The ARRL® The National Association for Amateur Radio® has has reported that they have filed comments [PDF] with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging that the 902 – 928 MHz amateur radio band be protected. ARRL joins hundreds of licensed radio amateurs who utilize the band in opposing a proposal from NextNav Inc., a licensee in the 900-MHz Location and Monitoring Service (LMS), to completely reconfigure the 902 – 928 MHz band and replace the LMS with high-powered 5G cellular and related location services.
Read more about NextNav’s proposal on ARRL News (8/15/2024)
The ARRL has submitted comments, filed by their Washington, D.C. Counsel on behalf of ARRL members and radio amateurs, highlighting several issues with NextNav’s request.
- Crowded Band: ARRL states that contrary to NextNav’s claims, the 902 – 928 MHz band is extremely congested, with millions of devices and transmitters operating across various services, including the Amateur Service.
- The adoption of NextNav’s proposal could lead to significant interference, hindering proper operation, or necessitating displacement to other bands.
- Notably, there are no other bands readily available; some amateur operations currently in this band were relocated due to the closure of part of the 420 – 450 MHz band north of “Line A” several years ago, and others were displaced due to the initiation of new Federal Government defense radars.
- Risk to Public Service: ARRL argues that forcing amateur radio out of heavily utilized spectrum poses a risk to public service.
- When space is available in this band, amateurs utilize it for establishing wide-area voice and television signal repeaters.
- They also engage in experimenting with digital mesh networks and related control links, which serve as a testbed for digital design and experimentation, and provide backup emergency communications.
- Additionally, some operators run low-power beacons for propagation research, and weak signal work, which focuses on communicating over long distances with minimal power, remains popular and fosters equipment improvements.
- Emergency Communications: Mesh networks are increasingly vital in emergency communications. Recently, the ARRL Utah Section reported that numerous Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers are expanding the mesh network statewide.
- Scott Rosenbush, K7HSR, the ARRL Utah Section Public Information Coordinator, stated, “The needs of participating agencies have evolved to require more than analog voice and low-speed data modes.”
- He emphasized that high-speed mesh networks using AREDN® (Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network) software will enable amateur radio to play a more significant role in supporting these agencies during emergencies.
- Currently, the ARRL Utah Section has a five-county mesh network operational, and NextNav’s proposal threatens the functionality of networks like this.
- Interference Concerns: Under NextNav’s proposal, the much higher-powered transmitters would be widespread and operational 24/7, which would likely result in interference that could exclude many current amateur operations in the 902 – 928 MHz band.
The FCC docket remains open for reply comments from the public until September 20, 2024. As of September 6, over 800 comments have been submitted by amateurs and others utilizing this spectrum. ARRL will continue to advocate for the protection of the amateur radio spectrum.
Original Article https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-defends-902-928-amateur-radio-band
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