(Moderator's Note: Only FCC Part 97 Amateur Radio related actions are shown below.)

Daily Digest

Vol. 35 No. 143 July 28, 2
016



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AMENDMENT OF PART 97 OF THE COMMISSION'S AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE RULES TO PE
RMIT GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN DATA COMMUNICATIONS. Proposed to amend Part 9
7 of the Commission's Rules regarding technical standards applicable to dat
a communications that may be transmitted in the Amateur Radio Service. (Dkt
No. 16-239 RM-11708 ). Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 07/27/2016 b
y NPRM. (FCC No. 16-96). WTB https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatc
h/FCC-16-96A1.doc
https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/at...CC-16-96A1.pdf

(Moderator's Note:

Amateur or Part 97 match found in contents linked at URL:

)
Amendment of Part 97 of the Commission's ) WT Docket No. 16-239
Amateur Radio Service Rules to Permit Greater )
Flexibility in Data Communications ) RM-11708

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1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), we propose, in response to a petition for
rulemaking filed by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL),1 to amend Part 97 of the
Commission's Rules regarding technical standards applicable to data communications that may be
transmitted in the Amateur Radio Service. Specifically, we propose to remove limitations on the symbol
rate (also known as baud rate)--the rate at which the carrier waveform amplitude, frequency, and/or
phase is varied to transmit information2--applicable to data emissions in certain amateur bands. We
believe that this rule change will allow amateur service licensees to use modern digital emissions, thereby
better fulfilling the purposes of the amateur service and enhancing its usefulness.
II. BACKGROUND

2. Most amateur bands below 450 MHz are divided between radioteletype (RTTY)3/data4
subbands and phone5/image6 subbands.7 The purpose of separating emission types into groups is to

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relegate the transmission of certain inharmonious emission types to different segments of amateur service
frequency bands,8 while still allowing great flexibility in the types of emissions that may be transmitted
by amateur stations.9 Additional standards and limitations applicable to each band or subband are set
forth in Section 97.307(f) of the Commission's Rules.10

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may be used with a symbol rate not exceeding 56 kilobauds, and unspecified digital codes may be used
with a bandwidth not exceeding 100 kilohertz.17 An amateur station transmitting a RTTY or data
emission using one of the specified digital codes may use any technique whose technical characteristics

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8
See Reorganization and Deregulation of Part 97 of the Rules Governing the Amateur Radio Services, Notice of
Proposed Rule Making, PR Docket No. 88-139, 3 FCC Rcd 2076, 2078 ¶ 19 (1988).
9
See Reorganization and Deregulation of Part 97 of the Rules Governing the Amateur Radio Services, Report and
Order, PR Docket No. 88-139, 4 FCC Rcd 4719, 4719 ¶ 2, 4720 ¶ 9 (1989).

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47 C.F.R. § 97.309(a)(4). CLOVER, G-TOR, and PACTOR are different techniques used to increase the
efficiency of digital communications. Amendment of the Amateur Service Rules to Clarify Use of CLOVER, G-
TOR, and PacTOR Digital Codes, Order, 10 FCC Rcd 11044, 11044 n.2 (WTB 1995).

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frequency (HF) bands (i.e., below 30 MHz) of 2.8 kilohertz.20 It argues that the symbol rate limits are
outdated, and hamper or preclude amateur radio experimentation with modern data transmission protocols
that are available and in active use in other radio services.21

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6. Symbol rate limit. We tentatively agree with ARRL that the baud rate limits should be
eliminated, and propose to amend Part 97 accordingly. As ARRL notes, digital emissions were "in their
early stages and experimentation with them was limited" at that time,22 and "the state of the art in HF

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comment on the reasons supporting such a view. For example, one commenter states that "part of the
purpose of the amateur radio service is the advancement of radio and communications technology.
Denying the ability to research and implement higher symbol rates directly contradicts the very purpose
for amateur radio."27 Another commenter notes that "[t]he rest of the amateur radio operators in the world
do not have this restrictive symbol rate requirement that is in the current Part 97"28 and eliminating this
restriction will allow the Emergency Communications Community to "benefit by being better able to

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19
See Deregulation of Part 97 of the Rules Regarding Emissions Authorized in the Amateur Service, Third Report
and Order, Docket No. 20777, 45 Fed. Reg. 8990, 8991 ¶ 4 (1980) (ASCII Report and Order).

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24
See Allocation of the 219-220 MHz Band for Use by the Amateur Radio Service, Notice of Proposed Rule
Making, ET Docket No. 93-40, 8 FCC Rcd 2352, 2356 ¶ 30 (1993).

