Call signs in Oceania

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.

The International Telecommunication Union has assigned countries in the Oceania the following call sign blocks for all radio communication, broadcasting or transmission:[1]

History

The conference held in 1927 assigned call prefixes mainly to colonial powers.[2] The only modern Oceanic nation mentioned was an Anglo-French condominium lasting from 1906 until 1980, when the New Hebrides gained their independence as Vanuatu. New Hebrides was assigned YHA–YHZ.

The 1947 Atlantic City ITU Conference reallocated call sign blocks some developing island nations.[3] This time New Hebrides was assigned YJA–YJZ. All other islands were assigned call prefixes according to their colonial or protectorate status.

Since 1947 and the various independence movements, new call signs were assigned by the ITU or a new host country. This is particularly true of Japanese territories occupied by the United States following WWII.

Melanesia
Call sign block Melanesia Approx. # hams[4]
3DN–3DZ Fiji (incl. Conway Reef, Rotuma) 384
FK New Caledonia (France) 266
P2A–P2Z Papua New Guinea 230
H4A–H4Z Solomon Islands 91
YJA–YJZ Vanuatu 121

Micronesia
Call sign block Micronesia Approx. # hams[4]
V6A–V6Z Federated States of Micronesia 192
AH2, KH2, NH2, WH2 Guam (USA)
T3A–T3Z Kiribati 57
V7A–V7Z Marshall Islands 118
C2A–C2Z Nauru 41
AH0, KH0, NH0, WH0 Northern Mariana Islands (USA) 121
T8A–T8Z Palau 201
AH9, KH9, NH9, WH9 Wake Island (USA)

Polynesia
Call sign block Polynesia Approx. # hams[4]
AH8, KH8, NH8, WH8 American Samoa (USA)
CE0(A, E, F, Y), XQ0Y, XR0(Y, Z) Easter Island (Chile)
FO French Polynesia (France) 400
AH6/7, KH6/7, NH6/7, WH6/7 Hawaii (USA)
VP6 Pitcairn Islands (UK) 37
5WA–5WZ Samoa 113
A3A–A3Z Tonga 179
T2A–T2Z Tuvalu 48

While not directly related to call signs, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) further has divided all countries assigned amateur radio prefixes into three regions; countries and territories in Oceania are located in ITU Region 3. They cover CQ Zones 27, 28, 31, 32 and 12.

Deleted or changed entities

These are the deleted or changed DXCC entities in Oceania since World War II:

Call sign block Deleted entity Changed to New prefix
KR6 KR8, JR6, KA6 Okinawa (US military) Japan JR6RAA–JR6ZZZ, JS6
KA0 Iwo Jima (US military) Japan JD1
KC6 Eastern Carolines Micronesia V6
KC6 Western Carolines Palau T8
JZ0 7J1 PK5 Netherlands New Guinea Irian Jaya (Indonesia) YB9
VR6 Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands VP6
KA#, KB6, KC#, KG USA Islands standard US prefix KH#

Amateur radio call signs

Amateur radio or ham radio call signs are unique identifiers for more than 2,500 licensed operators in the western Pacific. Call signs are regulated internationally by the ITU as well as nationally by island national entities, some of which are independent countries and others are under colonial administration. For the purposes of this article, Australia, its dependencies and New Zealand are excluded. Also not included are Oceanic Indonesian areas of Irian Jaya and the Maluku Islands.

Since call sign allocation from the International Telegraph Union is administered by national political authorities and international mandates, it is a story of colonial transition within the 20th Century.

References
  1. International Telecommunication Union country call sign assignments Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "International Radiotelegraph Conference (Washington 1927)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  3. International Telecommunication Convention Atlantic City 1947 Archived July 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Callsign divisions listed by prefix
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