Monday, February 6, 2017

ARRL Requests 60-Meter Expansion



The ARRL has petitioned the FCC to expand current amateur allocations on the 60-meter (5 MHz) band to include the 15-kHz segment from 5351.5 kHz to 5366.5 kHz while keeping the discrete channels and power levels currently authorized.

The additional frequencies were authorized worldwide by the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) for a secondary allocation to amateurs. U.S. amateurs have been permitted to operate on five discrete channels within the band since 2003, and according to the ARRL, there have been zero reports of interference by amateurs to the primary federal users of the band. 
 
Four of the five current channels are outside the band segment authorized at WRC-15, and the ARRL asked the FCC to retain those while adding the new segment. In addition, the League asked the Commission to retain its current maximum power level of 100 watts PEP effective radiated power for hams on 60 meters, rather than the 15-watt effective isotropic radiated power limit set by WRC-15.