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Pursuant to due notice, the Executive Committee of The American Radio Relay League, Inc. met at 8:30 AM MST Saturday, March 3, 2007 at the Marriott City Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Present were the following committee members: President Joel Harrison, W5ZN in the Chair; First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN; Chief Executive Officer and Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ; and Directors Frank Butler, W4RH, Coy Day, N5OK, Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF, George R. Isely, W9GIG, and Warren G. "Rev" Morton, WS7W. Also present were Vice President Rick Roderick, K5UR, International Affairs Vice President Rod Stafford, W6ROD, and General Counsel Christopher D. Imlay, W3KD.
1. On motion of Mr. Day, the following agenda as previously circulated was agreed:
1. Consideration of agenda for the meeting
2. President's report
3. Report on status of preparation of appeal of FCC decisions on Broadband over Power Line (BPL) rules
4. Status of BPL interference enforcement cases
5. Report on status of RM-11306, ARRL petition concerning regulation of subbands by bandwidth rather than by emission mode
6. Report of Ad Hoc Committee on Background Investigations
7. Discussion of communications with FCC regarding equipment authorization obligations of manufacturers/retailers of accessory Amateur Radio equipment
8. Status reports on miscellaneous FCC proceedings
9. Antenna cases
10. Legislative report
11. Review of pending action items including work in progress by committees
12. International matters
13. Approval of conventions
14. Affiliation of clubs
15. Recognition of new Life Members
16. Approval of minutes of October 7, 2006 meeting
17. Date and place of next meeting
18. Other business
The Chair requested a moment of silence in memory of ARRL Honorary Vice President Edmond A. Metzger, W9PRN, Ruth Matyschsyk, and Pearl Kramer, who passed away during the previous week.
2. Mr. Harrison commented on the personal loss he felt at the death of Mr. Metzger, with whom he had enjoyed a close relationship since first joining the ARRL Board. He reviewed progress toward the ARRL's advocacy objectives with Congress and the FCC, noted upcoming international activities, and shared his travel schedule for the remainder of the year. Committee members shared their observations of the first few days following the effective date of the rules changes in WT Docket 05-235.
3. Mr. Imlay reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has not set a briefing schedule for ARRL v. FCC, our petition for review of the FCC's actions on BPL regulations. Work on the ARRL brief is proceeding on the expectation that the appeal will be heard later this year.
4. Mr. Imlay reported on the status of BPL interference complaints in several locations. Some improvement in the BPL system in the City of Manassas, Virginia has been observed, but there is still some interference. Interference has been reported in a few other locations, but BPL deployment is proceeding very slowly and pilot installations continue to be shut down. It was noted that competing broadband technologies such as fixed wireless are moving forward much faster.
5. Mr. Imlay reported progress in revising the ARRL proposals in RM-11306 to reflect the rules changes recently adopted in WT Dockets 04-140 and 05-235.
6. Mrs. Craigie and Mr. Imlay reported on behalf of the Ad Hoc Committee on Background Investigations. The committee was created at Minute 18 of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors. A draft statement of ARRL position with respect to the American Red Cross background check policy had been drafted by the committee and submitted to the Executive Committee for review. The Executive Committee reviewed the draft and asked Mr. Imlay to coordinate edits with the Ad Hoc Committee. The statement will be given final review and approval by the Executive Committee by electronic mail prior to release.
7. At the October 2006 meeting of the Executive Committee, Mr. Imlay was asked to pursue informal discussions with FCC staff on the extent to which the Part 15 equipment authorization requirements should apply to peripheral equipment used in amateur stations. Mr. Imlay reported that the discussions conducted so far point to the next step being the submission by the ARRL of a letter setting out the rationale for equipment marketed for use in stations operated under Part 97 being subject only to Part 97, and not to Part 15, requirements. After discussion it was agreed that Mr. Imlay would draft such a letter for review by the Executive Committee prior to submission.
