SB QST @ ARL $ARLB033
ARLB033 Band threat - part 2

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QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 33  ARLB033
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  May 30, 1996
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB033
ARLB033 Band threat - part 2

Amateurs Mobilize Against Threat to 2 meters, 70 cm - Part 2 of 4

It Seems to Us, July 1996 QST:

Write Now. Get out a pen and paper, or boot up your computer.
There's work to be done. Your help is needed to defend two meters
and 70 cm. Yes, that's right--the two most popular and crowded
amateur VHF/UHF bands. But don't panic, and don't ''go ballistic.''
Here's what's happening, and what you can do about it.

The United States is preparing for the 1997 ITU World
Radiocommunication Conference, WRC-97. In the past, the public has
been able to participate in the preparations for such conferences by
responding to FCC Notices of Inquiry. In March, the FCC announced a
streamlining of its International Bureau's preparatory processes for
WRCs. Under the new scheme, the NOIs have been eliminated in favor
of increased emphasis on WRC Advisory Committees.

For WRC-97, a series of Informal Working Groups (IWGs) of the
Advisory Committee has been created to address specific agenda
items. The output of each IWG will go directly to a joint
FCC-NTIA-Department of State Steering Committee of the Advisory
Committee. There, draft proposals as received from the IWGs will be
reviewed and forwarded to the FCC for possible release as
preliminary U.S. proposals for public comment.

In announcing the streamlined WRC preparatory process, the FCC tried
to reassure those who might be concerned about reduced opportunities
for public participation: ''Interested parties should note that input
to the Advisory Committee may be sent at any time directly to the
Chair of the WRC-97 Advisory Committee, the Chairs of the Advisory
Committee's Informal Working Groups, Cecily C. Holiday, the FCC's
federal officer of the WRC-97 Advisory Committee, or to Damon C.
Ladson, the alternate federal officer.''  Hold that thought while we
shift gears to the substance of the issue.

Continued in part three (ARLB034).
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/EX