The real WRC work on AI 1.23 started with the introduction of regional and national positions. APT (Asia Pacific), ATU (Africa), CEPT (Europe), CITEL (the Americas), East Africa Telecom Communities and SADC (South African Development Community) support an amateur allocation around 500 kHz, although not all suppport the same option. The ASMG (Arab states), RCC (Russian Federation c.s.), China and Iran favour no change. This means that a lot of work needs to be done by Sub Working Group 4C3, that is now on a rhythm of two meetings per day.

Cuba has proposed an Agenda Item for the next WRC: an amateur allocation at 5 MHz.

Station personnel at 4U1ITU -- the Amateur Radio station at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland -- have installed awebcam in the station, allowing anyone with an Internet connection to view live happenings at the station. Click here to watch live feeds.

4U1ITU will be signing as 4U1WRC during the 2012 World Radio Communication Conference (WRC-12), which runs through February 17. The station will revert back to 4U1ITU just in time for the ARRL International DX CW Contest, scheduled for February 18-19.

According to the IARU International Secretariat David Sumner, K1ZZ, who is attending WRC-12 the station is in really good shape, with two operating positions capable of going on any two bands at the same time. “A number of delegates are active amateurs, so the station should be quite active for the next several weeks,” he said.

Amateurs who work 4U1WRC between January 23-February 17, 2012 can receive a special QSL card via the HB9 Bureau or by QSLing direct to IARC, PO Box 6, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.

Extract from ARRL Webpage

The opening of WRC-12 took place in Geneva on 23 January 2012. More than 3000 delegates from over 150 countries are represented. Mr Tariq Al-Awadhi from the UAE was elected as the conference chairman.

The work started with the election of the various committee chairmen, working group chairmen and sub working group chairmen. Brennan Price, N4QX, ARRL Chief Technical Officer and a member of the US delegation was elected as chairman of Sub Working Group 4C3, which will be dealing with agenda item 1.23 on a secondary amateur allocation around 500 kHz.

Besides the Region 1 radio amateurs mentioned yesterday we also see Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP on the Japanese delegation, Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN on the Canadian delegation and Dale Hughes, VK1DSH on the Australian delegation. The IARU, with an observer status at WRC-12, is represented by IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, Vice-President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, Region 2 President Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM, IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, Ken Pulfer, VE3PU and Dave Sumner, K1ZZ. ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA is on the CITEL delegation.

The World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12) is about to start and will take place from 23 January until 17 February 2012. The preparatory work for WRC-12 started almost immediately after WRC-2007. IARU Region 1 has been very active in these preparations within CEPT, ATU, ASMG and ITU.

Our main agenda item 1.23 considers "an allocation of about 15 kHz in parts of the band 415-526.5kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis, taking into account the need to protect existing services". Several other agenda items will have our special interest. These agenda items include

• 1.15: "to consider possible allocations in the range 3-50 MHz to the radiolocation service for oceanographic radar applications, taking into account the results of ITU-R studies, in accordance with Resolution 612 (WRC-07)"
• 1.22: "to examine the effect of emissions from short-range devices on radiocommunication services, in accordance with Resolution 953 (WRC-07)"

The International Amateur Radio Union and its Regions will be represented during the conference to lobby for agenda item 1.23 and to protect our spectrum interests.

• IARU Region 1 ERC Chairman Colin Thomas G3PSM will be attending WRC-12 as CEPT Co-ordinator for agenda item 1.23 and as agenda item lead on the UK delegation
• IARU Region 1 HF Chairman Ulrich Mueller DK4VW will be attending on the German Delegation.
• Past IARU Region 1 Vice President Tafa Diop 6W1KI will be attending part of WRC-12 on the ATU delegation.
• IARU Region 1 President Hans Blondeel Timmerman PB2T will be attending part of WRC-12 on the IARU delegation.

The harmful interference by an All India Radio transmitter on 7410 kHz
is finished, 7000 - 7040 clear again. Mission accomplished.  Read more!

Following a successful presentation in the press I am now happy to report that the ARBF (Burkina Faso) Board has decided to officially open their ham radio club to visitors. This event will take place on January 21, 2012. This radio club will have a special call sign XT2CEFIG. While waiting for STARS donated equipment the club will start operating with equipment borrowed from a kind radio amateur.  The gear will essentially consist of a wide band dipole, an HF transceiver and a VHF station to remote all the QSO to a local radio station. Numerous politicians are expected to attend this event.  We hope that many of you will be able to put XT2CEFIG in your logbook. Burkina Faso is back on the air again!

Look for them on 7.085 LSB on 40, 14.120 to 14.240, 21.120 and all the SSB part of the 10-meters. Be not too harsh with them; be indulgent because you will have to deal with novices without any experience. Good DX.

Monday January 9, 2012 an amateur radio contact was established at Descartes college, located in Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France, with ISS commander Daniel Burbank. The radio signal from space was excellent and the conversation was conducted flawlessly in English. Frank (F8CRH) set up the radio contact and Jeoffray (F0GWD, a newly licensed college student) put the questions prepared by the group. The astronaut gave detailed answers on 9 topics. 

All along the contact, the audio quality was perfect. This aspect was underlined by ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who participated to the venue. He said the quality of the radio link was even better than some regular service communications onboard the ISS.

Before the pass was over, Leopold Eyharts, whose amateur radio call sign is KE5FNO, exchanged greetings with his colleague Dan Burbank KC5SZX. Among the audience, enthused by the space talk, we noted several civil and academic personalities as well as representatives of CNES, the French space research center.

After about ten minutes, the ISS went over the horizon. Before the radio contact was lossed, a huge applaus reached the space station.
 
The space conversation and the preceding presentations were distributed live on the Internet by streaming video. Over 1000 visitors connected.

A memorable day, crowning 18 month of intense preparation by lycee Descartes in Montigny-le-Bretonneux (near Paris) and by the radio-club of Saint-Quentin en Yvelines. Congratulations to all.