10/27/2023

 ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio¿[1] welcomes news of a
scheduled vote by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider
removing symbol rate restrictions[2] that restrict digital modes, foster
inefficient spectrum use, and dampen incentives for innovation.

In the draft Commission decision, the FCC would replace the current HF
restrictions with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit. The Commission also announced that
it will consider a Further Notice in which it will propose eliminating similar
restrictions where they apply in other bands and consider relying on signal
bandwidth limits. If both actions are adopted by the Commission, there will be
a period for public comment on the Further Notice issues.

In announcing the proposed Commission actions, FCC Chairwoman Jessica
Rosenworcel said that "We're bolstering amateur radio. We will vote on a
proposal to incentivize innovation and experimentation in the amateur radio
bands by removing outdated restrictions and providing licensees with the
flexibility to use modern digital emissions."

ARRL requested and strongly supports replacing the symbol rate limits on the HF
bands with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit. ARRL also supports eliminating the symbol
rate limits in favor of the already-existing bandwidth limits where they apply
on the VHF and UHF bands and eliminating the similar limits 2200 and 630-meter
bands.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, said the changes
will result in a tremendous time savings during disasters, when every second
counts. "We will be very pleased to have the FCC remove the restrictions on
symbol rate for the amateur bands. This will eliminate the need for temporary
waivers during an event and provide the ability to train and exercise using the
higher symbol rate, allowing increased data capability to our served agencies
and partners."

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) introduced The Amateur Radio Communications
Improvement Act (H.R. 3241) on May 11, 2023[3], to require that the FCC
eliminate the obsolete HF digital symbol rate limit with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth
limit.

The Congresswoman subsequently addressed the issue with Chairwoman Rosenworcel
in a Congressional oversight hearing. The changes are supported by many state
emergency management officials.

ARRL will continue to engage on this matter.

[1] https://www.arrl.org
[2] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-397992A1.pdf
[3] https://www.arrl.org/news/congresswoman-lesko-reintroduces-bill-to-replace-symbol-rate-limit-with-bandwidth-limit

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