H.R.607 THREATENS 70 CM
The Quarter Century Wireless Association has been closely monitoring the progress of a U.S. House of Representatives Bill introduced earlier in the year known as the "Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011".
As a QCWA Member, if you have not been following this House Bill, a little background history is in order: Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced a Bill on February 10, 2011. This Bill is currently being worked on by the House Energy and Commerce Committee which surprisingly handles telecommunications legislation. H.R.607 specifically addresses certain spectrum management issues to include the creation/maintenance of a new proposed nationwide Public Safety broadband network.
As part of that proposed network, the Bill proposes to utilize/reallocate the D-Block of the 700 MHz frequency range for Public Safety use on a non-auction basis. The D-Block consists of two, 5-megahertz wide 'chunks' of spectrum, 758-763 and 788-793 MHz which became available when the FCC ceased analog TV broadcast. But, in order to recoup the loss of revenue that would have occurred had there been an auction of the D-Block, the Bill proposes to instead auction/reallocate the paired 420-440 MHz and 450-470 MHz for commercial usage within 10 years of the passage of the Bill. Does 420-440 MHz sound familiar? It should as it is the 70 cm ham band!.Obviously, the proposed loss of the 420-440 MHz band would be catastrophic to most ham radio operators!
The possible future auction of the Amateur 70 cm spectrum represents a major spectrum loss to all hams and our QCWA Members. Even though the 420-440 MHz band is not currently an official Public Safety frequency spectrum, it is used on a regular basis by hams for public service functions to include coordination of assistance for emergencies such as tornados, floods, hurricanes, etc. It is also used extensively for the development of new technologies/experimentation, weather spotting, satellite communications, to name a few.
To be expected, the QCWA certainly realizes and supports the need for a dedicated Public Safety spectrum. However, as a Member of the QCWA, please join with us in the opposition to H.R.607 because as it is currently written, it represents a direct threat to our already limited spectrum, specifically, the 420-440 MHz 70 cm ham band.
Thus, at this point, the QCWA would like to request your assistance in stopping H.R.607 as currently written. How can you help? By utilizing an already-written letter, available later in this document, to send to your House Representative (not your Senator).
(Please resist any temptation to E-mail your Representative with an attached letter as it does not have the same necessary impact as a hard copy letter.
It doesn't get much easier than this step by step procedure:
- First you must determine who your Representative is for your state/district of residence.
- In order to determine your representative, first go to www.house.gov/
- In the upper right hand corner of the first page, type in your zip code and that will advise you who your House Representative is. (Write it down so you do not forget)
- Go to www.contactingthecongress.org and then point click on your state map.
- You will then see a long list of your Senators and Representatives. Carefully go through the list until you see the name of the Representative that you previously wrote down in step 3 and click on it. That will display the name and the full address of the Representative to which you need to send you letter. (Use the Washington address.)
Here is that sample letter I promised that you may cut/paste. Don't forget to place your name at the bottom and sign/date it.:
NOTE: You can either mail the signed/dated letter directly to your House Representative (not your Senator) or you may mail your letter to:
Mr. Val L. Erwin, W5PUT
Attn: External Relations
Member, QCWA Board of Directors
1419 Latigo Lane
Flower Mound, TX 75022-6588
Val, the QCWA External Relations Chair, will then bundle-mail them to the appropriate House member.
Thanks in advance for acting as a responsible QCWA Member!
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Sample H.R.607 Letter Follows:
(Insert Date)
The Honorable (Insert Name)
United States House of Representatives
(Insert Name) House Office Building
Washington, DC
Dear Representative (Insert Name)
As a voter in your district and as one of the nearly 700,000 federally licensed Amateur Radio operators across the nation, I ask that you oppose H.R. 607, the "Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011" in its current form. H.R. 607 was introduced by Congressman Peter King (R-NY) and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
H.R. 607 proposes to allocate the "D-Block" of frequencies (frequencies previously occupied by analog television) to be developed into an interoperable Public Safety wireless network. Earlier, it had been expected that the D-Block would be auctioned by the FCC for commercial use, but there is now substantial support for the allocation of the D-Block to Public Safety. H.R. 607 also provides for the reallocation of other spectrum for auction to commercial users, in order to offset the loss of revenue anticipated by the auction of the D-Block.
While I strongly support the work of the Public Safety officials who put their lives on the line for our safety, my opposition to the bill stems from the inclusion of the 420-440 MHz spectrum (the UHF 70-cm band) as part of a frequency swap and auction. Very little of this spectrum is allocated to Public Safety, and only in very limited areas. Rather, it is allocated to government radiolocation services on a primary basis, with Amateur Radio allocated on a secondary basis. The Federal government uses this band for critical defense purposes, including Pave Paws radars for detecting surface-launched missiles aimed at the United States, and for airborne radars used for drug interdiction. The Amateur Service carefully coordinates its uses of this band to insure compatibility. The two services have a very good record of sharing this spectrum successfully, putting it to good use for both military and civilian purposes in the national interest. Amateur radio emergency communications rely heavily on our limited frequency allocations in the VHF and UHF radio bands. The loss of access to the 420-440 MHz spectrum would make it very difficult for us to maintain this capability and would mean we could no longer use numerous systems that have been constructed on our own time and at personal expense to provide this important communications support.
Amateur Radio operators across the country repeatedly demonstrate our commitment to public service and emergency communications. Through our work with FEMA and other Homeland Security activities, state and local Emergency Management offices, and numerous charitable relief agencies, volunteer Amateur Radio operators assist the first responders, doing so at no cost to the agencies we support. The role of the Amateur Radio Service as a partner to Public Safety in providing supporting public service and emergency communications necessitates our retention of full access to the entire 70-cm band.
We understand and support that Public Safety officials must have the spectrum they need to do their jobs. However, it is not necessary to do so in the ill-conceived manner proposed in this bill. Other pending legislation provides for this important goal to be realized without the proposed reallocation of non-Public Safety spectrum for commercial auction that is included in H.R. 607. I urge you to oppose H.R. 607 in its current form. Thank you for your consideration.
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Address
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