Comments are due by January 18, 2020, in reponse to the Facilitating Shared Use in the 3.1-3.55 GHz Band (FCC 19-130) and Use of the 5.850-5.925 GHz Band (FCC 19-129) Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which will affect current Amateur Radio allocations in these bands.

All Amateur Radio Operators are encouraged to submit comments against these reallocations and in support of current Amateur operations in the bands to the FCC.

On January 3, 2019, K7UV started a discussion in the Amateur Radio sub-reddit about a report by K7RA—in the first ARRL Propagation Bulletin for 2020—about indications that Solar Cycle 25 has begun; good news for DXers and other Amateur Radio Operators who rely on the effects of sunspots for propagation.

Developments that spelled the end of ham radio (as pronounced by pessimists of the time, limited mostly to the US):

On December 17, 2019, the ARRL website reported in an article titled “FCC Formally Adopts Proposals to Remove Amateur 3-GHz Band, Invites Comments“:

At its December 12 meeting, the FCC formally adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in WT Docket 19-348 and invited comments on its plan to remove “existing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur allocations” in the 3.3 - 3.55 GHz band and relocate incumbent non-federal operations. The FCC said it’s seeking comment on appropriate “transition mechanisms” to make that happen. ARRL has indicated that it will file comments in opposition to the proposal.¹

This action by the FCC signals their intent to proceed with reallocation of frequency spectrum in compliance with the MOBILE NOW act which states “the Commission shall make available a total of at least 255 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum below the frequency of 6000 megahertz for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use”² and, in Sec. 5.3(a), specifically requires review of the 3.1–3.55 GHz band for reallocation.

At its December 12 open meeting, the FCC will consider adopting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to remove the amateur radio 9-centimeter allocation at 3.3–3.5 GHz. ARRL plans to comment in opposition to the proposed action.¹

This NPRM, which threatens our use of the 24 non-shared channels on 3.4 Ghz in our RF mesh network (AREDN)—along with other Amateur Radio use of this band—is the result of the MOBILE NOW Act, reintroduced to the 115th congress by U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on January 3, 2017, and ultimately signed into law by President Trump on March 23, 2018.