DA 95-2106 Federal Communications Commission Record 10 FCC Red No. 21 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Amendment of the Amateur Service Rules to Clarify Use of CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR Digital Codes. ORDER Adopted: October 2, 1995; Released: October 11,1995 By the Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: 1. This Order amends Section 97.309(a) of the Commis sion's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 97.309(a), to clarify that amateur stations may use any digital code that has its technical characteristics publicly documented. This action was ini tiated by a letter from the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL). 1 2. The ARRL states that some amateur operators have expressed concern about the propriety of using the CLO VER, G-TOR, and PacTOR codes2 on the High Frequency (HF) amateur service bands. This is due to the fact that Section 97.309(a) appears to authorize only the Baudot, AMTOR, and ASCII codes on the HF bands.3 The ARRL states that it has worked with the developers of CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR to document the technical char acteristics of these codes.4 It requests, therefore, that we amend Section 97.309(a) of the Commission's Rules to specifically authorize CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR to remove any doubt about the permissibility of their use. 3. The primary purpose of CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR is to facilitate communications using already-au thorized digital codes, emission types, and frequency bands. The technical characteristics of CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR have been documented publicly for use by ama teur operators,5 and commercial products are readily available that facilitate the transmission and reception of communications incorporating these codes. Including CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR in the rules will not conflict with our objective of preventing the use of codes or ciphers intended to obscure the meaning of the commu nication.6 We agree, therefore, that it would be helpful to the amateur service community for the rules to specifically authorize amateur stations to transmit messages and data using these and similar digital codes. Accordingly, we are amending Section 97.309(a) to clarify the rules as requested by the ARRL. 4. Because the rule amendment adopted herein is inter pretative in nature, and clarifies the existing amateur ser vice rules, the notice and comment provisions of Section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553(b), do not apply, and it is not subject to the publica tion or service requirements of Section 553(d) of the Ad ministrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553(d). 5. We certify that the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does not apply to the amended rule because there will not be any significant economic impact on a substantial num ber of small business entities, as defined by Section 601(3) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The amateur service may not be used to transmit communications for compensation, for the pecuniary benefit of the station control operator or the station control operator's employer, or for communica tions, on a regular basis, which could reasonably be fur nished through other radio services. See 47C.F.R. § 97.113. The Secretary shall send a copy of this Order, including the certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in accordance with para graph 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, Pub. L. No. 96-354, 94 Stat. 1164, 5 U.S.C. §§ 601-612 (1981). 6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that effective upon publication in the Federal Register, Part 97 of the Commis sion's Rules, 47 C.F.R. Part 97, IS AMENDED as set forth in the attached Appendix. This action is taken under the authority delegated to the Chief, Wireless Telecommunica tions Bureau, in Section 0.331(a)(l) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 0.331(a)(l). 7. For further information, contact William T. Cross, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Private Wireless Di vision, (202) 418-0680. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Regina M. Keeney Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau 1 Letter from Dr. Paul L. Rinaldo, Manager Technical Rela tions, to Mr. John B. Johnston, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (May 12, 1995). 2 CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR are different techniques currently used by many amateur operators to increase the effi ciency of digital communications transmitted on the HF portion of the radio spectrum. 3 On the Very High Frequency and shorter wavelength bands, the rules authorize the use of any unspecified digital code provided the emission does not exceed a specified bandwidth. See Sections 97.307(f)(5)-(7) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 97.307(f)(5)-(7). 4 Technical Descriptions, Clover, C-TOR, PacTOR, April, 1995, published by the ARRL. 5 See Technical Descriptions CLOVER, G-TOR, PACTOR, pub lished by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (1995). 6 The HF bands are widely used for international communica tions. Number 2732 § 2.(1) of Article 32 Section I of the International Telecommunications Union Radio Regulations re quires that transmissions between amateur stations of different countries be made in plain language. Section 97.113(a)(4) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 97.113(a)(4), therefore, prohib its amateur stations from transmitting messages in codes or ciphers intended to obscure the meaning thereof. 11044 10 FCC Red NO. 21 Federal Communications Commission Record DA 95-2106 Appendix Part 97 of Chapter I of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows: Part 97 - Amateur Radio Service 1. The authority citation for Part 97 continues to read as follows: Authority citation: 48 Stat. 1066, 1082, as amended; 47 U.S.C. §§ 154, 303. Interpret or apply 48 Stat. 1064-1068, 1081-1105, as amended; 47 U.S.C. § 151-155, 301-609, un less otherwise noted. 2. Section 97.309(a) is amended by adding paragraph (4) to read as follows: § 97.309 RTTY and data emission codes. (a) * * * (4) An amateur station transmitting a RTTY or data emission using a digital code specified in this paragraph may use any technique whose technical characteristics have been documented publicly, such as CLOVER, G-TOR, or PacTOR, for the purpose of facilitating communications. * * # * * 11045