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Re: [VHFcontesting] We're about to lose 3456 MHz band entirely

To: "Wayne Overbeck" <woverbeck@yahoo.com>, <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] We're about to lose 3456 MHz band entirely
From: "Steve\(K1IIG\)" <stephen.tripp@snet.net>
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2019 08:50:07 -0500
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
Hello Wayne and others,

Wayne I do not think the sky is falling but it sure is getting dark over our amateur community. There is a long history of our ham bands being attacked and given to others. I think it started with 11m (27mhz) to the truckers etc, 220mhz to UPS which I don't think they are using ,then Pave Paws radar shut down 440mhz repeaters on the East and West coast within 50mi of their radar systems, then 900mhz shared with consumer wireless products, then attempt to get the 40ghz band, then an attempt to get a portion of 2m in the UK and now 3ghz. Did I miss any? It is all about $$ and the Cell companies with deep pockets are moving up the bands. I was in cellular since 1984 when we only had a portion of the 800mhz band and now look what they have. I think in the US, without looking it up, they have segments in 600, 700,800,1900,2100, 2350 and moving up the bands. Air waves are not free and the FCC is more then willing to auction off these bands for big bucks. The other situation is the RFI generated by the carriers. They are putting 4 bands under one radome fed by fiber and one can only imagine the mixing products produced. Each one of these antennas can weigh as much as 180lbs. Last week I spoke with an AT&T engineer who said he is personally managing 3000 sites doing 5g upgrades. WOW. My point is this, they are aggressively trying to get more bandwidth and we should protect what we have and not give into them without a fight.

So what to do? I think the ARRL should have posted this info on this reflector and others informing us on what we can do. I also think they (ARRL) should notify each VHF/UHF contest club to disseminate this information.

I guess I will hold off finishing my 3456 beacon.

73's
Steve
K1IIG
FN-31nl

A proposal that is on the agenda for the FCC's Dec. 12 meeting would remove amateur radio from the 9 cm. band entirely. As mandated by Congress in the MOBILE NOW Act, the FCC is proposing to entirely eliminate our allocation in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band as part of a plan to make much more spectrum available for 5G mobile phone systems.

The Notice of Proposed Rule Making is WT Docket 19-348.

If enacted as proposed, this would be catastrophic for the weak signal community that is now on 3456 MHz. I alone have nearly $10,000 worth of equipment for 3456 MHz--with receipts to prove it. That includes transverters, amplifiers and antennas. Each transverter cost me between $500 and $800 (U.S.) and I have seventeen (17) 3456 transverters manufactured by either DB6NT or DEMI.

Where was ARRL when the "MOBILE NOW" Act was approved? Why haven't we heard a lot more about this before now? I've searched ARRL.org and can't find any reference to "MOBILE NOW" there. I just bought another 3456 transverter after the MOBILE NOW Act was signed into law (after being amended into another bill). I wish I'd known that we're about to lose this band before spending still more money on equipment for 3456.

I know about this now only because of Brennan Price's message on the "My ARRL Voice" section of Facebook. In a comment on Brennan's posting, ARRL Director Ria Jairam confirmed that this docket does indeed propose to remove our 9 cm. allocation entirely.

It sounds as if the sky is falling. Can someone tell me that the sky ISN'T falling?

-Wayne Overbeck, N6NB
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