Amateur Radio Communications Improvement Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3241 To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise section 97.307(f) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, to allow greater flexibility in the amateur radio service, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2023 Mrs. LESKO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise section 97.307(f) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula- tions, to allow greater flexibility in the amateur radio service, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Amateur Radio Com- 4 munications Improvement Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3241.IH H3241 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3241 IH (1) More than 778,000 amateur operators in 1 the United States are licensed by the Federal Com- 2 munications Commission in the amateur radio serv- 3 ices, and, by treaty, additional amateur operators li- 4 censed by other sovereign entities and jurisdictions 5 are authorized to operate within the United States. 6 (2) Amateur radio, in addition to providing life- 7 saving emergency communications at no cost to tax- 8 payers, provides a fertile ground for technical self- 9 training in modern telecommunications, electronics 10 technology, and emergency communications tech- 11 niques and protocols. 12 (3) In 2016, the Commission issued a Notice of 13 Proposed Rulemaking agreeing with the petition of 14 the American Radio Relay League to remove an out- 15 moded limit on digital data rate transmissions (con- 16 tained in part 97.307(f) of title 47, Code of Federal 17 Regulations) that constrains the use of the amateur 18 spectrum, particularly during emergencies and de- 19 clared disasters. 20 (4) Adopted in 1980, the present data rate 21 limit is a relic of an era long since relegated to obso- 22 lescence by the remarkable advancements in digital 23 data communications. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3241.IH H3241 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3241 IH (5) The present data rate limit has no place in 1 the modern digital communications world. Slower 2 speeds needlessly occupy busy amateur frequencies 3 for longer than necessary to transmit messages, 4 leading to unnecessary crowding without benefit to 5 anyone, and a delay in the transmission of mission 6 critical information during emergencies and declared 7 disasters. 8 (6) United States amateurs developed the first 9 amateur digital protocols, but now are consigned to 10 watching as amateurs in other countries take the 11 lead in squeezing more data within each bandwidth. 12 Amateurs in other countries universally are per- 13 mitted to use modern digital data speeds denied 14 amateurs in the United States. United States ama- 15 teurs can hear and decode higher speed signals every 16 day, but are not permitted to respond with the same 17 protocol. 18 (7) This situation is not because of any affirm- 19 ative decision, but simply because there has been an 20 8-year unexplained lack of action to update the 21 rules. 22 (8) It is embarrassing that in recent years, in- 23 cluding this year, radio amateurs have had to apply 24 to the Commission for temporary waivers, which are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3241.IH H3241 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3241 IH always granted, of the limit on data communications 1 to efficiently manage emergency, health, and welfare 2 messages from hurricane-prone Caribbean islands, 3 and even from within the United States. Amateurs 4 in the Caribbean, as in other areas of the world, 5 generally are using equipment and software devel- 6 oped by the amateur community and promoted by 7 the International Telecommunication Union specifi- 8 cally to ensure communications capabilities during 9 times of severe weather. 10 (9) Amateur radio has led many young people 11 into scientific and engineering professions, including 12 many related to the digital services and technologies 13 that are at the heart of the wireless communications 14 marketplace of today. The incentive to work on im- 15 proving data communications technologies is the 16 ability to experiment on the airwaves and to employ 17 improved capabilities both casually and in times of 18 need. 19 (10) This capability should be restored to radio 20 amateurs in the United States. 21 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF SYMBOL (BAUD) RATE LIMITS AND 22 ADOPTION OF 2.8 KHZ BANDWIDTH LIMIT. 23 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 24 ment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3241.IH H3241 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3241 IH sion shall revise section 97.307(f) of title 47, Code of Fed- 1 eral Regulations, to— 2 (1) repeal the symbol (baud) rate limits de- 3 scribed in paragraphs (3) and (4) of such section; 4 and 5 (2) replace such limits with a 2.8 kilohertz 6 bandwidth limit for radioteletype and data emissions 7 in the relevant frequency bands. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3241.IH H3241 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS