Students from Kenya, The Gambia, Ghana, The Philippines, Honduras, Dominica and Nepal attended the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) Amateur Radio Administration Course (ARAC) at ARRL Headquarters October 13-17. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, coordinated the session and led the course. ARRL Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and Meeting Planner Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ, coordinated with ARRL's participation with USTTI.

ARRL Technical Relations Manager Brennan Price, N4QX, led the classes on the first day. According to Price, the students work in their respective government telecommunications offices dealing with telecommunications and Amateur Radio testing, licensing and monitoring. "Our seven students -- Fitzroy Pascal (Dominica), Purushottam Prasad Khanal (Nepal), Godfrey Odipo (Kenya), Eriberta Tamoro (The Philippines), Paola Michelle Pascua Cantarero (Honduras), Constance Takyi (Ghana) and Rodine Renner (The Gambia) -- made the trek to Newington," said Price. "The curriculum covered a wide variety of Amateur Radio topics and concerns, including licensing, spectrum requirements, disaster communications and antenna requirements." The curriculum also covered the ITU and its regulations, as well as the process leading to the next World Radiocommunication Conference 2011 (WRC-11).

"All seven students took a keen interest in how the Amateur Radio Service has developed through its history and continues to develop today," Price said. "There was a particular interest in RFI issues, and students were receptive to our ideas for resolving these issues."

Numerous ARRL HQ staff assisted with the course. VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM; Assistant VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O, and Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, covered US Amateur Radio Licensing Structure and the VEC program. Dennis Dura, K2DCD, presented the Disaster Communications module, and ARRL Publications Manager and QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY, spoke on HF digital communications and Amateur Radio satellites.

ARRL Laboratory staff members -- Mike Gruber, W1MG; Bob Allison, WB1GCM; Zack Lau, W1VT, and Ed Hare, W1RFI -- also contributed to the training effort. Hare and Gruber delivered presentations on RFI and RF safety, while Lau demonstrated 10 GHz equipment. Gruber and Allison assisted the students in assembling 40 meter receivers.

The Amateur Radio Administration Course is designed for those in developing countries who regulate and manage their countries' Amateur Radio Service. The course is intended to help participants create, administer and foster an Amateur Radio Service in their home countries. Now in its 26th year, USTTI is a nonprofit venture involving leading US-based communications and information technology corporations, as well as leaders in the federal government, cooperating to provide tuition-free management, policy and technical training for talented professionals from the developing world. ARRL has been offering the ARAC with USTTI for 24 years.