SB QST @ ARL $ARLB024
ARLB024 NTIA releases report
ZCZC AG90
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 24 ARLB024
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT March 17, 1995
To all radio amateurs
SB QST ARL ARLB024
ARLB024 NTIA releases report
The NTIA has released its Spectrum Reallocation Final Report as
required by the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA). The
OBRA sought to make spectrum presently allocated to the federal
government available for nongovernment use.
In its preliminary report, the NTIA had proposed to make 2390 to
2400 and 2402 to 2417 MHz immediately available with 2300 to 2310
MHz to be available in 1996. These bands are allocated to the
amateur service on a secondary basis. The ARRL and other amateur
interests objected to any reallocation that would diminish the
usefulness of these bands to amateurs. The principal users of 2400
to 2450 MHz are industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) devices
such as microwave ovens, the amateur service, and nonlicensed
devices operating under FCC Part 15 rules.
Based on the public comments, the NTIA has concluded that
subdividing 2400 to 2450 MHz into three parts, as originally
proposed, would not best meet the needs of the principal users of
the band. The NTIA Final Report says, ''Reallocating the entire
2400-2450 MHz band would provide the FCC with the opportunity to
develop a long-term regulatory framework and strategy that meets the
needs of the amateur service and addresses the requirements of a
robust and growing Part 15 industry.'' The action, according to the
NTIA, ''creates a sense of stability regarding future non-Federal use
and provides the opportunity to have a significant amount of
spectrum for long-term development of non-licensed technologies.''
As reported earlier, in a parallel proceeding, ET Docket 94-32, the
FCC decided to make 2390 to 2400 MHz available for Part 15 use in
addition to the existing Part 15 band of 2400 to 2483.5 MHz. The
FCC has identified no additional services to be introduced into the
2390 to 2450 MHz band, and none are recommended in the NTIA report.
The relative status of the amateur services and the nonlicensed Part
15 devices is the subject of a further FCC notice of proposed rule
making in Docket 94-32.
The NTIA has accelerated the schedule for making 2300 to 2310 MHz
available for additional non-Federal use, to August 1995, but with
airborne and space-to-Earth links prohibited and commercial
applications limited to less than 1 watt of power. Continuing
amateur requirements for 2300 to 2310 MHz are detailed in the NTIA
report. The FCC has as yet made no determination regarding possible
new uses for the 2300 to 2310 MHz band.
The complete text of the NTIA Spectrum Reallocation Final Report is
available by connecting through the Internet to
http://gopher.ntia.doc.gov or to http://www.ntia.doc.gov. More
information will be in May QST.
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