Amateur and amateur-satellite services Handbook

The ITU Handbook on Amateur and amateur-satellite services - 2026 Edition

The International Telecommunication Union has dropped the 2026 edition of its Handbook on Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Services, and it is a global regulatory document that is actually worth getting excited about. It’s a comprehensive, single-source reference pulling together the technical, operational, and regulatory foundations of amateur radio and satellite activity worldwide, aimed squarely at administrations, regulators, and the amateur community itself.

At its core, the handbook reinforces what many amateurs have been saying for decades: this is a globally defined service with real purpose. It traces the evolution of amateur radio from its early roots through to modern SDR, digital systems, and satellite operations, while anchoring everything firmly in the ITU Radiocommunication Sector framework. It highlights the service’s role in self-training, experimentation, and technical innovation, along with its enduring value in emergency communications when conventional networks fail. It also brings together the full suite of ITU recommendations, reports, and regulatory references into one coherent resource.

For the amateur radio community, this release is more than a handbook. It’s a strategic tool. It underpins advocacy, supports education frameworks, and provides a globally recognised reference point for spectrum, licensing, and emerging technologies like amateur satellites and digital communications. Whether you’re influencing regulators, designing training pathways, or just trying to explain to someone that amateur radio is more than “old blokes with microphones,” this document gives you the backing of international policy, science, and decades of collective expertise.

And yes, it’s free, which is refreshing in a world where everything else seems to come with a subscription and by the way, the group that wrote the handbook was led by our very own Dale Hughes VK1DSH - Chair, ITU-R Working Group 5A-5 – Amateur services and amateur satellite services.

The handbook is available at this Link

Page Last Updated: Tuesday, 21 Apr 2026 at 18:55 hours by Peter Clee

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