Polish radio amateurs were ordered to stop using the Falkland Islands logo call sign in Antarctica
According to Falkland Media, the Falkland Islands communications regulator asked Polish radio enthusiast Sebastian Gritch (SQ1SGB) to stop amateur radio operations at the Harley VI Research Station in Antarctica, located on the Brent Ice Shelf. Apparently after receiving a complaint, the Falkland Islands regulator ordered him to stop all "VP8SGB" outreach activities. His identity is VP8/SQ1SGB, according to accepted practice, and it is unclear whether the complainant or regulator combined the identifier and callsign into one.
However, Grich's use of the VP8 identifier in communications for the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) appears to be a problem, as VP8 can still specify operations in the Falkland Islands. Regulators may not be familiar with recent changes (not yet fully formalized) that would refer to VP0 as an appropriate call sign for operations like Glauchy's.
An ongoing consultation will allow the issuance of amateur radio licences in the UK and the US. The proposal comes after months of lengthy negotiations between Uk communications regulator Ofcom, Falkland Islands communications regulator, the governments of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) and British American Tobacco (BAT).
The program recommends applying the new VP0 prefix to BAT stations, while the existing VP8 prefix applies only to the Falkland Islands. The proposal calls on the Falkland Islands communications regulator to administer these permits.
The VP0 prefix will apply to the part of the Antarctic continent claimed by the UK, including the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands such as South Orkney, South Shetland and SGSSI. Grich has been conducting amateur radio communications in Antarctica since last November.
Chris Gare (VP8WOS) of the Falkland Islands and Alan Armstrong (VP8PJ) of the South Orkney Islands sent a letter to the Falkland Islands Communications Regulator on behalf of Grich, calling on the regulator to withdraw the order.
"We believe the Directive is contrary to the UK Communications Authority's (Ofcom) guidance of 28 January 2021 regarding BAT amateur radio operations. We think regulators will learn about this guideline directly from Ofcom or the guidance issued in the Falkland Islands in January 2021," Gare and Armstrong wrote. Ofcom's guidelines are that call signs prefixed with VP8 will continue to recognize existing base stations in SGSSI, as well as BAT, until these overseas regions are given legislative authorization to issue new call signs.
In earlier communications with regulators, Gare and Armstrong said, "In the broader amateur radio world, there is still a lot of confusion and lack of understanding about this issue." Gare and Armstrong expressed concern that ARRL's DXCC project may not accept connectivity with VP8/SP1SGB if the legitimacy of the call sign is called into question.
Gare and Armstrong said British American Tobacco had made significant progress in starting to release the VP0 call sign, adding: "The sooner it all comes, the better." ”
source：ARRL
Here comes the uncle:
Expedition through the problem of encountering problems, call sign problem is no small matter, see how to solve?