideband noise in the vicinity of the cable. The mains powerline is a very "noisy" transmission medium, with spikes and other noise, so PLT operators have to use higher injection powers to get their data signals to propagate along the cable. Higher injection powers mean higher emissions, and this is bad news for HF radio operators. Current proposals in Europe, for example, would raise the level of the background noise level on HF by some 60-70 dB in the proximity of the cable (within 3 metres). Further away, the rise would be less, but still considerable. PLT poses a threat not only to amateur radio! Users of low power devices (for example security systems which tag products in shops) are very worried. HF broadcasters are fighting to support sensible emission limits for PLT. The security services privately are worried. But in some countries, government departments involved in security have been told not to object to PLT as the government policy is to support it! Civil Aviation communication and aero-navigation can be threatened by PLT. There are reports of an air accident in Canada being directly attributable to interference from broadband cable systems. And this is only the beginning. New plans for PLT will attempt to use much higher frequencies (beyond 30 MHz even up to 80 MHz) which immediately could pose a threat to emergency service communications. One thing is for sure. Governments are beginning to realise that there is no compromise here. It is a stark choice between radio communication and Internet access. The injection powers being sought by the PLT operators will have a serious and lasting effect on conventional radio communication. If emission limits are set to protect radio, then PLT will find it impossible to operate. This is an extremely serious issue for amateur radio, and other users of the HF spectrum. Member societies should be on the lookout for any signs that PLT is being planned in their country. Alone, it is unlikely that amateur radio can fight the supporters of PLT. But if member societies work with other users of the HF spectrum in their country to build an alliance to protect the HF frequencies, there is much more chance of success. That is the challenge for us all. Contributed by Don Beattie, G3BJ >>> Nadisha Ranmuthu 4S7NR Silent Key <<< Nadisha 4S7NR died under tragic circumstances on July 22, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. whilst on assignment for the ICRC in Iraq to install communication equipment in ICRC field offices. He was killed by gunfire whilst traveling in a marked Red Cross vehicle. Nadisha was an enthusiastic and active member of RSSL and had helped many of its members obtain their amateur radio license. A keen "Home Brew" amateur and being also versatile with computers he was at the fore front of packet radio in Sri Lanka. He was a regular participant at RSSL special event stations, and helped his alma mater school set up a club radio station. We express our condolences to his family and loved ones. >-< 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 3 3943 8282 The statements or opinions in this Newsletter do not, unless otherwise stated, necessarily reflect the views of IARU Region 3, the Directors or the Secretariat. Items from this Newsletter may be freely copied for publication by member societies of IARU. MS Word version of this newsletter is available at http://www.iaru-r3.org/news/r3nl-03-09.doc