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Phil Kane · March 19th 07, 01:47 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.moderated

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 11:48:45 CST, wrote:

Thank you, Steve. Your point is very real, and the historic
'solution' has been for the government (FCC) to impose regulatory
handcuffs on the market-based arbitration of that tension. This has
the practical effect of total regulatory favor of the legacy use over
the exploration of new ideas.

A (sad) example of the interaction of the Amateur Radio Service with
the :"marketplace" can be shown in the loss of the 220-222 MHz band.
The FCC's expectation was that it was going to be dedicated to a small
number of wide-area commercial networks using Amplitude Compandered
Side Band (ACSB), a system developed by "basement" tinkerers for
commercial use using amateur frequencies because they couldn't get a
license for commercial development (*)

It never happened. ACSB never worked, and the commercial equipment
manufacturers never produced any sizeable amount of equipment for that
band.

Did we get the frequencies back? In your dreams.

(*) I won't get into the personalities involved in the ACSB fiasco or
of the slicing of the 220 MHz band - it's Sunday and I can't get
enough blood pressure medicine if I do.... Suffice it to say that
despite urban legend, UPS was not a real player in that mess.
--

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

e-mail: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net