3 Apr 2015

OFCOM again

Please don't misunderstand my views on OFCOM here in the UK. Generally, they have been supportive of the amateur community and I am grateful for this.

However, I am very critical that they seem loath to make real decisions about anything hard. Perhaps this is because they need real teeth and less government fiddling in the wings? I believe they need to be fully independent of government interference and be able to make common sense decisions without excuses. All the time they seem to hide behind the law as a safe-guard from doing anything very hard.

I have been critical of the FCC many times but in several ways they take a more pragmatic approach to spectrum management. All the time OFCOM employees seem to fear taking any hard decisions in case they break the law. Perhaps we need to employ people who actually understand radio and spectrum issues. Oh sorry, I forgot, these are a dying breed. We only have "yes boys" left.
at 16:24
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6 comments:

G1KQH said...

If you pay them they will dance to your song! But they are not going to listen to a handful of penny pinching Amateur's that don't contribute to the till any longer.

What they give, they will take away. I have already said they will give us more noisy Freqs and bands which are no longer proved any use nor ornament to the commercial world. But they will take way our SHF and maybe parts of 70cm which they can generate lots of useful income from for number 11.

73 G1KQH

Fri Apr 03, 09:07:00 pm GMT+1
Roger G3XBM said...

In this world sadly you are right Steve. Money will speak loads. Mind you, the bands I would like (to share) are not of great commercial interest I'd have thought. If only OFCOM loosened up a bit...

Fri Apr 03, 09:19:00 pm GMT+1
Roger G3XBM said...

Oh Steve, BTW a good many GOOD engineers are radio amateurs. Even the better ones at OFCOM had calls.

Fri Apr 03, 09:21:00 pm GMT+1
G1KQH said...

Yes I agree, we are speaking from the heart Roger, we both had decent respected jobs in the commercial world of electronics. I doubt very few would take much interest in having a Ham licence today if we went along for a job?

My ex employer was very interested in it all at the time I started early 80s, in fact they encouraged it during the early days I was with them and they would bend over backwards to loan equipment, or help find components for projects, they even printed QSL cards with the company emblem on. But when the whizzkids took over they certainly were not having any part of it. They were only there to dissect profit, and take apart the unprofitable bits :-( In the end destroying the whole keboosh!

How many in Ofcom own a callsign? In the old days many, today again very few! Ofcom would understand more about the Internet and mobile phones that some Radio Amateur today.

Maybe it will go full circle and the Ham will be taken notice of once again?

73 G1KQH

Fri Apr 03, 09:51:00 pm GMT+1
Roger G3XBM said...

When I started in PMR I would say ALL the good/excellent engineers were radio amateurs. These days it is a small handful who are embarrassed even to admit it. Back in the 1970s lunchtimes were a hive of amateur activity. No more sadly. When I retired 7 years ago I think I was the only person who did any lunchtime building. I remember interviewing Honours Graduates in Communications who knew less than I did leaving school. Sadly those who REALLY "got" radio were in the minority. Most good RF engineers I know are 60 almost - a dying breed.

Sat Apr 04, 12:05:00 pm GMT+1
G1KQH said...

I don't think I would go around telling someone I was one, they may give you strange look today?

Years ago being one in the street was recognised as being someone clever :-)

73 Steve

Sat Apr 04, 12:19:00 pm GMT+1

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