On Saturday, 6th, 17 Portuguese amateur radio clubs – including IARU and EURAO representatives – came together in the city of Santarém to devise a common course of action in response to the recent proposal to reallocate the amateur 2 meter band to the Aeronautical service that, if not opposed soon, will be on the table at the WRC2023.
The meeting took place at the headquarters of ARR, the local amateur radio club, who provided the space for the meeting and, for those who couldn’t be present, teleconference equipment.
At the end of the conference, the group agreed on a common strategy to follow and elected a representative body of five elements that will hand deliver a written statement, signed by all club representatives, next Monday, the 15th, to ANACOM, Portugal´s telecommunications regulatory body.
Earlier in the week, the regulator responded to several radio clubs and individual amateur radio operators that had sent letters urging the opposition to the French proposal to reallocate the 2 meter band to the aeronautical service know as PTA(19)090R1.
ANACOM´s amateur radio head officer wrote back, saying that it “made a note” of the objections and that was inviting “external entities” to attend a preparatory meeting of the team representing Portugal in WRC2023, that will take place next Monday, the 15th, at ANACOM´s headquarters, in downtown Lisbon.
On a public note distributed on Sunday afternoon, the attending clubs made their intentions public, noting that all “vehemently repudiate” the French proposal and urged the Portuguese government to oppose PTA(19)090R1 “on all instances, both at CEPT and ITU”.
Yesterday, the 9th, the representative body announced that three more clubs officially joined the petition, make 20 the number of amateur radio clubs that are signing the document.
CT1DBS/CU3HF 