ARRL, NYU Still at Odds on Encoded Transmissions by Amateurs

ARRL said the FCC should take no action is response to a New York University petition for a declaratory ruling that Section 97.113(a)(4) of FCC rules prohibits the transmission on amateur radio frequencies of “effectively encrypted or encoded messages, including messages that cannot be readily decoded over-the-air for true meaning.” The use of encrypted Winlink Global Radio Email by amateur radio operators has been a long-standing dispute (see 1904010034). “The League does not support limiting experimentation and use of digital techniques in the Amateur Service without a clearly demonstrated need for doing so,” said reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 16-239. “Any such limitation would be unique to the United States. There is no public interest in prohibiting or limiting experimentation with digital techniques in this country.” NYU said few of the comments opposing its petition “appear to originate from licensed amateur radio operators.” It said it doesn’t seek to “halt, harm, or disable operation of Winlink” or similar services. It seeks clarity “to ensure that transparency and openness are assured for all data modes and networks in the amateur radio service, present and future.”