Call signs in India

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Call signs in India are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in India. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology regulates call signs nationally, and the International Telecommunication Union regulates call signs internationally.

Contents

Call sign blocks

The International Telecommunication Union has assigned India the following call signs:

CallsignCQITU
8TA to 8YZ2241
VTA to VWZ2241
ATA to AWZ2241

Note: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under ITU Zone 49 and CQ Zone 26.

In addition to the above, the base of Maitri and the abandoned station of Dakshin Gangotri, also use the Indian callsigns but come under ITU Zone 67 and CQ Zone 38 respectively. [1] [2]

Defunct callsigns

Call signs

The generic QSL card created by ARSI for amateur radio operators in India ARSI QSL card.jpg
The generic QSL card created by ARSI for amateur radio operators in India

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has divided all countries into three regions; India is located in ITU Region 3. These regions are further divided into two competing zones, the ITU and the CQ. Mainland India and the Lakshadweep Islands come under ITU Zone 41 and CQ Zone 22, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands under ITU Zone 49 and CQ Zone 26. The ITU has assigned to India call-sign blocks 8TA to 8YZ, VTA to VWZ, and ATA to AWZ. [3] [4] The WPC allots the individual call-signs, or call sign series.

Call-signDescription
2**Callsigns used by early amateur radio operators before 1928. They were later converted to the VU series. [5] (defunct)
AT0
AT*JCBAT0JCB to AT9JCB – Special callsign allotted to mark the birth centenary of radio scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose in November/December 2007. See also AU*JCB. [6]
AT3
  • AT3D – Special callsign for an Antarctic expedition for a 1994-1996 expedition to Antarctica.
  • AT3ANT – Special callsign for the 3rd and 5th Antarctic Activity Week.
AT6
  • AT6MM – Mahamastabhishekha Celebrations 2006 Special Event Amateur Radio Station [7]
AT7
  • AT7CD – Bangalore Amateur Radio Club VU2ARC National Disaster Reduction Day [8]
  • AT7LEO – Special Event Station at Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh [9]
AT8
  • AT8LH – Mahaballipuram Amateur Radio Light House Operation International LightHouse and LightShip Week [10]
  • AT8LHC – Kadalur Point Lighthouse - Kerala - ILLW 2009 on occasion of Centenary Celebrations [11]
  • AT8ESP – 5th Asian Congress of Esperanto Special Event Amateur (Ham) Radio Station, Bangalore [12]
  • AT8WWF – India's First Flora and Fauna Amateur Radio Activity at Bannerhatta National Park [13]
ATA
ATNAntarctic expeditions [14]
AU*JSBAU0JCB to AU9JCB – Special callsign allotted to mark the birth centenary of radio scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose in November/December 2007. See also AT*JCB. [6]
AU2BSGSpecial Call Sign allotted for India's Second Scout Camp on the AIR (SCOTA) during 22–25 May 2015 at VU2HEN, Calvary Mount, Idukki, Kerala State, India.
VT(Aircraft)
VU0Special call sign to celebrate the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi in 1969
VU2General grade (Previously Grade I and Advanced Grade callsigns)
VU3Restricted grade (Previously Grade II and Grade II restricted callsigns)

e.g.:VU3EGH, VU3UNE

VU4Special callsign used for an Andaman and Nicobar Islands DX-pedition in 2004
VU5
  • Callsigns used by the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore and Indian Railways HF transmitters in pre-independence India.
  • Callsign used by the Lakshadweep Islands [14]
  • Callsign used by a 1960 DX-pedition to the Andaman Islands [15]
VU6Special callsign used by a broadcast station in pre-independence India
VU7Special callsign used by a DX-pedition in the Lakshadweep Islands in 2007
VW(Marine vessels)
CR8 Portuguese India (defunct)
AC3Former monarchy of Sikkim (defunct)
FN8 French India (defunct)

Assignments for amateur radio

Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 16,000 licensed users. The first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators have played an important part in the Indian independence movement with the establishment of pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s, which were illegal. The Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC), a division of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, regulates amateur radio in India. The WPC assigns call signs, issues amateur radio licences, conducts exams, allots frequency spectrum, and monitors the radio waves.

See also

Related Research Articles

Call signs in New Zealand are no longer generally used to identify broadcast stations. However, New Zealand's radio stations were once known by their call signs and would usually broadcast their call signs as a number followed by X, Y, or Z, and another letter. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU and nationally by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), formerly the Ministry of Economic Development. The ministry is also responsible for providing policy advice to Government on the allocation of New Zealand's radio spectrum to support, efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

The Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC) is a Wing of Department of Telecommunications coming under the Ministry of Communications of the Government of India. The department is responsible for issuing amateur radio licenses, allotting the frequency spectrum and monitoring the frequency spectrum. The WPC is headquartered in New Delhi and has regional branches in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.

Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 22,000 licensed users in India. The first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators played an important part in the Indian independence movement with the establishment of illegal pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s. The three decades after India's independence saw only slow growth in the number of operators until the then Prime Minister of India and amateur radio operator, Rajiv Gandhi (VU2RG), waived the import duty on wireless equipment in 1984. Since then, numbers have picked up, and as of 2007, there were more than 16,000 operators in the country. Amateur radio operators have played a vital role during disasters and national emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and bomb blasts, by providing voluntary emergency communications in the affected areas.

Call signs in Australia are allocated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and are unique for each broadcast station. The use of callsigns on-air in both radio and television in Australia is optional, so many stations used other on-air identifications. Australian broadcast stations officially have the prefix VL- and originally all callsigns used that format, but since Australia has no nearby neighbours, this prefix is no longer used except in an international context.

The Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in India. ARSI is recognized by the Indian government under the provisions of Section 13 of the Indian Societies Registration Act as amended and extended. ARSI operates a QSL bureau for those amateur radio operators in regular contact with amateur radio operators in other countries, and supports amateur radio operating awards and radio contests. The Amateur Radio Society of India represents the interests of Indian amateur radio operators before national and international regulatory authorities. ARSI is the national member society representing India in the International Amateur Radio Union.

Call signs in the Middle East are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in the Middle East. Call signs are regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and nationally by local government and international agencies in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, The Palestinian Authority, occupied territories and other nations or DXCC entities.

Call signs in Argentina are unique identifiers for communication. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by the Comisión Nacional de Comunicaciones of the Argentine government.

Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator, with some countries requiring the station call sign to always be used and others allowing the operator call sign instead.

Call signs in Russia are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. The latter is responsible for providing policy on the allocation of Russia's radio spectrum to support efficient, reliable and responsive wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

Call signs in Mexico are unique identifiers for telecommunications, radio communication, radio broadcasting and transmission. They are regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as well as nationally by the Federal Telecommunications Institute, which regulates broadcast stations, wireless telecommunications and spectrum use.

Call signs in Korea are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting on the Korean peninsula. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally in South Korea by the Korea Communications Commission in the Ministry of Information and Communication. Not much is known outside of North Korea how amateur radio is regulated, although a foreign amateur was asked to appear before the "Radio Regulation Board" in 2002. Also, North Korea's Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries recently issued an operating permit, which was countermanded by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Posts.

Call signs in Japan are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting.

Call signs in Asia are rarely used to identify broadcast stations. In most Asian countries, broadcast stations use other forms of identification. Few countries west of the Pacific Ocean, namely Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan are exceptions to this rule. Amateur radio stations in India, Pakistan, Korea and Japan are allocated call-signs.

Call signs in Europe are not formally used for broadcast stations.

Call signs in Oceania are currently voluntary in Australia radio and TV station, and were previously compulsory in New Zealand. In both countries, stations like 2GB and Newstalk ZB continue to use parts of the call signs in their branding.

Call signs in Canada are official identifiers issued to the country's radio and television stations. Assignments for broadcasting stations are made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), while amateur stations receive their call signs from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Conventional radio and television broadcasting stations assignments are generally three, four or five letters long and almost exclusively use "C" call signs; with a few exceptions noted below, the "V" calls are restricted to specialized uses such as amateur radio.

Call signs in Antarctica include a three letter region code and a series of numbers and letters.

Call signs in Barbados include a three letter country code, and a series of letters and numbers.

Call signs in United Kingdom include a three letter country code, and a series of letters and numbers.

References

  1. ↑ Zone 67
  2. ↑ "Zone 38".
  3. ↑ ITU Zone 41 Map (Map). International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  4. ↑ CQ Zone 22 Map (Map). International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  5. ↑ "RF-man's Radio Site- Callsigns". www.geocities.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Special callsigns for Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose anniversary". Government of India letter "L-14011/640/ 2007-AMT" dated 2007-09-19". Southmate Amateur Radio Club. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  7. ↑ "AT6MM Callsign Page".
  8. ↑ "AT7CD Callsign Page".
  9. ↑ "AT7LEO Callsign Page".
  10. ↑ "AT8LH Callsign Page".
  11. ↑ "AT8LHC Callsign Page".
  12. ↑ "AT8ESP Callsign Page".
  13. ↑ "AT8WFF Callsign Page".
  14. 1 2 3 "ITU Callsigns - India". www.users.waitrose.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-28. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Andaman Islands - VU2ANI/VU5".
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