The Amateur Radio Service is for all individuals who are interested in the technical side of radio and are able to provide emergency communications in didasters, all for the general benefit of teh public. It is called amateur because it is strictly non-commercial: no business may be conducted using amateur frequencies. Amateur Radio is a voluntary, disciplined service guided by five traditional objectives that have withstood the test of time:

   1) to provide emergency and public service communications
   2) to advance the state of the art
   3) to improve individual skills in radio operations
   4) to provide a reserve pool of qualified radio operators and techinicians
   5) to promote international goodwill

Amateur Radio represents principles of radio communications that have endured and advanced since the days of the earliest radio pioneers. From more than 90 years, hams (i.e. radioamateurs) have carried on a tradition of learning by doing, and since the beginning have remained at the very forefront of technology. Through experimenting and building, hams have pioneered advances such as the techniques for single sideband, and are currently engaged in state-of -the -art design in packet-radio and spread-spectrum tecniques. Amateurs were among the first to bounce signals off the moon to extend signal range. And ham's practical experience has led to numerous technical refinements and cost reducions beneficial to the commercial radio industry.

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