SB QST @ ARL $ARLB017   
   ARLB017 FCC Turns Down Petition to Create a 4 Meter Band in the US   
      
   ZCZC AG17   
   QST de W1AW   
   ARRL Bulletin 17  ARLB017   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington CT  September 19, 2014   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB QST ARL ARLB017   
   ARLB017 FCC Turns Down Petition to Create a 4 Meter Band in the US   
      
   It does not appear that US radio amateurs will gain a new band at 70   
   MHz anytime soon. The FCC has denied a Petition for Rule Making   
   filed earlier this year by Glen E. Zook, K9STH, of Richardson,   
   Texas, seeking to add a 4 meter band to Amateur Radio's inventory of   
   VHF allocations. Zook had floated the proposal in 2010, and his   
   petition was dated January 27, 2010, but the FCC said it did not   
   receive it until last May. Zook asked the Commission to allocate   
   70.0 to 70.5 MHz to Amateur Radio because, Zook's Petition asserted,   
   "the recent migration of broadcast television stations to primarily   
   UHF frequencies basically eliminates any probable interference to   
   television channels 4 or 5." VHF TV channel 4 occupies 66 to 72 MHz.   
      
   "Because the Zook Petition is based on a faulty premise - that   
   broadcasting use within the 70.0-70.5 MHz band will diminish or   
   cease - its argument that amateur band users could operate without   
   causing harmful interference to any existing service lacks   
   sufficient support to warrant our further consideration, The FCC   
   said in a September 17 Order denying the Petition.   
      
   The Order may be found on the web in PDF format at,   
   http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2014/db0   
   17/DA-14-1347A 1.pdf   
   .   
      
   The FCC pointed out that three full-power TV stations, 110 low-power   
   TV stations and translators, and six Class A TV station now occupy   
   channel 4 in the US. In addition, the Commission, through an   
   "ongoing incentive auction proceeding," is attempting to "repurpose"   
   a portion of television broadcast spectrum for broadband operations   
   and "repack the remaining TV stations into a smaller frequency   
   range." Under certain scenarios, the FCC said, channel 4 could   
   become even more heavily populated by broadcast users in the future.   
      
   "Given the complexity of the incentive auction proceeding, we also   
   conclude that it would not serve the public interest to further   
   complicate that unique undertaking by proposing to introduce a new   
   service into the broadcasting frequencies at this time," the FCC   
   said. The Order noted that fixed and mobile services will continue   
   to operate in the frequencies between channels 4 and 5 (76 to 82   
   MHz).   
      
   As Zook noted in his petition, a 4 meter band has been authorized   
   for Amateur Radio use in the UK and in a number of other European   
   and African countries. The FCC said that since it wasn't planning to   
   grant Zook's petition, it declined to evaluate his claims "regarding   
   the benefits that amateurs would derive from use of the band."   
   Zook's original proposal asked to have the FCC open up the   
   allocation to all classes of Amateur Radio licensees.   
      
   Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, operated an Experimental Service beacon   
   transmitter from Virginia on 70.005 MHz under the call sign WE9XFT.   
   At the time his Experimental license was granted in 2010, Justin   
   told the ARRL that he was not seeking to have the FCC create a 4   
   meter band. "This beacon is purely for radio science for use as an   
   E-skip detection device," he explained.   
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until   
   you hire an amateur.   
      
   --- FMail/Win32 1.60   
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