Defence of Amateur Radio Fund World Radio Conference 2019 (WRC-19): October 28 to November 22, 2019

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Serge Bertuzzo, VA3SB
RAC International Affairs Officer

The sole purpose of the Defence of Amateur Radio Fund (DARF) Trust is to support the travel expenses of a certified Amateur as a member of the Canadian official delegation at the International Telecommunication Union’s World Radiocommunications Conferences (WRC) and Preparatory Meetings which are usually held in Geneva, Switzerland.

World Radiocommunication Conferences update the Radio Regulations, the international treaty that among other things, sets out the frequencies on which radio services such as the Amateur Radio Service may operate. Our delegate’s role is to assist our regulator – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – with all agenda issues that may influence allocations to the Amateur Radio Service. This may include helping defend existing Amateur bands from being reallocated or being subject to harmful sharing by other interested parties. There may also be an agenda item offering the opportunity to advocate for a new allocation or to defend the use of existing Amateur Radio spectrum by other Services seeking to gain access to the spectrum.

The DARF Trust’s role is to provide funding for our delegate’s travel and living expenses in order to attend these various conferences. While made a member of the Canadian delegation, ISED does not provide any funds towards their participation. As most of these meetings are usually held in Geneva, one of the most expensive cities in the world, DARF’s funding is essential. Without DARF, there would be no Canadian Amateur presence at these international meetings or in the many meetings that take place developing and working out what becomes Canada’s position.

Canada is one of a small number of countries – Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil – who regularly include a Radio Amateur in their official delegation.

These Amateur delegates work closely with each other and with the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) representatives, including IARU President, Tim Ellam, VE6SH. This is important, as WRC decisions are ultimately made only by the ITU Member States.

The IARU is one of many industry Sector Members representing various special interests – telecommunications companies, marine and air carriers, etc. – that attend, but have no vote.

Throughout the ITU Study Cycle preparatory process, our delegate to the Preparatory Meetings regularly keeps us all up to date – through ongoing articles in The Canadian Amateur, on the RAC website and via Twitter – on the issues and processes that ultimately determine Amateur Radio spectrum around the world.

Bryan Rawlings, VE3QN our delegate to the World Radio Conference 2019 held in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt from October 28 to November 22, 2019, has prepared an excellent overview of WRC-19 which was published in the March-April 2020 issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine.

The DARF Trust was created by Tom Atkins, VE3CDM and Bill Loucks, VE3AR, in 1991 to provide funding to ensure that a Canadian Radio Amateur would be part of these critical processes. Over the years, this need has only grown more critical with the explosion of mobile services and the need for more spectrum to service them.

DARF is an independent legal Trust, which is administered by RAC to ensure that any funds disbursed are only used for the purposes allowed by the Trust as follows:

1) Ensure that there are sufficient funds on hand for the Amateur delegate’s expenses to attend WRC meetings.

2) If sufficient funds are on hand, to also support travel to Preparatory Meetings when issues directly affecting Amateur Radio spectrum are being debated.

It may seem that this is a once every four year expense for the Conference. However, that is just the end of one cycle of the process and the beginning of the next. Between one WRC and the next are many preparatory sessions where the real work to shape, negotiate and defend allocations take place. Our delegate typically attends two of these meetings each year, each lasting 10 to 12 days. Even with discounted airfare and hotel rates, it is expensive to send a person to Geneva to work and live for two to four weeks each year.

If you have not contributed to DARF, please consider making a personal donation and suggest a club donation to DARF at your next meeting. Donations of any amount are welcome. Every dollar helps and will only go to defending and expanding our access to spectrum. We especially thank those clubs and individual Amateurs who have made their DARF contribution. Your support is much appreciated.