09.12.2021

ANCOM launches for public consultation new rules regarding the Amateur Radio activity, aimed at reviewing the secondary legislation in the field, and at bringing it in line with the evolution of the national and international regulations. A further proposal is to allow the interested parties to submit and receive, in electronic format, a series of documents necessary for the authorization of their activity. The Draft Decision amending and completing the Decision of the President of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications no. 245/2017 on the regulation of the Amateur Service is available, in Romanian, here.

Amendments proposed by the Draft Decision 

ANCOM proposes to allow the interested parties to submit and receive, in electronic format, the documents necessary in the authorization and certification process for the Amateur and Amateur Satellite service, i.e. to enable the issuance of Amateur Radio authorisations, of repeater and of radio beacon authorisations, and of Amateur Radio Certificates. These amendments have been taken in view of the technology development and of the need for digitized procedures, in the current health context.

Another change concerns the introduction of a rule for deducing the call sign of a repeater or of a radio beacon from the call sign of the Amateur Radio owner of that station. This measure is aimed at simplifying the identification of the authorisation holder for the respective repeater or radio beacon station, and at protecting short call signs to be reserved for special situations, including emergencies, considering the limited amount of this resource.

Two new obligations concern holders of Amateur Radio licences for repeater stations when using radio stations in emergency situations. Thus, they will have to ensure that the repeater station has at least one emergency channel that can take over the emergency communications without restriction, and to ensure the recording of connections flowing over the emergency channels automatically on the repeater station, while keeping copies of the traffic being passed over these connections for 1 year.

Radiocommunications in the Amateur Service

Amateur and Amateur Satellite radiocommunications comprise all types of civilian radiocommunications in radio frequency bands with non-governmental or with shared (governmental/non-governmental) status allocated to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services according to the National Table of Frequency Band Allocations (NTFA) approved by Government Decision no. 376/2020 on the approval of the National Table of Frequency Band Allocations.

The activity in the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services consists of using radio waves for personal purposes, through one’s own transmitting-receiving elements. Thus, radio amateurs around the world can communicate freely by means of radio stations, on the frequency bands allocated for this purpose. Amateur Radio fans do not engage in this activity for political or commercial purposes, but solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest, with the aim of self-training, intercommunication and conducting technical investigations. This activity is internationally recognized at the level of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the main body representing amateur radio being the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which is a sector member of ITU.

Public consultation

The Draft Decision is available, in Romanian, here. Interested persons are invited to send comments and suggestions not later than 17 January 2022, to the ANCOM Headquarters (2 Delea Noua Street, District 3, Bucharest), as well as using the Online Registry or by means of the Authority’s Regional Divisions. Comments may also be sent by fax, to +40 372 845 402, or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.ro.