NOTE:
The following updates information published in the May issue of CQ and previously on this news page.
Any
digital mode that meets the technical restrictions of the new FCC rules for the
5 MHz band is now permitted. This, after the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA), which controls primary access to the band,
indicated in a letter to the ARRL that it had no objection to any specific
modes, as long as they fall into the category of a 2K80J2D emission and have a
bandwidth of 2.8 kHz or less. The ARRL, relying on old NTIA advice (but the
most current in written form), had originally said the agency asked that only
PSK-31 and PACTOR-III be used on the band. With this clarification, any digital
mode meeting the above standards is permitted. For more details, see
<http://www.arrl.org/60-meter-faq>.