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in modulation techniques, and no longer serves a useful purpose. Our rules do not impose a symbol rate
limit on data emissions in any other amateur bands or in any other radio service. In addition, removing
the baud rate restriction could encourage individuals to more fully utilize the amateur service in
experimentation and could promote innovation, more efficient use of the radio spectrum currently
allocated to the amateur service, and the ability of the amateur service to support public safety efforts in
the event of an emergency. Facilitating the ability of the amateur service to transmit and experiment with
technologies currently used in consumer and commercial products furthers this goal.32 Consequently, we
propose to remove the baud rate limits in Section 97.307(f). We seek comment on this proposal. In
particular, we seek comment on whether eliminating the baud rate limits would improve amateur
communications, or would instead increase congestion. To the extent the elimination of the baud rate

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"reasonably debatable,"33 but proposes the limitation because it "may be necessary in order to ensure
equitable and efficient sharing among Amateur licensees of very limited and heavily used Amateur Radio
spectrum (especially at HF)."34 It cites the 60 meter band as precedent for imposing a 2.8 kilohertz

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(Continued from previous page)
communications in the Amateur radio HF spectrum would likely result in a significant increase in the number of
citizens and emergency management agencies which would still have access to email during a significant disruption

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32
See Amendment of the Amateur Service Rules to Provide for Greater Use of Spread Spectrum Communication
Technologies, Report and Order, WT Docket No. 97-12, 15 FCC Rcd 1481, 1481 ¶ 1 (1999); ASCII Report and

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balance the laudable goal of minimal regulation in this instance against the need for equitable access to limited
spectrum by hundreds of thousands of Amateur licensees....").
35

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specific bandwidth limitation on use of the specified digital codes in any frequency band other than the 60
meter band. The 60 meter band cited by ARRL is a special case, however, given that amateur operators
are permitted to operate only on specific frequencies rather than across the entire band,38 and are

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Federal voice operations in the band.40 Section 97.307(a) of the Commission's Rules already provides
that no amateur station transmission shall occupy more bandwidth than necessary for the information rate
and emission type being transmitted, in accordance with good amateur practice,41 and Section 97.307(c)
already prohibits interference from spurious emissions (i.e., emissions outside the necessary

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and will accomplish ARRL's stated reason for proposing a bandwidth limitation of facilitating sharing
among amateur licensees.45
11. We also observe that while a 2.8 kilohertz bandwidth limitation would accommodate HF
data emissions that are in common use today, such a limitation could, at the same time, undermine the
goal--fundamental to the amateur service--of encouraging advances in technology if amateur radio


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These limitation were requested by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. See
Amendment of Parts 2 and 97 of the Commission's Rules to Facilitate Use by the Amateur Radio Service of the
Allocation at 5 MHz, Report and Order, ET Docket No. 10-98, 26 FCC Rcd 16551, 16552 ¶ 5, 16559 ¶ 27 (2011) (5

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emissions in the MF/HF bands is not necessary, we nonetheless request comment on whether we should
establish emission bandwidth standards for amateur service MF/HF RTTY and data emissions.
Commenters favoring such action should address what the maximum bandwidth should be, the basis for

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IV. CONCLUSION
13. In summary, we believe that the public interest may be served by revising the amateur
service rules to eliminate the current baud rate limitations for data emissions consistent with ARRL's
Petition to allow amateur service licensees to use modern digital emissions, thereby furthering the
purposes of the amateur service and enhancing the usefulness of the service. We do not, however,
propose a bandwidth limitation for data emissions in the MF and HF bands to replace the baud rate
limitations, because the rules' current approach for limiting bandwidth use by amateur stations using one
of the specified digital codes to encode the signal being transmitted appears sufficient to ensure that
general access to the band by licensees in the amateur service does not become unduly impaired.


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46
See 47 C.F.R. § 97.1(b) (listing "[c]ontinuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the
advancement of the radio art" as one of the fundamental purposes of the amateur service).
47
Mark Miller, Order, 23 FCC Rcd 7449, 7454 ¶ 11 (WTB MD 2008) (denying rulemaking petition proposing to
replace symbol rate limits on HF data emissions with bandwidth limitations); Rulemaking under Part 97 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as Amended to Establish Technical Standards for Certain Amateur Radio Telephony
Transmissions, Order, 19 FCC Rcd 22815, 22818 ¶ 9 (WTB PSCID 2004) (denying rulemaking petition proposing
to impose 2.8 kilohertz bandwidth limitation on J3E emissions below 30 MHz, as inconsistent with the
Commission's objective of encouraging the experimental aspects of amateur radio service); see also Amendment of
Part 97 of the Commission's Rules Governing the Amateur Radio Services, Report and Order, WT Docket No. 04-
140, 21 FCC Rcd 11643, 11653 ¶ 19 (2006) (clarifying that the Commission did not intend to impose a new

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15. In the NPRM, we propose to amend the amateur service rules to change a technical rule
applicable to data emissions that an amateur radio operator may use in his or her communications with other
amateur radio operators. Because "small entities," as defined in the RFA, do not include a "person" as the
term is used in this proceeding or an individual, the proposed rules do not apply to "small entities." Rather,

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Part 97 - Amateur Radio Service

1. The authority citation for part 97 continues to read as follows:


)

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