Many ham radio users in Beijing received short messages from the Beijing Radio Administration Bureau on Saturday, reminding owners of private radio equipment to register with the bureau.

It's part of the tightening of radio regulations, said a staff member from the bureau.

On Sept 6, the State Council and the Central Military Commission released a radio regulation that allows the State to regulate the use of private radio stations within the country during important events. The regulations take effect on Nov 1.

The new regulation aims to control the increasing misuse of private radio. According to the regulation, an order will be released 10 days before any enforcement, which will include the precise area, time period and range of frequencies; except in urgent cases.

A staff member of the China Wireless Sports Association said radio equipment stronger than 0.5 watts must be registered with the association and that before owners can use their equipment they need to qualify to operate an amateur station by taking a test and acquiring a license.

According to a Beijing Morning Post report, those caught using radios illegally will be fined up to a maximum of 5,000 yuan and have their equipment confiscated. In serious cases, the punishment can include up to 15 days of detention and even criminal charges.

Yang Jing, a Beijing radio fan for almost six years who runs the Huilongguan Ham Club, a club for private radio enthusiasts, said Beijing has at least 100,000 radio users. In his club alone there are almost 20,000 registered members, of which about 400 regularly participate in activities organized by the club.

According to him, though radio is an "out-of-date" technology, it's very useful in emergencies.

"Our club is sending 50 people to ensure communications for the first Beijing International Mountain Walking Festival to be held from Sept 23 to 24 in Mentougou area," he said. "Mountain roads can be without cellphone signals for 100 km."

Wang Le, another radio fan of six years, said record-keeping is important for the management bureau's scheduling, otherwise illegally used radio may interrupt police communications or train dispatching. He added there were people using radios to cheat in examinations.

"Each year in important examinations the radio bureau sends people to monitor unusual radio signals near the examination places," he said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show there were 2.7 million civil radio stations nationwide at the end of last year.

China Daily

(China Daily 09/14/2010)