Amateur and Amateur-satellite are fully recognized radiocommunication services defined in the Radio Regulations (RR) of the International Telecommunication Union - ITU 

The amateur service is one of the oldest radio service and pre-dates regulation of radiocommunication.

• In 1912, amateurs could use any frequency above 1.5 MHz, as these frequencies were regarded “of no value for marine, governmental and commercial communications” or “undesirable and scarcely useful”.

• By 1924, amateurs made way for other services in bands above 1.5 MHz.

• Today, the amateur service operates in relatively small allocations throughout the spectrum.

• The 1963 World Administrative Radio Conference created Footnote 284A, which states: “In the band 144-146 MHz, artificial satellites may be used by the amateur service”. The amateur-satellite was created and given frequency allocations at the 1971 Space WARC.

• Self-training is an important purpose of the amateur services, as articulated in the definition of the amateur service in No. 1.56 of the RR. Radio amateurs have made significant technical contributions to the fields of radio propagation, high frequency single sideband radiotelephone, HF data communications, packet radio protocols and communication satellite design.

• No. 25.9A of the RR encourages administrations to allow amateur stations to support disaster relief. Amateur radio continues to provide basic radiocommunications especially in the early days of a disaster following the loss or overloading of normal telecommunications networks.