8. Status reports on miscellaneous FCC proceedings
8.1. Mr. Imlay reported that the FCC recently denied a petition filed on behalf of the Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League that had sought an amendment of Section 97.523 of the Commission's Rules to provide for the maintenance of uniform question pools for Amateur Radio license examinations in languages other than English. After discussion, Mr. Sumner was asked to prepare, by May 1, a background report on the issue and a recommendation on what action, if any, should be taken by the ARRL.
8.2. Mr. Imlay reported on the status of several pending FCC matters. Among them, an ARRL petition to increase amateur privileges in the 60-meter band (5 MHz) is awaiting the assignment of an RM-number. During the course of this report, the committee was in recess for luncheon from 11:57 AM until 1:34 PM.
9. Mr. Imlay reported briefly on the status of local legal and administrative cases involving Amateur Radio antennas.
10. Legislative report
10.1. Mr. Sumner reported that H.R. 462, the Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act of 2007 introduced by Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas, has attracted two co-sponsors. Now that the initial organizational phase of the new Congress is over it is time to increase efforts to secure co-sponsors for this legislation, which addresses the need for additional FCC studies of BPL interference potential.
10.2. Sponsors are being sought in the House and Senate for legislation to relieve covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) that prevent amateurs from installing reasonable antennas. The FCC recently reasserted its position that CC&Rs are excluded from its PRB-1 limited preemption policy.
10.3. ARRL representatives are seeking the addition of language identifying the Amateur Radio Service as a "back-up emergency communications system" resource to legislation addressing the issue of interoperability among emergency responders.
10.4. State legislation addressing the use of cellphones by drivers is being monitored for language that might apply to amateur mobile operators. ARRL field organization volunteers in several states are pursuing "PRB-1" legislation to make it easier for amateurs to secure permission to install antennas.
11. Mr. Sumner presented a chart listing the pending action items from past Board meetings. The chart was accepted.
12. International matters
12.1. Mr. Sumner reported on the results of the ITU Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM), held in Geneva February 19-March 2. The CPM Report to the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) includes methods for satisfying amateur allocations requirements in the vicinity of 136 kHz, 5 MHz, and 7 MHz. However, allocations only will be considered if administrations submit proposals. He expressed appreciation for financial support of the IARU WRC-07 team by IARU Region 2.
12.2. Mr. Harrison reviewed the nomination process for IARU President and Vice President. The current terms expire in May 2009. Discussions with representatives of the IARU regional organizations and member-societies to identify qualified candidates will commence shortly.
12.3. Mr. Harrison reported on ARRL preparations to participate in the IARU Region 2 Conference in Brasilia, September 9-14. Mr. Stafford reported on preparations taking place in IARU Region 2.
13. On motion of Mr. Fenstermaker, the holding of the following ARRL conventions was approved (all 2007):
Western Washington Section, March 31-April 1, Seattle
Delaware Section, May 19, Georgetown
Arkansas State, September 7-8, Mena
Roanoke Division, September 15-16, Virginia Beach
Florida State, October 13-14, Melbourne
West Central Florida Section, December 1-2, Palmetto
14. On motion of Mr. Butler, affiliation of the following clubs was approved (all in Category 1):
Blount County Amateur Radio Club, Warrior, Alabama
Dixie Amateur Radio Klub, Bell, Florida
Opp Amateur Radio Club, Opp, Alabama
Western Lake County Amateur Radio Society, Fox Lake, Illinois
15. On motion of Mr. Isely, 80 recently elected life members were recognized and the Secretary was instructed to list their names in QST.
16. On motion of Mr. Morton, the minutes of the October 7, 2006 meeting were approved as distributed.
17. October 6 was selected as the date for next regular meeting of the Executive Committee, at a location to be determined later.
18. There being no other business, on motion of Mr. Morton it was voted that the meeting be adjourned, at 3:42 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
David Sumner, K1ZZ
Secretary
