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Copyright © 1996 by Virtual Publishing Company
Our readers have automatic permission to reprint this editorial in club newsletters and web sites and other not for profit publications. You do not need to request permission. We only ask that you reprint the editorial completely and accurately and note that it comes from Ham Radio Online, the free ham radio information source on the Internet at http://www.accessone.com/~vbook/hronline.htm. We do accept Letters to the Editor (send mail to vbook@vbook.com) and may publish your comments here; but due to the large volume of mail that we recieve, we may not provide a personal reply. This opinion article is intended primarily for our U.S. readers but is also applicable in other countries.
There is a lot of talk on the ham bands, in the Internet newsgroups and online forums of the commercial services about threats to Amateur Radio bands and Amateur Radio, in general. These discussions, particularly on line, often degenerate into debates about code versus "no code" licensing, bypassing the original issue completely.
There are a variety of issues concerning threats to Amateur Radio; the ARRL's message concerning the threats to 144-148 and 420-450 MHz should be taken seriously by all Amateur radio operators. But in spite of the gloom and doom, Amateur Radio has a lot going for it and we should not lose site of our strengths but should instead nurture them to build a stronger Service.
Background
In many parts of the world, there has been a rapid increase in the number of users of the radio spectrum. This is particularly true with the advent of cellular telephony which provides - for a fee - wireless telephone access in metropolitan areas and along well traveled highways. Access to cellular telephony has created an awareness of wireless communications that certainly did not exist as little as 15 years ago. In the United States, cellular phone subscriptions now stand at about 35 million customers, or a cellular phone in about 1 out of every 4 households. Some estimates predict 70 million customers in just 4 to 5 years, especially as competition from new "PCS" entrants comes online this year and next, dramatically lowering costs of service to the customer. In Scandanavia, over 20% of the population is a cellular subscriber today. This phemomenal growth is expected to continue at an explosive rate through the first decade of the 21st century. In just a few years, over half of all households in the U.S. will have access to at least one cellular phone for portable communications.
New applications for wireless communications are coming online and each is making additional demands on spectrum. These applications include digital audio broadcasting, direct digital satellite television broadcasting, terrestrial digital television and high definition television systems, multipoint wireless "cable TV" systems, wireless data networks, mobile satellite communications, two-way messaging, family communications, wireless local phone service and on and on.
Further, as world population increases, new social problems develop. Solving these problems often involves applications of communications technology - for example, adding mobile data terminals to police cars or deploying additional radio channels in existing public safety systems.
In developing nations, which often lack a wired telephone infrastructure, telephone services are being deployed entirely as wireless systems. You'll see this happen in the U.S. over the next few years too - auction bidders did not spend billions of dollars just to build more mobile phones - they are after the wireless local loop market.
World-wide, the demands on the radio spectrum are increasing rapidly and will likely continue to do so for the next two decades. We now live in the age of wireless - more than ever before..
The Value of Spectrum
This sudden increase in spectrum demand has created what is perceived as a spectrum shortage. Economists know that when something is in scarce supply, relative to demand, the value of the commodity will be bid upwards. This is known as the Law of Supply and Demand. Politicians realized they could auction the spectrum to raise money for pet projects and to reduce the federal deficit. As bidders drove prices higher than forecast, the dollar value of spectrum became apparent to many. [We believe that the dollar value of spectrum has been mistakenly seen as higher than its true value, especially by politicians - we will write about this in a future Ham Radio Online and let you in on a few secrets about how the auctions may not raise nearly as much money as claimed..]
Indeed, there are a number of serious proposals that all radio spectrum should be put up for auction to the highest bidder. Senator Larry Pressler (S.D.) is floating a proposal along these lines right now; last year, the Progress and Freedom Institute released a report recommending auctioning all spectrum. Times have changed and Amateur Radio needs to roll with the punches. Sticking our heads in the ground and pretending that everything is as it always has been is not a good strategy. Not only are there respectable requests to use Amateur Radio allocations for new purposes, the easy availability of other forms of communication (including wired forms like the Internet) could act to decrease the interest and number of Amateur Radio licensees. These are serious and real issues that deserve thoughtful discussion. Don't stick you head in the ground and pretend otherwise!
Improving the Amateur Radio Service In the Midst of the Gloom
The Amateur Radio Service is actually in pretty good shape today, in spite of the non-stop gloom and doom online discussions. We do have a Congressional resolution that, without any teeth in it, does state that Congress supports the Amateur Radio Service. Our public service communications is well recognized and appreciated in many parts of the country. Yet we need to be realists and note the impact of potential spectrum demands, auctions and politics may effect the Amateur Radio Service. And we should also note that like the environmental slogan, "Think Globally, Act Locally" - it's up to each of us to take small steps to make Amateur Radio even better.
Growth
Let us first remember that the Amateur Radio Service does not exist as a hobby but as a government licensed service. We compete for spectrum with other services. Our growth rate, in percent is, according to the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Adminstration, about 7% a year in recent years, about the same as the growth of Amateur Radio outside the U.S. A 7% growth rate sounds great, relative to the anemic 2% growth rate of a decade ago. But relative to the 100% and 50% growth rate of new services that now have tens of millions of users, our growth rate is weak. Believe it or not, we need to grow our user population and our wireless applications to improve our political and economic impact. Whether we like or not, this is how the game is now played. Some will argue that our bands are too crowded or what have you - and they certainly are in some areas of the country. But generally, our spectrum allocations can accomodate more users, especially when you notice that much activity is at VHF and UHF where these frequencies naturally form cellular reuse on a regional level.
