Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service

RACES

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FCC Dismisses RACES Petitions

In an Order released November 29, 1999 (DA No. 99-2654, action by Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau), the Federal Communications Commission has dismissed RM-9115, an ARRL petition filed March 12, 1997, seeking to permit RACES participants and others to intercommunicate during emergencies, drills, and tests and to expand the time allowed for RACES drills. In that same Order, The FCC also dismissed a petition filed March 19, 1997, by James Cardillo-Lee, KE6VGV, asking for a rule change to permit hams who also are emergency personnel
engaged in disaster relief to use the Amateur Service bands while on paid-duty status.
In denying the ARRL's petition for changes in the RACES rules,the FCC said the League failed to demonstrate a separate rulemaking was warranted. The FCC noted that it's currently considering "the necessity of separate licenses for RACES stations" in another proceeding.
Courtesy The ARRL Letter, Volume 18, Number 47 {December 3, 1999), The American Radio Relay League, and the FCC Daily Digest, Volume 18, Number 228 (November 30, 1999).]

Here is the actual FCC Discussion on these petitions:

RM-9114

Background. On March 10, 1997, Mr. James Cardillo-Lee filed a petition for rule
making, RM-9114, requesting that Section 97.113 of the Commission's Rules be
amended to permit amateur radio operators who also are emergency personnel
engaged in disaster relief to use the amateur service bands when such operators are
in a paid duty status. Mr. Cardillo-Lee states that the amateur service rules prohibit
an amateur station from transmitting communications where there is a pecuniary
interest including transmissions made on behalf of an employer. He also states that
the rules contains an exception for school teachers, who are allowed to conduct
educational activities on the amateur bands in connection with their employment.

In support of this request, Mr. Cardillo-Lee states that as part of disaster
preparedness, law enforcement and other safety personnel are being encouraged to
become amateur radio operators and that, from time to time, the need to use amateur
service bands in the course of a disaster operation may arise. He states that such use
of the amateur bands by paid emergency personnel who are in a duty status at the
time could be viewed as making prohibited transmissions on behalf of an employer if
there is no immediate threat to life or property. Mr. Cardillo-Lee requests that the
Rules be amended to clarify that amateur radio operators who are emergency
personal engaged in disaster relief are not prohibited from using the amateur service
bands while in a paid duty status. The Commission sought comment on this petition
on June 19, 1997. We received no comments on this petition.

Decision. The international Radio Regulations define the amateur service as a
radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and
technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons
interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary
interest. In 1993, the Commission amended the amateur service prohibited
transmission rule, Section 97.113, to permit greater flexibility for amateur stations
while transmitting communications. Specifically, it amended the rule to allow amateur
operators more flexibility to provide communications for public service projects as well
as to enhance the value of the amateur service in satisfying personal communications
needs and expand the benefits derived from the amateur service by the general
public. It noted that the vast majority of comments supported its proposal to relax the
prohibition against using the amateur service as an alternative to other radio services
such as the maritime services, land mobile radio services or the cellular telephone
service. The Commission stated that this action would allow licensees to use amateur
service frequencies, for example, to facilitate events such as races and parades, to
support educational activities, to provide personal communications such as making
appointments and ordering food, to collect data for the National Weather Service, and
to provide assistance voluntarily even where there are other authorized radio services
available.

In that proceeding, the Commission also explicitly declined to devote staff resources
to development and maintenance of any list of permitted or prohibited
communications under Section 97.113 because such a list would necessitate that it
intrude upon the day-to-day functioning of the amateur service to a far greater degree
than it desired. Further, it stated that, in view of amateur radio operators' desire to
engage in widely diverse types of communications, "thousands of examples" would
have to be included on such a list. Instead of providing a list of anecdotal examples of
permitted and prohibited communications, the Commission adopted five general
standards that an amateur radio station control operator should use when deciding
whether his or her station should transmit a certain message. It also decided to rely
on the amateur service's traditions of self-regulation and cooperation between
licensees, the cornerstones of the amateur service, to determine whether specific
communications should be transmitted on amateur service frequencies.

With regard to the specific request that we amend Section 97.113 of the Rules to
clarify that amateur radio operators who are emergency personnel engaged in disaster
relief are permitted to use the amateur service bands while in a paid duty status, we
believe that such clarification is not necessary because these two-way
communications are permitted within the existing rules. In this regard, we note that
amateur radio operators who also are emergency personnel engaged in disaster relief
do not appear to be receiving compensation for transmitting communications. Rather,
we believe that these individuals are receiving compensation for services related to
their disaster relief duties and in their capacities as emergency personnel, and the
fact they also are amateur radio operators is incidental to these functions. Further,
we note that under the Rules, if the control operator of an amateur service station,
who also is an emergency services provider engaged in disaster relief, questions
whether a particular message in support of disaster relief should be transmitted on
amateur service frequencies, he or she is under no obligation to transmit the
message. If the control operator decides that a particular message is not appropriate
for transmission on amateur service frequencies, we note that the message can be
transmitted on frequencies allocated to other radio services, because disaster relief
organizations are eligible for and have been assigned numerous radio channels in
other radio services to meet their communication needs.

We also note that the prohibition against transmitting communications, on a regular
basis, which could reasonably be furnished through other radio services, does not
appear applicable to disaster relief-related communication because disasters, by
definition, are atypical occurrences. We also believe that a rulemaking proceeding
based on this petition is not necessary and that such a proceeding would be
inconsistent with the Commission's explicit statement that it will not devote staff
resources to development and maintenance of any list of permitted or prohibited
communications. After review of this petition, we conclude that the amendment it
requests is unnecessary and, therefore, does not warrant action by the Commission.
For this reason, we will dismiss Mr. Cardillo-Lee's rulemaking petition.

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