SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX008
ARLX008 New Prefix for Bosnia-Herzegovina Officially Announced

ZCZC AX08
QST de W1AW  
Special Bulletin 8  ARLX008
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  December 27, 2007
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX008
ARLX008 New Prefix for Bosnia-Herzegovina Officially Announced

In response to a request from the Ministry of Communications and
Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina in August, the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) withdrew the call sign prefix
allocation T9A-T9Z for Bosnia and Herzegovina and made a new
allocation, E7A-E7Z.  The change was made initially on a provisional
basis under authority of the ITU Secretary-General and was confirmed
by the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference to be effective
November 17, 2007.

According to International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary
David Sumner, K1ZZ, the Ministry of Communications and Transport
(BiH) held a press conference in Sarajevo on December 18 to formally
announce the change.  Minister Dr Bozo Ljubic explained the
desirability of changing a prefix that initially was allocated
during wartime and how it was now being replaced with one that has
no connection to that troubled time; similar steps have been taken
with regard to passports, drivers' licenses and automobile
registrations, he said.  Ljubic also observed that the costs
associated with the change were minimal compared to the benefits.

Amateur Radio station licenses bearing E7 prefixes will be issued
beginning in January 2008, and the use of other prefixes will be
phased out.

Sumner and IARU Region 1 President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, of Norway,
were invited to speak at the press conference.  Accompanying them
was IARU Region 1 Executive Committee member Nikola Percin, 9A5W, of
Croatia.  They expressed congratulations and support for the change,
eliminating an issue that has complicated relations among the radio
amateurs of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Also invited to speak was Miroslav Nikse, President of the Union of
Radioamateur Associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (URAS), a
recently formed umbrella organization of amateur radio associations
based in different parts of the country.  He thanked those involved
in promoting the change.  In his remarks, Dr Ljubic pledged support
from the Ministry of Communications and Transport to the umbrella
organization for the development of Amateur Radio repeater and
digital networks that would cover the whole of the country,
enhancing emergency communications capabilities.
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