SB QST @ ARL $ARLB013 ARLB013 Important Notice - New MF and LF Bands are Not Yet Available to Use! ZCZC AG13 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 13 ARLB013 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT May 5, 2017 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB013 ARLB013 Important Notice - New MF and LF Bands are Not Yet Available to Use! The new 630-meter and 2200-meter bands are not yet available for Amateur Radio use. The effective date of the recent FCC Report and 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 R&O can be found on the web in PDF format at, https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-17-33A1.pdf . The fact that the new rules contain a new information-collection requirement - notification of operation to the United Telecoms 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 Part 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. NNNN /EX