ODV, I want to provide an update on the latest at the FCC. The FCC staff is working from home and work appears to be proceeding pretty well, all considered. At the January Board meeting we discussed abrupt changes in the FCC staff that oversees amateur radio matters. At the end of that Friday’s session I was able to announce that the FCC had just designated Tom Derenge as the new lead person for amateur radio matters within the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and that I would be seeking to brief him on pending matters and the League’s views. Last week I conducted the briefing by webinar. I asked Rick to join and explain what ARRL is and how it operates. We asked Dan Henderson also to join because he is the League’s Regulatory Affairs manager and was in direct touch with Tom’s predecessor when needed. I wanted to introduce Dan to Tom so that Tom would know who he is and what he does in relation to FCC matters. Most of the session was generic – what ham radio is, what we do, why it is in the public interest type of thing. At the staff’s request, we addressed what is being done about ham examinations during this shut-down time. (Tom and other FCC officials have been fielding questions from the public, including people asking the Chairman on Twitter.) We ended by discussing the pending proceedings for which the record is complete and we think should be acted upon. The last part – pending proceedings ready for the next step – requires the filing of a letter for the public file describing the conversation and including any materials used. I made such a filing after our teleconference. There is nothing new in them – they list the pending proceedings and include a synopsis of the ARRL positions based on our earlier filings. Today one group of parties that were part of last spring’s negotiations on the symbol rate proceeding – Janis Carson, Ron Kolarik, Lee McVey and Dan White (McVey et al) – filed a response. I also am aware that in an email Lee McVey has accused Rick of going outside Board decisions. I want to note, however, that this directly contradicts what McVey and his colleagues themselves told the FCC. On p.1, they state: “The ARRL ex parte adds nothing to the ongoing discussions in the above FCC rule makings …” That part is correct, we were briefing new staff on our long-existing positions. It appears that the part about “going around the Board” relates to the Band Planning Committee’s work. This is of concern because McVey et al submitted to the FCC a copy of the recent ARRL Band Plan Committee’s recommendations to the Board and misrepresented them. The group states that “The ARRL’s own Board of Directors and its ARRL HF Band Planning Committee even recommends such an approach in a chart [fn omitted] which should be taken up for consideration by the FCC in a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) immediately. Since the ARRL Board of Directors seems powerless to compel their agents to present this chart to the FCC I (as an ARRL member for over 40 years) am doing so on their behalf in the attached appendix.” * It is not clear who the “I” is above. The letter signed by four people: Janis Carson, AB2RA, Ron Kolarik K0IDT, Lee McVey W6EM and Dan White, W5DNT. In fact, the chart that they submitted has not been considered or adopted by the full ARRL Board, as you all know. The band plan requires full Board approval and further guidance. Of course the Board may adopt it as is, decline to adopt it, or amend it. Context is important. You will remember that when this work was initiated last summer, the FCC had indicated that the staff’s tentative decision was to adopt a Report and Order resolving the symbol rate issue and to address band segmentation and possibly other issues in a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Band Planning effort was in response to that advice. However, significant changes occurred at the FCC in the fall that resulted in amateur matters being delayed. The Report and Order on the symbol rate proceeding was never sent forward in the Commission, nor was a Further Notice. Then a new team taking over amateur matters. There is no word whether or not they intend to take up other issues. They are just beginning to review these issues and consider how to proceed. I will be discussing with the EC whether to make a brief filing at the FCC clarifying that the Band Planning Committee’s recommendations filed at the FCC by these parties have not been considered or adopted by the full Board of Directors and therefore do not represent the ARRL’s position. The report is in the public domain only for the purpose of the League consulting directly with its members on various options. I note that repeatedly these parties have criticized the ARRL at the FCC for not consulting with its members. It is ironic that these same parties now file an ARRL working document and misrepresent it as constituting adopted ARRL policy. I would be glad to discuss with any of you if you have concerns, individually or on ODV. Regards and stay safe, Dave David R. Siddall Managing Partner DS Law, PLLC 1629 K St. NW, Ste 300 Washington, DC 20006 direct: +1 202 559 4690 Unauthorized Disclosure Prohibited. 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