The FCC’s Dale Hatfield, W0IFO, predicts a bright future for Amateur Radio. But the Office of Engineering and Technology chief says that amateurs "will be under a certain amount of pressure" to justify their free use of the radio spectrum. As a result, he said, it will be more important than ever that hams actually fulfill their service, good will and educational roles—not just talk about them.
Hatfield offered his observations as keynote speaker for AMRAD’s 25th anniversary dinner June 17 in Virginia. Hatfield told the gathering, "the key issue for the amateur service is maintaining access to an adequate amount of spectrum." While emphasizing that he was not suggesting any immediate threat, Hatfield said hams will have to do a better job of justifying their allocations.
Hatfield said hams should actually engage in experimentation to advance the state-of-the- art, provide communication and train operators for emergencies, encourage international cooperation and good will, and offer an important technical educational outlet. "Or, to use a bit of slang, it seems to me that it will be even more important for all segments of the amateur community to ‘walk the walk’ not just ‘talk the talk’," he said.
Hatfield encouraged his audience to explore advanced techniques that conserve spectrum, especially digital techniques. As the rest of the telecommunications world transitions to digital techniques, Hatfield said, "the amateur service will look antiquated if it is not making progress in that direction as well."
Hatfield also said software defined radios could facilitate "a new era of amateur experimentation" and, in many ways, represent "a final merger" of radio communications and computers.
The text of Hatfield’s prepared remarks is available on the FCC Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/misc/dnh061700.html
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