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<h1 style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:16pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Australia: 83% support 50 watt Foundation</h1><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">WIA News reports results of the amateur radio license survey which show 83% supported increasing Foundation power level from 10 watts to 50 watts<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">The WIA News story says:<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">This is<span> </span><strong style="box-sizing:border-box">Greg VK2GPK</strong>, one of the directors of the WIA, with this week's edition of the WIA Board comment. This week my focus will be the on the finalisation of the WIA LCD submission to ACMA and the final feedback survey results used to ratify the proposed LCD changes in our submission.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Earlier this week, on Monday to be specific, the WIA submitted its response to the Australian Communications Management Authority (ACMA) consultation document regarding potential variations to the current (2015) Radio-communications Licence Conditions (Amateur Licence) Determination.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">This is a relatively rare periodic opportunity to update and improve the licence conditions for which the WIA has historically provided input for changes over many decades. In June the WIA sought the response of the amateur radio community in relation to the draft WIA Licence Condition Determination (LCD) submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">The 2018 LCD Submission is the non-trivial result of four years of effort by WIA volunteers including multiple surveys. The WIA in the compilation of these final documents over that time considered a large number of both member and non-member inputs and responses to surveys carefully.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">However, it must be stated that the submission represents a composite view that won't please every radio amateur as a number of the suggestions were mutually exclusive.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">As wisely stated in John Lydgate's proverb "you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time".<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">However, from the feedback from the survey, we believe we achieved a compromise that met with the overall approval of the great majority of respondents. Some highlights are:<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">That even though the survey was only open for two weeks there were over 500 responses from around Australia! Whilst this is a small percentage of the total amateur radio community, it is statistically significant, and is one of highest response rates we have ever received.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Survey summary:<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Support for General Principles - 96%<br style="box-sizing:border-box">Support for Foundation Licence Conditions change - 83%<br style="box-sizing:border-box">Support for Standard Licence Conditions change - 88%<br style="box-sizing:border-box">Support for Advanced Licence Conditions change - 95%<br style="box-sizing:border-box">Main respondent group from Advanced licenced amateurs - 74%<br style="box-sizing:border-box">Good representation and correlation with licence numbers in all VK call areas<br style="box-sizing:border-box">Total survey respondents: 501 (3.5% of licenced amateurs in VK)<br style="box-sizing:border-box">382 people left their email address for further information about the submission<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">There were hundreds of supporting comments to each of the five submission questions.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Whilst I don't have time to elaborate on the detail of our LCD submission today in this broadcast, it will be available, as well as survey results and verbatim, on the WIA website. Please take a few minutes to read it, if you haven't done so already - it's your hobby!<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">It won't surprise many that evolving the Foundation Licence conditions was an area of keen interest in the input we received from the radio amateur cohort - particularly in making this entry path more relevant to newcomers to the hobby but without making the entry technical hurdle too daunting.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">The WIA is actively lobbying to get these LCD changes across the regulatory "abyss" for all amateurs in Australia. There is absolutely no certainty that any of our proposals will be granted by the ACMA. Indeed, the ACMA have already replied to the Five Year Spectrum Outlook submission. They have indicated that they are unlikely to accept many of the proposed changes even though these changes would align with current IARU / ITU international planning and agreements.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">You are encouraged to lobby the ACMA direct and also lobby your local federal member in support of important changes that directly impact your hobby..<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><em style="box-sizing:border-box"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box">Greg VK2GPK</strong></em><span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box">on behalf of the WIA board<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">WIA LCD submission to ACMA<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2018/20180612-1/index.php" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2018/20180612-1/index.php<span> </span></a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Survey Results<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2018/20180729-1/index.php" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2018/20180729-1/index.php</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Source WIA News<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/display.php?file_id=wianews-2018-08-05" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word">http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/wianews/<br style="box-sizing:border-box">display.php?file_id=wianews-2018-08-05</a></p>
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