Whilst operating SSB on the 2m and 70cm bands is within the limits of the amateur radio licence the 160m – 6m bands tend to be far more popular bands to work. Of course we all know that the 2m and 70cm bands are widely used using VHF simplex and repeater communications. FM is the most popular mode primarily due to the wide availability of FM repeaters. These repeaters extend the operating range on VHF and enable low power handheld transceivers to communicate over 100 miles. FM is also used on simplex to make contacts directly without repeaters.
The main disadvantage of FM is relatively poor performance when signals are weak, which is where SSB really comes into its own. A weak FM signal can disappear completely into the noise while a comparable SSB signal is still fairly readable. Using SSB instead of FM can be equivalent to having a beam antenna with 10 dB of gain, just by changing modulation types.
If you have a radio capable of TX / RX on the 2m and 70cm bands why not listen out for him on Saturday the 13th of May, Barrie will be operating ssb on 432.200 & 432.180, also 144.300 & 144.280 during the the day. I am sure he would love to have a QSO with you and get you in his log.