Re: [IRCA] Off Topic -- A Little: FCC and Morse Code
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Re: [IRCA] Off Topic -- A Little: FCC and Morse Code



----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 3:24 PM
Subject: [IRCA] Off Topic -- A Little: FCC and Morse Code

From the ARRL comes this report..............
 

ZCZC AG18

QST de W1AW

ARRL Bulletin 18 ARLB018

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT July 21, 2005

To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB018

ARLB018 FCC proposes dropping Morse code requirement entirely

The FCC has proposed dropping the 5 WPM Morse code element as a

requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license of any class. The

Commission included the recommendation in a July 19 Notice of

Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in WT Docket 05-235, but it declined to

go along with any other proposed changes to Amateur Service

licensing rules or operating privileges. Changes to Part 97 that the

FCC proposed in the NPRM would not become final until the Commission

gathers additional public comments, formally adopts any new rules

and concludes the proceeding with a Report and Order specifying the

changes and an effective date. That's not likely to happen for

several months.

"Based upon the petitions and comments, we propose to amend our

amateur service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals

pass a telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur

radio operator license," the FCC said. The NPRM consolidated 18

petitions for rule making from the amateur community--including one

from the ARRL--that had proposed a wide range of additional changes

to the amateur rules. The FCC said the various petitions had

attracted 6200 comments from the amateur community, which soon will

have the opportunity to comment again--this time on the FCC's NPRM.

The Commission said it believes dropping the 5 WPM Morse examination

would encourage more people to become Amateur Radio operators and

would eliminate a requirement that's "now unnecessary" and may

discourage current licensees from advancing their skills. It also

said the change would "promote more efficient use" of amateur

spectrum.

To support dropping the code requirement, the FCC cited changes in

Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations adopted at World

Radiocommunication Conference 2003. WRC-03 deleted the Morse testing

requirement for amateur applicants seeking HF privileges and left it

up to individual countries to determine whether or not they want to

mandate Morse testing. Several countries already have dropped their

Morse requirements for HF access.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said he was not surprised to see the

FCC propose scrapping the Morse requirement altogether, although the

League had called for retaining the 5 WPM requirement only for

Amateur Extra class applicants. Sumner expressed dismay, however,

that the FCC turned away proposals from the League and other

petitioners to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio license class.

"We're disappointed that the Commission prefers to deny an

opportunity to give Amateur Radio the restructuring it needs for the

21st century," he said. "It appears that the Commission is taking

the easy road, but the easy road is seldom the right road."

Sumner said ARRL officials and the Board of Directors will closely

study the 30-page NPRM and comment further once they've had an

opportunity to consider the Commission's stated rationales for its

proposals.

In 2004, the League called on the FCC to create a new entry-level

license, reduce the number of actual license classes to three and

drop the Morse code testing requirement for all classes except for

Amateur Extra. Among other recommendations, the League asked the FCC

to automatically upgrade Technician licensees to General and

Advanced licensees to Amateur Extra. In this week's NPRM, the FCC

said it was not persuaded such automatic upgrades were in the public

interest.

The FCC said it did not believe a new entry-level license class was

warranted because current Novice and Tech Plus licensees will easily

be able upgrade to General once the code requirement goes away. The

Commission also said its "Phone Band Expansion" (or "Omnibus") NPRM

in WT Docket 04-140 already addresses some of the other issues

petitioners raised.

A 60-day period for the public to comment on the NPRM in WT 05-235

will begin once the notice appears in the Federal Register. Reply

comments will be due within 75 days.

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