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> And it will be hard to argue that spectrum reserved for amateur use and experimentation should not be sold off to commercial users if hardly any amateurs are

> And it will be hard to argue that spectrum reserved for amateur use and experimentation should not be sold off to commercial users if hardly any amateurs are taking advantage of it. > many are interested in the capacity for public service, such as providing communications in the wake of a disaster (...) having grown up with technology and having seen the impact of climate change, Michel says. They see how fragile cellphone infrastructure can be. They provided an argument for the preservation of the spectrum in their own text. Amateur Radio gives communities a means of long distance communication when all other infrastructure fails. That redundancy and resilience are precious and worthy of preserving.

generalizations 5y ago
> Amateur Radio gives communities a means of long distance communication when all other infrastructure fails. Starlink and a car battery can do the same thing, though. HAM radio has a future, but it needs to adapt.
- sliken 5y ago
  Starlink isn't available to everyone. Starlink has a maximum density of customers which is pretty low. Starlink is not long range, you need a set of dishes and internet uplink in the same geographic area that you are in. Starlink costs $100 a month, leaving a substantial community withotu service. Amateur radio has no monthly cost, no maximum density, and no maximum range.
- DoingIsLearning 5y ago
  Starlink needs a commercial contract with a company that may choose to terminate your service or be dictated to do so. Starlink contracts specify a cell region in which you're receiver can work. If you fall out with a benevolent or not so benevolent government or you are running away from disaster region or war zone all of these solutions fall apart pretty quickly. I will repeat my own quote, Amateur Radio gives communities a means of long distance communication when all other infrastructure fails.
  - generalizations 5y ago
    > If you fall out with a benevolent or not so benevolent government or you are running away from disaster region or war zone all of these solutions fall apart pretty quickly. That use case would be suicidal without encryption. I'll repeat my quote also - HAM radio has a future, but it needs to adapt.
    - sliken 5y ago
      Unencrypted communications are better than none. You can arrange for an escape without mentioning a street address, social security number, or full name. Becoming a ham includes the knowledge to keep yourself from being easily tracked. Ham (at least in the USA) does have the idea that anything goes if you are trying to save someone's life.
    - tcmart14 5y ago
      Not necessarily, there are a lot of variables. If someone is a fugitive of a government and is using ham radio while also being stationary, sure. I think most HAMs are aware they can track signals that are stationary quiet well. After all, the cats who get caught breaking the rules are usually doing it daily for months. Think of the occasional crazy old bat who decides to do a pirate radio station. But so long as the individual is on the move it becomes more difficult. That is also supposing a government from a federal down to local level are monitoring all ham frequencies 24/7. Now if we are talking like a rebellious faction within a country, well they are technically breaking all other rules of the nation anyways, so no-encryption HAM rules suddenly becomes the line in the sand they draw as to not cross?
      - generalizations 5y ago
        That's a pretty far-out use case, if you even specified one. The utility of a long range, decentralized, encrypted mesh net is pretty broad in comparison.
        sliken 5y ago
Spivak 5y ago
Well sure! But given that it’s so important why reserve it for amateurs? Why isn’t a spectrum dedicated for use by police, fire, emergency response, and local governments who would be required to have the equipment on site and at least one person on staff trained to use it? And then if you’re not within some reasonable distance to a HAM operator then you as a civilian can apply for a license so you have a way to reach emergency services. Like this seems like a self defeating argument that HAM is crucial for emergency situations because if I agreed with you the logical thing to do would be to take it away.
- sliken 5y ago
  > Why isn’t a spectrum dedicated for use by police, fire, emergency response, and local governments There is, hams use a small fraction of the available frequencies and the FCC manages all frequencies in the USA to help commercial and non-commercial users share the available frequencies. So taxis, commercial trucks, FRS radios, radar, fire, police, ambulance, marine radios, cell phones, CB radios, wifi, bluetooth, GPS, time sync services, etc all have allocations managed by the FCC. Similar organizations exist in most (all?) countries.
- detaro 5y ago
  > Why isn’t a spectrum dedicated for use by police, fire, emergency response, and local governments What do you think their radio systems use?

generalizations 5y ago

> Amateur Radio gives communities a means of long distance communication when all other infrastructure fails. Starlink and a car battery can do the same thing, though. HAM radio has a future, but it needs to adapt.

sliken 5y ago
Starlink isn't available to everyone. Starlink has a maximum density of customers which is pretty low. Starlink is not long range, you need a set of dishes and internet uplink in the same geographic area that you are in. Starlink costs $100 a month, leaving a substantial community withotu service. Amateur radio has no monthly cost, no maximum density, and no maximum range.
DoingIsLearning 5y ago
Starlink needs a commercial contract with a company that may choose to terminate your service or be dictated to do so. Starlink contracts specify a cell region in which you're receiver can work. If you fall out with a benevolent or not so benevolent government or you are running away from disaster region or war zone all of these solutions fall apart pretty quickly. I will repeat my own quote, Amateur Radio gives communities a means of long distance communication when all other infrastructure fails.
- generalizations 5y ago
  > If you fall out with a benevolent or not so benevolent government or you are running away from disaster region or war zone all of these solutions fall apart pretty quickly. That use case would be suicidal without encryption. I'll repeat my quote also - HAM radio has a future, but it needs to adapt.
  - sliken 5y ago
    Unencrypted communications are better than none. You can arrange for an escape without mentioning a street address, social security number, or full name. Becoming a ham includes the knowledge to keep yourself from being easily tracked. Ham (at least in the USA) does have the idea that anything goes if you are trying to save someone's life.
  - tcmart14 5y ago
    Not necessarily, there are a lot of variables. If someone is a fugitive of a government and is using ham radio while also being stationary, sure. I think most HAMs are aware they can track signals that are stationary quiet well. After all, the cats who get caught breaking the rules are usually doing it daily for months. Think of the occasional crazy old bat who decides to do a pirate radio station. But so long as the individual is on the move it becomes more difficult. That is also supposing a government from a federal down to local level are monitoring all ham frequencies 24/7. Now if we are talking like a rebellious faction within a country, well they are technically breaking all other rules of the nation anyways, so no-encryption HAM rules suddenly becomes the line in the sand they draw as to not cross?
    - generalizations 5y ago
      That's a pretty far-out use case, if you even specified one. The utility of a long range, decentralized, encrypted mesh net is pretty broad in comparison.
      - sliken 5y ago

Spivak 5y ago

Well sure! But given that it’s so important why reserve it for amateurs? Why isn’t a spectrum dedicated for use by police, fire, emergency response, and local governments who would be required to have the equipment on site and at least one person on staff trained to use it? And then if you’re not within some reasonable distance to a HAM operator then you as a civilian can apply for a license so you have a way to reach emergency services. Like this seems like a self defeating argument that HAM is crucial for emergency situations because if I agreed with you the logical thing to do would be to take it away.

sliken 5y ago
> Why isn’t a spectrum dedicated for use by police, fire, emergency response, and local governments There is, hams use a small fraction of the available frequencies and the FCC manages all frequencies in the USA to help commercial and non-commercial users share the available frequencies. So taxis, commercial trucks, FRS radios, radar, fire, police, ambulance, marine radios, cell phones, CB radios, wifi, bluetooth, GPS, time sync services, etc all have allocations managed by the FCC. Similar organizations exist in most (all?) countries.
detaro 5y ago
> Why isn’t a spectrum dedicated for use by police, fire, emergency response, and local governments What do you think their radio systems use?