Proposed amateur MF allocation receives a boost

Dale Hughes VK1DSH reports that the proposal to allocate a part of the medium frequency band to the amateur service at the World Radio Conference in 2012 received a boost this week with the release of the Asia-Pacific Common Proposals that were developed at the 5th Meeting of the APT Conference Preparatory Group for WRC-12 (APG2012-5) 29 August 2011 - 3 September 2011, Busan, Republic of Korea. During this meeting the various nations of the Asia-Pacific region discussed many of issues that will be addressed at WRC12 and attempted to come to a regional consensus position.

The proposal of interest to the amateur service is "to consider an allocation of about 15 kHz in parts of the band 415–526.5 kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis, taking into account the need to protect existing services” and this proposal was supported by a comfortable margin of Asia-Pacific administrations responding to the voting request.

The successful development of a regional position supporting an amateur MF allocation increases the chances that the proposal will be accepted at WRC-12.

An approved Asia-Pacific Common Proposal must:
a) be supported by at least one quarter (25%) of all the APT Members, and
b) the proposal is not opposed by more than 50% of the number of Members who support it.

The Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) covers 38 member countries and is one of a number of regional Intergovernmental Organizations which operate in conjunction with telecom service providers, manufacturers of communications equipment, and research and development organizations active in the field of communication, information and innovation technologies. The APT was founded in 1979 on the joint initiatives of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The amateur radio service is represented at the APT meetings by delegates from the International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 and by members of national amateur radio organisations who are part of delegations from each national administration.
Dale Hughes was a member of the Australian delegation to the Busan meeting and the earlier meeting in Hong Kong in December 2010, nominated and paid for by the WIA.

Dale will be representing the amateur service as a member of the Australian delegation to WRC-12, again nominated by the WIA.

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