Amateur radio in Metzetta

Amateur radio is a popular hobby in Metzetta, particularly among the older generations. The first amateur radio license in Metzetta was granted in 1921 and the well-established regulations of the Metzettan Amateur Radio Union formed the basis for many of the recommendations made in the charter of the International League of Radio Amateurs, which is itself based in Inyang. The MARU is overseen by the government's Ministry of Communication.

History
TBC

Licensing
License offered in Metzetta for radio amateurs include Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Special and Experimental. For most citizens only the first three are desired. Novice license holders generally go on to acquire better licenses to access more bands and use higher outputs; at the novice level no more than 5 Watts can be used for broadcasting. This rises to 20W at Intermediate and 50W for Advanced. Experimental Licenses allow access to frequencies not usually associated with amateur radio, including microwave bands. Morse code is required knowledge for Advanced License Examinations but has not been required for Novice users since the early 2000's. Special licenses are granted on a temporary basis to run a station in commemoration of some event or competition.

Callsigns
The ILRA recommends all amateur radio callsigns take the following format; 2 letters signifying country of origin, 1 or 2 digits signifying region within a country and 3 letters, either randomly assigned or chosen by the licensee; therefore all Metzettan callsigns begin with MZ, with the following 1 or 2 digits designating the following area/rank; It is anticipated that as the number of radio amateurs grows, as yet unassigned codes may need to be opened for very populous areas such as Galko. Overseas territories are assigned codes even if they have no permanent residents (e.g. staff of the Polar World Archive, who use prefix MZ42).

MARU
The Metzettan Amateur Radio Union represents the interests of radio hams in the country and runs a QSL card bureau, publishes books and a magazine, runs contests and offers awards, as well as conducting the exams required for licenses which are issued by the Ministry of Communication.

Allocated spectrum
Metzetta currently opens all bands described by the ILRA to its citizens however some only with certain licenses and in certain modes(Morse, voice, digital, etc); higher frequencies in particular are usually somewhat restricted. MARU published the following table for guidance;