IARU - International Amateur Radio Union Region 1
IARU-R1
Created in Paris in 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union is the watchdog and spokesman for the world Amateur Radio community and consists of over 160 accredited national amateur radio societies throughout the world.
ID: 59342921440-89
Lobbying Activity
Response to Update of EU rules on radio equipment for reconfigurable radio systems
20 May 2025
We acknowledge the importance of ensuring that radio equipment complies with the Radio Equipment Directive (RED) throughout its lifecycle, particularly to prevent harmful interference and maintain safety. Considering the unique role of amateur radio as a non-commercial, experimental, and educational service, this initiative risks inadvertently capturing amateur radio equipment under the same compliance framework as commercial products. Unlike mass-market devices, amateur radio operates under strict operator licensing (including frequency and power restrictions), which already mitigates interference risks. We therefore recommend option 0 or 1.
Read full responseResponse to Cyber Resilience Act
23 Jan 2023
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is a Non-Governmental Organisation representing the interests of Radio Amateurs in the European Union and worldwide. The amateur and amateur satellite radio services are one of the oldest radio services recognised and regulated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and pre-dates the regulation of radio communications. The economic importance of having a sufficient supply of trained engineers and scientists within the Union to meet future employment needs and technological development is critical. Amateur radio can provide an introduction to practical engineering, mathematics and physics to youth which directly contributes to a promotion in interest in careers in STEM through the medium of self education Radio amateurs, as citizens, support in principle any legislation that helps ensure their safety in the use of equipment that is available to the market. The amateur radio service supports innovative development and re-purposing of radio equipment as part of their self-education process. The importance of this is recognised by specific exemptions in the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (2014/30/EU) and the Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU). Free software is an important tool for the amateur radio community and IARU welcomes the exemption in Recital (10) of the proposed Act. However we would have concerns as to how this exemption will be implemented and as to how this proposed legislation might erode or stifle the existing recognised freedom to innovate and re-purpose which is central to the service.
Read full responseResponse to The Union Position for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023
26 Jul 2022
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on a common EU position to be negotiated by Member States on behalf of the EU at WRC-23. The attached text provides our views on current and proposed future Agenda Items of concern.
Read full responseResponse to Review of ecodesign and information requirements for external power supplies (EPS)
4 May 2022
The IARU represents national amateur radio societies and their members in over 100 countries which include Member States of the European Union (EU) as well as the European Economic Area (EEA).
The national members of IARU welcome regulations to adopt a “universal EPS” and the unbundling as set out in the Common Charger initiative.
However IARU feels it appropriate to draw attention at this time to the potential of power supplies, specifically switching power supplies, to contribute to spectrum pollution.
The recent evaluation of the EMC Directive covers this topic in detail [1]. Furthermore the last-published [2] report by EMC ADCO showed that approximately half (56%) of the devices tested met the technical emissions compliance tests. It is to be hoped that a more recent market surveillance report due to be published soon will show greater compliance.
Switching power supplies generate unwanted emissions and the attached cable can often make an excellent radiator (antenna) so that the combination can add to spectrum pollution. Unfortunately a lack of comprehensive standards for cables can result in poor quality cables being used in the marketplace. In our view, testing requirements should reflect typical use cases of EPS with associated cabling.
[1]Study on the evaluation of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU (EMCD): final report, Publications Office, 2021
[2] Report on the Fifth Joint Cross-Border EMC Market Surveillance Campaign on switching power supplies (2012/2013)
Read full responseResponse to EU Solar Energy Communication
12 Apr 2022
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is a Non-Governmental Organisation representing the interests of Radio Amateurs throughout the world, including all Member States of the European Union.
Solar energy systems, which include Solar PV, are a progressive technology whose use is to be encouraged. However, there are certain caveats to be noted in deployment and on-going use. In this context IARU would like to make some broad comments regarding the environmental impact of photovoltaic systems and these are in the attached file.
To summarize, our concerns are not with solar technology but with the potential pollution from so-called optimizers and we contend that it would be unfortunate if hydrocarbon pollution was replaced by pollution of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Read full responseResponse to Environmental impact of photovoltaic modules, inverters and systems - Energy Labelling
27 Oct 2021
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is a Non-Governmental Organisation representing the interests of Radio Amateurs throughout the world.
Radio Spectrum is a finite natural environmental resource which at the international level is managed by a UN specialised agency, the International Telecommunication Union. Several radio amateur associations in the EU and elsewhere, under the umbrella of the IARU, have started to measure and track interference and disturbance sources, their impact and potential solutions. Pollution of the radio spectrum should be considered on a par with other pollution, especially as new technologies are relying more and more on radio.
Equipment in the home and industry is employing more and more digital technology, which if not well-engineered and installed correctly can add significantly to radio spectrum pollution. Therefore, there needs to be recognition that pollution from systems such as Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), VDSL, wind turbines, Solar PV, etc., is both a spectrum matter as well as having energy consumption and climatic impact and is not purely a technical issue.
