International (Mexico) repeaters join "national" net?

[ljh505]

An interesting question came up at the end of the national net on Sunday, Nov. 29.  An operator from Monterrey, Mexico near the tip of southern Texas came on the system, and asked about cross-border linking (presumably via Internet) of a repeater he is setting up for the national net on Sundays.

 

The topic is to be taken up on the Wednesday Tech Net on Dec. 2.

 

Anyone have any rules references for this?  I think the Mexico repeater would have to be covered by their local laws.  Here's a link to some info on Mexico's equivalent of CB/FRS and other "licensed by rule" services:

 

http://www.ift.org.mx/espectro-radioelectrico/bandas-de-frecuencias-del-espectro-radioelectrico-de-uso-libre

 

but is cross-linking a foreign UHF repeater into a U.S. GMRS net via the Internet permissible under the Part 95 rules?

[BoxCar]

Along the Canadian border there are some sites operating for cross-border comms. It's primarily in the NE with Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont doing the bulk of it when I quit coordinating in 2015. The practice had been going on for several years but it required a treaty modification to get it officially sanctioned. The treaty change allowed for US frequencies to be installed in Canada and vice-versa on a non-interference basis. Stations in Canada operate under Canadian rules while stations in the US operate under FCC rules. I forget how wide the band is but 30 kilometers rings a bell. In some little towns along the border it's quite a mess as a responder from one country may have to cross the border in order to respond to a call in their country.

[ljh505]

I think the treaty with Mexico for coordinated land-mobile UHF comms is for 470-512 MHz; link to current treaty dating to the mid-1990s from the FCC page is given below.

 

https://transition.fcc.gov/ib/sand/agree/files/mex-nb/470-512.pdf

 

The treaty region extends 150 km on either side of the border.  The GMRS repeater pairs are 462 MHz outputs and 467 MHz inputs, below the 470-512 MHz range of the current treaty, so you're probably right a treaty modification would be needed for coordinated cross-border USA<->Mexico GMRS operation.

 

Taking another look though Part 95 radio services, though the FCC removed the 250 km contact limit for 27 MHz CB, the only country listed with permissible cross-border contacts at 27 MHz is Canada's CB service (General Radio Service).

 

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/vwapj/ric18-issue4-oct08.pdf/$FILE/ric18-issue4-oct08.pdf

 

The clincher seems to be Part 95.1733(a)(9) which prohibits foreign (non-US) contacts for GMRS:

 

§ 95.1733 Prohibited GMRS uses.

(a) In addition to the prohibited uses outlined in § 95.333 of this chapter, GMRS stations must not communicate:

(9) Messages (except emergency messages) to any station in the Amateur Radio Service, to any unauthorized station, or to any foreign station;

 

Anyway, good to know. I live in the southwest (New Mexico), so I guess we can't reply to Mexican operators that pop up on the Southwest linked system until some entity works the cross-border treaty issue.