The new 630-meter and 2200-meter bands are not yet available for Amateur Radio use. The effective date of the recent FCC Report & Order (R&O) granting these allocations has not yet been determined, and until the start date has been set, it is not legal under an Amateur Radio license to transmit on either band.

The fact that the new rules contain a new information-collection requirement — notification of operation to the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) — complicates the matter of determining an effective date. According to the FCC R&O, the Office of Management and Budget (under the Paperwork Reduction Act) must first approve the information-collection requirements in §97.303(g)(2), which must be in place before radio amateurs can use the new bands.

Once that happens, the FCC will publish a notice in The Federal Register “announcing such approval and the relevant effective date.” ARRL will announce the UTC notification procedures and the effective date to use these new bands as soon as these are known.

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