It often takes a very long time for the FCC to
respond to a rules change request, and sometimes technology changes during that
time in in ways that affect the original proposal. That seems to be the case
with the ARRL's nearly 6-year-old request for a change in amateur radio digital
rules, and in the nearly three years since the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed
Rule Making on the matter. One key element of the ARRL's request, according to
the ARRL Letter, was a signal bandwidth
limitation of 2.8 kHz, the approximate bandwidth of an SSB voice signal. The
FCC did not include that limitation in its 2016 NPRM and the ARRL filed comments
opposing that change.
Apparently, the FCC was finally getting ready to
announce a decision on the matter, but the ARRL now says that in the six years
since the original filing, "new information has been presented by
individuals and groups who support and oppose the FCC's proposed" rule
changes. The League asked the Commission to delay its consideration of a final
decision on the matter for 90 days to provide it with time "to clarify the
issues and determine whether a consensus can be reached on some or all of the
issues raised by the FCC's proceeding." FCC staff agreed to the requested
delay and will not take further action on the proposal (Docket #16-239) before
July.
