SB QST @ ARL $ARLB051
ARLB051 Maia petition rebutted
 
ZCZC AG18
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 51  ARLB051
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  May 10, 1995
To all radio amateurs 
 
SB QST ARL ARLB051
ARLB051 Maia petition rebutted
 
The deadline for comments has passed on a petition for rule making
to the FCC that would prohibit all one-way transmissions (below 30
MHz), such as code practice and information bulletins from W1AW.
 
The petition, RM-8626, was filed by Frederick O. Maia, W5YI, in
March.  The ARRL urged the FCC ''in the strongest possible terms'' to
deny or dismiss the petition without further consideration.
 
The ARRL said that Maia's arguments were overstated and
inflammatory, in their use of words such as ''chaos'' and ''crisis
proportions'' to describe what he sees as on-the-air disagreements
among amateurs related to one-way transmissions.
 
The League cited W1AW's 65 years of free service to amateurs; other
countries whose amateur societies also conduct informational
bulletins on the air; the absence of any allegations that W1AW
creates any significant interference to ongoing amateur
communications; and the value of W1AW's bulletins in alerting
amateurs to disaster situations.
 
The ARRL also said that since W1AW bulletins are not intended for
the general public, they hence are not ''broadcasting,'' according to
definitions in the Communications Act, the ITU Radio Regulations,
and the Amateur Service Rules.  They are, rather, amateur
communication that has no more potential for undue interference than
two-way communication.
 
The League said that ''any on-air anger perceived by Maia'' ought to
be the subject of FCC enforcement action, not rules changes, saying
such situations were the direct result of the Commission ''allowing
abuses to continue for months and years rather than timely
addressing them in the context of the existing rules.''
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/EX