SB QST @ ARL $ARLB016
ARLB016 ARRL Again Petitions FCC for Primary Allocation at 2300-2305 MHz

ZCZC AG16
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 16  ARLB016
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  May 10, 2001
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB016
ARLB016 ARRL Again Petitions FCC for Primary Allocation at 
2300-2305 MHz

The ARRL has again asked the FCC to create a primary domestic
Amateur Radio allocation at 2300-2305 MHz. Amateurs now are
secondary there. The ARRL first asked the FCC in 1996 to upgrade the
allocation there to primary, but the Commission never acted on the
request.

''The segment 2300-2305 MHz is of extreme importance to the Amateur
Service, especially for weak-signal communications and propagation
research, including beacon operation, due to the low noise levels in
that band,'' the ARRL said. The renewed petition was prompted by
increasing demands on that portion of the spectrum due to
development of new telecommunications technologies.

The Amateur Service has primary allocations in this part of the
spectrum at 2390-2400 MHz and 2402-2417 MHz. The ARRL last year
sought to have the segment 2400-2402 MHz elevated from secondary to
primary, but the FCC has not acted on the request to date. The AO-40
satellite has been successfully using that band for downlink
telemetry and transponder operation.

The ARRL originally asked the FCC to consider creating the primary
2300-2305 MHz allocation when it filed comments in response to the
FCC's proceeding to allocate spectrum below 5 GHz transferred from
federal government use and set aside for auction to help balance the
budget (ET Docket 94-32). The issue arose again in response to the
FCC's plans to reallocate and auction off parts of the 2.3-GHz band
for what's now called the Miscellaneous Wireless Communications
Service (GN Docket 96-228). The League renewed its request for
primary at that stage.

In light of the FCC's stated policy to protect incumbent amateur
operation at 2300-2305 MHz, upgrading the amateur allocation there
''would constitute the highest and best use of the band at present,''
the ARRL asserted in its latest filing. ''It would also be consistent
with the protection requirements for government and NASA operations
immediately below 2300 MHz and the [M]WCS operation above 2305 MHz.''
Amateur Radio weak-signal work is centered near 2304 MHz.

Amateurs ''need and should be afforded protection from'' commercial
users at 2300-2305 MHz, the ARRL concluded. It also requested the
FCC to not introduce any other users to the band ''in view of the
necessity to protect the extant and expanding amateur uses in the
band which involve sensitive receivers.''

The FCC has not yet put the ARRL's petition on public notice.
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