Solar PV is a progressive technology whose use is to be encouraged but there are certain caveats to be noted in its deployment and on-going use. In this context IARU would like to make some comments regarding the environmental impact of photovoltaic systems.
While the impact inception statement looks at relatively small photovoltaic systems (20kWp), systems are becoming commonplace that can exceed 100kWp. Therefore manufacturers, consumers, importers and installers need to be aware that poor engineering of installations can lead to increased pollution.
The EMC Directive (2014/30/EU) deals with the conditions for placing apparatus on the market; it also recognises that a combination of CE marked apparatus may not itself meet CE standards. While there are rules regarding so-called “fixed installations” such as Solar PV, in some cases testing is only required following a complaint. Furthermore administrations in some Member States appear not to have sufficient resources to police disturbances emanating from such “fixed installations”; on the other hand some Regulators have already taken steps to remove non-compliant systems
The situation regarding “optimizers” is particularly problematic. While from an efficiency perspective their use is promoted and encouraged, their high frequency switching harmonics can contribute significantly to radio spectrum interference and pollution while giving a fairly marginal efficiency improvement of the order of 2%. This can be because they are often retrofitted and the resulting combination of apparatus and cabling, acting as an antenna, can lead to the unintended radiation of the high-frequency harmonics
The response to 'radio spectrum pollution' for many users of the spectrum is to increase the power of transmitters. This in turn consumes more power from the electrical grid. Hi-tech systems such as mobile phone networks will increase power automatically, resulting in more frequent charging of phones, more power consumption in base stations and a reduction in spectrum reuse possibilities. This is not eco-friendly.
One further difficulty is that EU Directives such as the LVD, EMCD and RED are focussed on placing on the market and do not address issues arising during the product life-cycle adequately. In practice both apparatus and installations may deteriorate with time thus contributing to unacceptable levels of background noise.
In the context of our serious concerns regarding the effects of radio spectrum pollution from photovoltaic optimisers and poor or degraded installations, we can therefore conclude that the radio spectrum, as a finite natural resource, is part of our ecosystem and accordingly warrants appropriate protection.
Read full responseResponse to Smartwatches and connected toys
27 Aug 2021
The IARU (International Amateur Radio Union) represents national amateur radio societies and their members in over 100 countries which include Member States of the European Union (EU) as well as the European Economic Area (EEA). IARU in principle welcomes regulations designed to increase protection for citizens and other recognised bodies against cyber-security threats as well as the protection of personal data through GDPR.
In brief, IARU requests a much clearer and less ambiguous definition of the term "internet connected radio equipment" to ensure a better understanding of the scope and applicability of the new proposals for the RED in this area. In addition we wish to see a clearer justification as to why the RED rather than other legislative mechanisms is the most appropriate approach.
Our full response in the attached document expands on our concerns.
Read full responseResponse to Evaluation of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive
19 Feb 2020
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is a Non-Governmental Organisation representing the interests of Radio Amateurs globally. IARU welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Roadmap for the review of the EMCD.
Our detailed comments are in the attached file.
The latest EMC Directive (2014/30/EU) was published in 2014. Since then there has been accelerating usage of electrical and electronic equipment. The welcome advances in the provision of wind energy and Solar PV systems provide a cleaner carbon environment. The Internet of Things (IoT) and Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) have expanded rapidly, to such an extent that every street and every home has potentially a multiplicity of devices covered by the EMCD. We would like to point out that in our opinion the essential requirements of the Directive do not take into account the effects of the aggregation of noise from multiple sources which also may well be within 10m of the system suffering from unwanted disturbances.
Furthermore, the Directive is silent on the issue of modifications to fixed installations which may require further compliance certification and places significant onus on market surveillance authorities. The good engineering practice referred to in this context could arguably be considered as ambiguous; the term good EMC engineering practice would remove this ambiguity.
IARU would welcome a review of the Directive.
Read full responseResponse to Application of Article 3 (3) (i) and 4 of Directive 2014/53/EU relating to Reconfigurable Radio Systems
4 Mar 2019
This delegated act under Article 3(3) of the RED seeks to require that radio equipment supports certain features in order to ensure that software can only be loaded into the radio equipment where the compliance of the combination of the radio equipment and software has been demonstrated, and this requirement will have to be demonstrated for the purposes of market access.
If a radio is locked down permanently, it would stop some of the current modifications by radio amateurs for research, self training and emergency communications purposes and could conflict with the exemption in ANNEX 1 of the RED. For example, it could block converting radios, or supporting non-harmonised allocations (or ones not in the ETSI list) such as amateur allocations at 5 MHz, 70 MHz, etc., and the use of DMR/TETRA etc.
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