IARU Combatting Radio Spectrum Polution

IARU Administrative Council Steps Up Efforts to Combat Radio Spectrum Pollution

The Administrative Council (AC) of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) held its annual in-person meeting on 28 and 29 September 2019 in Lima, Peru, just before the triennial General Assembly of IARU Region 2. The AC is responsible for the policy and management of the IARU and consists of the three IARU international officers and two representatives from each of the three IARU regional organizations.

Attending the meeting were IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR; Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ; regional representatives Don Beattie, G3BJ, Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM, Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK, Wisnu Widjaja, YB0AZ, and Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP. Region 2 executive committee member George Gorsline, VE3YV, was present as an observer.

The AC conducted its final review of IARU preparations for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). WRC-19 will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for four weeks beginning on 28 October. The conference has a lengthy agenda, with items of direct interest to the amateur service including consideration of improvements to the amateur allocation in Region 1 at 50 MHz, protection of existing allocations to the amateur service, and development of the agenda for the next WRC in 2023. For the past four years IARU volunteers and its member-societies have been working to influence the proposals from national telecommunications administrations and regional telecommunications organizations (RTOs) that will be considered in Sharm El-Sheikh. IARU efforts have reduced the number of potentially damaging proposals that otherwise might have been offered for consideration, but several challenges remain. A small team of IARU observers will attend WRC-19 and will work with amateurs and friends on national delegations to reach the best possible outcomes.

Looking beyond WRC-19 the AC recognized the need for an increased commitment to influencing the work of standards organizations, particularly the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR) and its participating national committees. The rising level of radio spectrum pollution caused by unnecessary and unwanted emissions from electronic devices such as wireless power transfer for the recharging of electric vehicles is a serious threat to radiocommunication services including the amateur service. While the work of the IARU is done by volunteers, attending meetings is expensive and requires the financial support of individual radio amateurs through membership of their national IARU member-societies. Additional qualified volunteers are needed in order to meet present and future challenges.

An extensive discussion was held to identify the principal challenges facing amateur radio and how the IARU and its member-societies can better address them.

Upgrading of the current websites of the IARU and its three regional organizations is underway and should be completed in the coming months. The AC adopted a Brand Guide to ensure a common identity across the IARU organization.

The theme for next year’s World Amateur Radio Day, 18 April, was confirmed as “Celebrating Amateur Radio’s Contribution to Society.”

The next in-person meeting of the AC is scheduled to be held immediately prior to the IARU Region 1 Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, in October 2020. Virtual AC meetings are also planned beginning in December 2019 and January 2020.

Page Last Updated: Monday 28 October 2019 at 11:9 hours by Peter Clee

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