A confrontation between amateur satellite users and terrestrial users of D-Star repeaters appears to be looming on the other side of the Atlantic. This because one European telecommunications regulator has decided to make it happen. Norm Seeley, KI7UP, is here with the details:

--

A confrontation between amateur satellite users and terrestrial users of D-Star repeaters appears to be looming on the European horizon. This, because the telecommunications regulator in the Netherlands is creating a war-like scenario between the two ham radio interests so that it can proceed with one of its pet technological projects.

Information provided to Amsat-North America indicates what the ham radio space agency calls a growing threat to frequencies allocated and used by the Amateur Satellite Service. This is because the Dutch government has decided to reallocate 439.500 MHz and upward to the Differential Global Positioning Service. And to accomplish this goal it has decided to move the output frequency subband of that nations terrestrial D-Star repeaters from 439 to 440 MHz down to 437 to 438 MHz. This re-allocation would place digital repeater signals right in the downlink band of the Amateur Satellite Service.

Nor are Dutch telecommunications regulators listening to anyone's complaints about the proposed reallocation. Protests from Dutch amateur radio operators, amateur clubs and even telecommunications regulators in nearby countries are falling on what amounts to deaf bureaucratic ears. The regulator is still planning on this spectrum re-allocation to favor Differential G-P-S.

As we go to air Dutch telecommunications regulator has halted amateur D-Star repeater licensing until the frequency shift can be made. Impact on European satellite operations would be immediate. A ripple effect on world wide ham radio satellite communications would at least in theory be inevitable. So might be formal complaints to the International Telecommunications Union from spectrum regulators in neighboring nations.