3 ms·

This appears to be pushed through by France at the behest of Thales [1], a large and diverse manufacturer of civilian and military tech that, among other things

This appears to be pushed through by France at the behest of Thales [1], a large and diverse manufacturer of civilian and military tech that, among other things, builds UAVs and aeronautical communication equipment. This portion of the band is allocated globally to amateur radio, and is not assigned to any commercial or (formal) public safety use. This likely makes it a valuable and easy target for reallocation for an entity wishing to operate on it globally. [1] https://www.f4fxl.org/update-on-the-threats-on-2m-amateur-band/ https://www.f4fxl.org/update-on-the-threats-on-2m-amateur-ba...

themodelplumber 7y ago
I wonder why Thales can't target some other band? Are they hoping to jump on the wide variety of radio gear already made available for this band at low prices?
- temp-dude-87844 7y ago
  VHF may be desirable because it penetrates objects and buildings well, has dozens of km of range, and typically propagates line-of-sight instead of groundwave or skywave. But the VHF band is nearly full [1] of existing allocations for public and commercial interest, like FM radio (87.5 - 108 MHz), air navigation (108 - 137 MHz), Marine VHF (156 - 174 MHz), with broadcast television channels slotting on either side on a variety of frequencies. Here's a US allocation chart too [2]. The 144 - 146 MHz interval in question is reserved for amateur radio throughout the world, being one of the very few remaining slots in this band that has the same exact purpose around the globe. This universality makes it valuable, both for amateur radio, but presumably coveted by commercial interests as well. If they can achieve a reallocation, the frequencies' existing users will be kicked out, giving them a nice and empty slot in the VHF band. Currently, operating on this band requires a license, and if it's reallocated, presumably not many licensed operators would infringe on the band in protest, as they could lose their license and be prosecuted for unauthorized transmissions. [1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VHF_Usage.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VHF_Usage.svg [2] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Frequency_Allocations_Chart_2016_-_The_Radio_Spectrum.pdf https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Freque...
  - askvictor 7y ago
    Why not go after FM radio frequencies? Dab+ can replace them more efficiently, like dvb replaced analog tv. Yes, it will annoy drivers of old cars for a while. But there's a lot more bandwidth there: 20MHz compared to 2MHz for the VHF in question. And FM is a global range AFAIK
    - Aloha 7y ago
      There is 0 DAB deployment in the US
- drmpeg 7y ago
  In Region 1, 138 to 144 MHz is allocated to Aeronautical Mobile. Adding 144 to 146 MHz would give an 8 MHz contiguous allocation. http://www.w6rz.net/fcctable.png http://www.w6rz.net/fcctable.png
strawberryfan 7y ago
A measly 2 megahertz the world has never missed.

themodelplumber 7y ago

I wonder why Thales can't target some other band? Are they hoping to jump on the wide variety of radio gear already made available for this band at low prices?

temp-dude-87844 7y ago
VHF may be desirable because it penetrates objects and buildings well, has dozens of km of range, and typically propagates line-of-sight instead of groundwave or skywave. But the VHF band is nearly full [1] of existing allocations for public and commercial interest, like FM radio (87.5 - 108 MHz), air navigation (108 - 137 MHz), Marine VHF (156 - 174 MHz), with broadcast television channels slotting on either side on a variety of frequencies. Here's a US allocation chart too [2]. The 144 - 146 MHz interval in question is reserved for amateur radio throughout the world, being one of the very few remaining slots in this band that has the same exact purpose around the globe. This universality makes it valuable, both for amateur radio, but presumably coveted by commercial interests as well. If they can achieve a reallocation, the frequencies' existing users will be kicked out, giving them a nice and empty slot in the VHF band. Currently, operating on this band requires a license, and if it's reallocated, presumably not many licensed operators would infringe on the band in protest, as they could lose their license and be prosecuted for unauthorized transmissions. [1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VHF_Usage.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VHF_Usage.svg [2] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Frequency_Allocations_Chart_2016_-_The_Radio_Spectrum.pdf https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Freque...
- askvictor 7y ago
  Why not go after FM radio frequencies? Dab+ can replace them more efficiently, like dvb replaced analog tv. Yes, it will annoy drivers of old cars for a while. But there's a lot more bandwidth there: 20MHz compared to 2MHz for the VHF in question. And FM is a global range AFAIK
  - Aloha 7y ago
    There is 0 DAB deployment in the US
drmpeg 7y ago
In Region 1, 138 to 144 MHz is allocated to Aeronautical Mobile. Adding 144 to 146 MHz would give an 8 MHz contiguous allocation. http://www.w6rz.net/fcctable.png http://www.w6rz.net/fcctable.png

strawberryfan 7y ago

A measly 2 megahertz the world has never missed.