146-147MHz allocated to UK full licencees under NoV - why?

My original post on this seems to have magically vanished. Don't know how this happened.

Basically, I totally fail to understand why OFCOM has allocated this band to some UK amateurs. It is only ad interim, by NoV to full licence holders, is only for a limited time, and only in a limited geographical area.

The 144-146MHz (2m band) is generally under-used in the UK and the rest of Europe and white noise is the most common thing to hear. Take a listen. It NEVER sounds busy here in Cambridgeshire, even in contests.

Personally, I would have preferred OFCOM to have given us smaller bands (100kHz wide?) at 40MHz and maybe 60MHz, renewed access to the old 73kHz band and allowed free access to 0-8.3kHz. The RSGB thinks the new 146-147MHz band will be used for digital TV experiments - this is rubbish - it is hard enough to get any DATV experiments at 432MHz and 1296MHz where most amateur TV takes place. Maybe a few very dedicated individuals will try DATV 146-147MHz, but just a handful.

Personally, I think OFCOM lost credibility allocating 146-147MHz to amateurs. This was clearly a sop to make up for messing with microwave bands. Far more radio science would have been possible with new allocations in other parts of the spectrum. There are already some beacons at 40MHz and 60MHz,which bands would have been ideal for Es experiments. 40MHz is mid-way between the 10m and 6m bands. Surely 50-100kHz could have been made available?

I hope OFCOM supports a contiguous 5MHz (60m) amateur allocation worldwide at WRC2015 next year. We'll need this in the quiet years ahead.