RadioBanter - View Single Post

December 12th 05, 04:08 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.policy

wrote:
KØHB wrote:
"Dee Flint" wrote

That's what will be the real problem. As so many have pointed out, there is
no organization to which the majority of hams belongs, at least in this
country. While the ARRL is the largest, the majority of the ham population
does NOT belong to it and will likely scream bloody murder if they were to get
to establish the band plan.

That's what makes the IARU an attractive vehicle. While no individual pays
memberships dues in IARU, all hams are defacto members of IARU because each
country has a representative who represents ALL hams in their jurisdiction
independent of whether they are members of the national "club" like ARRL, RAC,
RSGB, DARC, JARL, or whatever.

But there's a big problem there....see below

You always know better than everyone else. See below.

You mention the IARU but that won't work right now either. We have some
additional frequencies that they do not. Tasking them with planning is not
appropriate for frequencies used only by a single country or very small group
of countries. Then of course there is the sovereignty issue. Some countries,
including the US, probably will not want to give them that much power.

Huh?

IARU is not a government agency. It is us, the hams of the world, totally
independent of national governments and independent of international
organizations like ITU or CEPT. Who better than the hams to decidehow
ham frequencies should be used? Are we so conditioned to "big government"
dependency that (within our allocations) we need disinvolved government
bureaucrats to make decisions that much more logically belong to the actual
affected users?

But do the actual users get a real voice? Do I get to vote on the
bandplan for
bands I use? Do I even get to elect the representative who does?

Didn't Carl attend the last ITU meeting? Didn't the ARRL attend?
Didn't the FCC attend?

How much representation do you need, Jim?

Or will the bandplans be decided upon by folks whom are even less
beholden to
"the users" than the FCC?

Benevolent King Jim will rule intelligently and fairly.

I agree with you that some frequencies are better planned at a more local level
when those plans have no global implications. IARU is already regionally
localized into Region I, II, and III, and that localization makes perfect sense
for shared MF/HF bands. Further localization for "national only" bands, and for
V/UHF allocations is a natural extension of the idea. An example of that model
is the state/regional-localized V/UHF NFCC bandplanning which already operates
independently of the FCC and ARRL in the US.

Finally, having the IARU (or any other body) designate a mandatory band plan
goes against the principle of "free market" for dynamic allocation ofthe
frequencies.

To the extent that the band plan would not be dynamic on a minute-to-minute
schedule, you are correct. But it certainly be more dynamic and responsive that
the current generation-to-generation schedule of §97.305.

A group would have to meet and reallocate as needed.

In the 1930's that certainly would have been an impediment. But 75 years later
in 2005, give me a list of 100 IARU representatives and within the nexthour I
can establish a secure and private "meeting room" on the internet wherethey can
hold their allocation meetings, hammer out their agreements, and publish the
bandplan on a global basis before halftime of Monday Night Football.

And here's the problem:

Let me sit down and pour a stiff drink.

Suppose for a moment the IARU scheme is done by regionfor HF - after
all,
that's how the allocations work. So IARU reps from all the Region 2
countries
decide how the Region 2 HF bandplan works.

Does each member country get one vote? If so, that puts the USA, with
its
661,000+ amateurs, at the same voting level as a country with a few
dozen
amateurs. A coalition of small countries with a handful of amateurs
could
dictate the bandplan for whole region.

Oh, my. I hope that the US hams have treated "thier" neighbor hams
kindly.

If not, the USA's enormous amateur population makes us the
de-facto 800 pound gorilla in the region.

Can't we all just get along?

In either case, the IARU member society for the USA is...the ARRL.

Which is why it's so important to keep movers and shakers like Carl out
of the organization's management.

Do you think everyone will be glad the ARRL is the USA's representative
for determining bandplans?

73 de Jim, N2EY

It would be better if the IARU declared a plan rather than go with the
ARRL's recent bandplan scheme.