The Telecommunications Office of the Slovak Republic (TÚ SR) is preparing changes that will also affect the area of amateur radio broadcasting. He started preparing some of the changes at the beginning of last year.
Among the priorities of Mgr. Branislav Máčaj, the new head of the office, is responsible for setting up internal processes in the office in such a way as to ensure efficiency in fulfilling all the tasks of the office. The chairman is currently evaluating a proposal for a personnel and organizational solution, which will mainly ensure: effective activity of the examination committee, or examination commissions for verification of special professional competence, efficient issuance of certificates and subsequent issuance of permits not only for amateur radio, but also for other services. TÚ SR registers a great interest especially in exams for professionals (air and sea mobile service). The proposed solution will significantly shorten the waiting time for passing the exam. As a result, the time for issuing a permit will also be shortened. This is the first significant change that will affect radio amateurs.
Another significant change will be the amendment of the generally binding legal regulation - Measures of the Telecommunications Office of the Slovak Republic dated April 14, 2004 no. O-1/2004, which establishes details on certificates of special professional competence for operating selected radio equipment, on the establishment of an examination committee and on the content, scope and course of the examination and, in connection therewith, a change in the general licensing conditions for amateur broadcasting radio stations. The upcoming changes are a continuation of the changes that the office already made in 2004 and 2005, when it responded to international recommendations. At that time, part of the current international recommendations was only at the stage of the proposed wording, and the other part was implemented only by some countries that did not yet know how to interpret concrete experiences, therefore, after a discussion with representatives of radio amateurs, the office decided to wait for the final wording of the recommendations, or on the experience of the countries that employed them.
TÚ SR informed about the upcoming changes to the amateur radio organization Slovak Association of Radio Amateurs (SZR), which is one of the partners in preparing the changes and at the same time represents an important communication channel for radio amateurs. Ing. Zuzana Kováčová, as the responsible representative of the Slovak Radio Broadcasting Corporation, informed the radio amateur public about the upcoming changes in her speech at the 32nd meeting of radio amateurs in the High Tatras, which took place on November 17-19, 2006. Subsequently, representatives of TÚ SR and amateur radio organizations from the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Croatia discussed the conditions for amateur radio broadcasting in individual countries. In short, we will repeat that the upcoming changes will mainly affect radio amateur classes, requirements for exams and the issuance of internationally valid permits. The changes will be preceded by a comment procedure, the proposed wording (the same as in 2004) will be published on the website of the TÚ SR together with the date and address for sending comments. The resulting wording of the draft amendment to the generally binding legal regulation is discussed by a permanent working group at the Legislative Council of the Government. The approved wording of the change will be published in the Journal of the TÚ SR and on the website of the TÚ SR. The office will subsequently inform radio amateurs about the approved changes.
Telekomunikačný úrad SR logo
The whole preparation process takes time. In addition, it is necessary to realize that TÚ SR carries out a number of activities stipulated by law, of which the examination of radio amateurs, the issuing of permits for them and their subsequent control, whether the solution of the resulting interference is only a small part of the entire activity of the office. TÚ SR also carries out activities according to priority, i.e. depending on the impact they have on the population of the Slovak Republic and the EU, or how large a population is affected by the proceedings. In the period of approximately the last two to three years, the office paid priority attention to the preparation of the conditions for the entry of a third mobile operator into the market and the creation of conditions for the development of competition in the public telephone service markets. Despite the above, TÚ SR tries to pay adequate attention to radio amateur broadcasting and meet the demands of radio amateurs.
In Bratislava on January 30, 2007.
Roman Vavro, spokesman of the Slovak Technical University
