[Amps] FCC Denies Expert Linears' Request for Waiver of 15 dB Rule; Long off topic reply

[sm0aom at telia.com]

As an ardent researcher of the world-wide regulatory history of amateur radio, I have to present a slightly dissenting opinion.

The language K8RI is referring to is most probably the preamble to the FCC regulations, which are of quite late; 
post-WW2 and early Cold War origins. 

This language only provides a justification from the purely US national perspective.

Amateur radio became regulated in a few countries already at the turn of the century, but was barely tolerated by the Authorities and outright prohibited in most countries.

After a few decades of precarious existence, the formal existence of amateur radio was finally acknowledged by a diplomatic "horse-trade" which resulted in a definition in the 1927 Washington Radio Regulations:

2) a station used by an "amateur", 
that is to say a duly authorised person interested in
radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without
pecuniary interest;"

At the 1947 Atlantic City conference this was "cleaned up" somewhat to the language that still is used in the ITU Radio Regulations:

"Amateur Service: 
A service of self training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried on by
amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim 
and without pecuniary interest"

It should be noted that nowhere in the international regulations were there any justification for the existence for amateur radio from an emergency preparedness or military/civilian operator training perspective, but the justification was originally that radio amateurs had contributed to the radio state-of-the-art before and during the 1920's so it was considered reasonable from an international perspective, to let us continue.

"Incentive licensing" in the 1968 FCC fashion actually came quite late to the US. 

Most European and Asian countries put post-war national amateur radio regulations in force that had a very clear incentive intent. 
There were at least two, often three, licence classes, with a progress path towards the highest that was outlined in the regulations. 
This was directly derived from the need for trained radio engineers and operators for the next war, which was expected to be very much the same as WW2.

To use the words of an European regulator spokesman in the late-1940's:
“A reserve corps of trained radio operators and engineers, which without any expenses from public funds maintain their knowledge and competence”

This predated the actual implementation of "Incentive Licensing" in the US with about two decades.

In a larger perspective, the future of both national and international amateur radio will lie in the hands of those that are doing cost/benefit analyses. Only if we can justify our continued access to expensive radio spectrum without paying anything we will be able to continue.

We can also not rely on purely national regulator support of amateur radio. 

If the question of reallocating all, exclusive and shared, amateur radio spectrum in, say, the VHF and upwards spectrum to commercial operators in one or more regions should surface at a future WRC, there will be great difficulties to add footnotes in the ITU allocation tables that exclude some country from the reallocation, as the financial value of this spectrum will be immense, and continued amateur use will go directly against those that intend to profit from exploiting the new allocations.

The corporate lobbyists will not take the potential loss of major mobile broadband markets lightly, and will use whatever means at their disposal to stop it from happening. Support for amateur radio is thus something that has to be coordinated between all the ITU Member States.

Something that sooner or later will happen is that some regulator official, in Management Consultant fashion, puts his hand over the region marked "Amateur Radio" in the spectrum charts and asks: "What will happen if this disappears?". 

It is up to us to provide a good answer.

73/
Karl-Arne
SM0AOM

----Ursprungligt meddelande----
Från : k8ri at rogerhalstead.com
Datum : 2017-01-02 - 12:20 (UTC)
Till : amps at contesting.com
Ämne : Re: [Amps] FCC Denies Expert Linears' Request for Waiver of 15 dB Rule; Long off topic reply

Isn't there anyone on here that's been a ham long enough to remember the 
reason and justification for the Amateur Radio Service?

It saddens me that so few seem to know the reason we existed.

Prior to the multiple choice tests, Question answers were essay and 
circuit diagrams needed to be drawn.

The "ORIGINAL"justification for the Amateur service was to provide a 
pool of trained operators in communications techniques and technicians 
skilled in electronic theory and communications techniques! This pool 
was to provide operators for emergencies, both local and national, in 
times of war and peace.

The reasons for the different classes were to provide the incentive to 
increase their skill in both communications techniques and electronics.  
That incentive was decades before "Incentive licensing" came into existence.

Novice was, as it is now an introductory and non renewable license
Technician was for VHF and above for those primarily communications.
General, was a step up in speed and electronics theory and circuits.
Advanced was another step up, primarily in theory and circuits
Extra was the top of the line in both CW speed, specialized 
communications techniques, and circuit design.

I may have left a few out, but that's the way it was in the 60s, 70s, 
and 80s

73

Roger (K8RI)

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