Be Visible!
We must also insure that we are not an invisible radio service. A few years ago, I was a bicyclist in a big organized bike ride that had Amateur Radio communications support. I arrived at one of the rest stops that I knew was staffed with Amateur communications, only to find the on-site hams literally hiding inside their vehicle and parked way out of view. Hey folks, Amateur Radio is nothing to be embarrased about! Be proud of your Amateur status - be visible, carry your HT in public, use Amateur radio for family communications in public settings. When your family goes out for a hike, pack along some ham radio gear and double your fun. If appropriate, monitor local communications on your HT, from your office. Participate in community events with your ARES or RACES team. Make Amateur Radio visible to your community!
The Changing Demographics of Today's Ham
In the past, perhaps in the day and age of single wage earner households, families had a bit more leisure time than they do today. The image of a guy tuning through the HF bands for hours at a time is quaint but not a realistic vision for the younger members of our society today. With two wage earners in a family, kids and a complicated life, we hear numerous couples using Amateur Radio to coordinate the pickup of kids at school, Little League baseball games, soccer matches, music lessons - or to just chat with other travelers and friends during the daily commute. The vision of Amateur Radio has changed from "sit in front of the big HF radio for hours" to a tool and a pastime that is integrated into the other activities of our lives.
You can and should integrate Amateur Radio into other activities in which you participate. We know hang glider and parasail pilots who became licensed so that they could improve their flying safety by using Amateur Radio. Many boaters and sailors are ham radio operators - and many more could become licensed in the Amateur Radio Service. Cyclists, hikers, kayakers, canoeists and just about any outdoor activity can benefit from the convenience and enhanced safety made possible by Amateur Radio. Think about it! And put your Amateur Radio skills to use every day! Be visible!
We Need a "Young Eagles Program"
The Experimental Aircraft Association is an organization with many similarities to the ARRL. The EAA is a national and international organization representing sport aviation - literally the aviation equivalent of Amateur Radio - people who fly for fun and recreation. Some EAAers build their own aircraft while others improve their skills in piloting. Pilots, like ham radio operators, exist within a federally regulated airspace. Other users of the airspace place demands on that airspace and create situations similar to the threats we see to Amateur Radio frequency allocations. Local residents and governments often act to close small airports or reduce operating hours - similar to antenna restrictions faced by hams. The EAA recognized that with declining interest in personal aviation, a program was needed to introduce aviation to more people. The result was the invention of "The Young Eagles Program" with a goal of taking 1 million youth for a plane ride by the year 2000. The concept is simple - volunteer pilots across the nation are taking kids for plane rides - from school classes to cub and girl scout troops to just plain friends and relatives. We have an opportunity to make Amateur Radio the hobby and service of the 21st century.
Amateur Radio needs a similar program with a goal of introducing more than a million new people to Amateur Radio by the year 2000. We are not proposing what form such an experience should take but some of the educational programs that have used Amateur Radio to study geography, science and the space program are great starting points. But how do we craft an engaging, hands on, experienced-oriented program to reach out and touch youth with the magic of radio?
Evolve Aspects of Our Service
We hate to say it, but most of today's packet radio activity has become largely irrelevant. Ten years ago, the ability to access a packet radio BBS - for free! - over a 1200 BPS radio link was neat. Today, we access a vastly larger network, called the Internet, at 28,800 BPS for unlimited use at $19.95 per month. Yet as Amateurs, we continue to focus on packet radio as primarily yet another BBS system. Instead, consider using TCP/IP packet radio for wireless Internet access. Wireless Internet access emphasizes our strengths - the ability to operate while portable and mobile and to establish auxiliary public safety communications systems when portable communications is required. Focus on our unique ability to provide wireless and portable spontaneous communications. Don't try to duplicate a fiber link to the Internet! Wireless is what we are about - and what is increasingly the prime differentiation between us and an experience on the Internet. Focus on ham radio as an activity for portable and mobile operation, experiments and personal growth. Focus on the spontaneous communicationis capabilities that are unique to Amateur Radio.
License systems must be focused on meeting the requirements of today's Amateur Radio Service. We do not recommend a lowering of standards but we do recommend careful thought about exactly what standards are proper for the Amateur Radio Service of the 21st century. The best way to approach this problem is, as ARRL President Rod Stafford suggested, if we were to design an Amateur Radio Service from scratch, today, what would we do? What would be the purpose and goals of the new Amateur Radio Service? What kinds of frequencies and emission types would be required in the 21st century? What types of licensing requirements should be in effect for this hypothetical new service? Should we even call ourselves "Amateurs" or is this a self-deregatory term in the eyes of decision makers? Is our entire structure - activities, emissions, usage, regulatory - appropriate for the 21st century?
Lastly, as we live in a world that increasingly wants to justify all aspects in terms of economics, we need step back and remind key influencers that recreational activities are themselves a bonafide use of the radio spectrum. We have recreational drivers, recreational pilots, recreational boaters, recreational hikers, and more - all of whom use public resources and are typically regulated by one or more government agency. It's okay to have fun in our lives and its okay to place non-monetary value on our actions.
Think: How can you help create a stronger Amateur Radio Service that prospers into the 21st Century?
signed,
Ed Mitchell, KF7VY
Ham Radio Online
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