Amateur radio users and enthusiasts are stepping up against what they see as a direct threat to the security of amateur radio frequencies.
According to a press release published on its website in early August, the ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, has filed comments against a proposal that would allow the introduction of high-power digital communications in spectrum directly adjacent to amateur HF bands. The proposal for the change was filed as a petition to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the Shortwave Modernization Coalition (SMC), a group that reportedly represents organizations involved in high-frequency stock trading.
Specifically, the proposal would allow data communications on multiple bands within the HF 2-25 MHz range with up to 20 KW, including those immediately adjacent to spectrum allocated to the Amateur Radio Service. The ARRL says that its own evaluation and testing has concluded that, if the proposed rules were to be adopted, it would lead to “significant harmful interference to many users of adjacent and nearby spectrum, including Amateur Radio licensees.”
Read the ARRL’s news release detailing its objection to the SMC petition.
