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IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS
MEDIA CONTACT: ( for full details see the PDF link above)
December 15, 2006 Chelsea
Fallon: (202) 418-7991
FCC MODIFIES AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE RULES,
ELIMINATING MORSE CODE EXAM REQUIREMENTS AND
ADDRESSING ARRL PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION
Washington,
D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and
Order and Order on Reconsideration (Order) that modifies the rules for the
Amateur Radio Service by revising the examination requirements for obtaining a
General Class or Amateur Extra Class amateur radio operator license and
revising the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees. In addition, the Order resolves a petition
filed by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL) for partial
reconsideration of an FCC Order on amateur service rules released on October
10, 2006.
The
current amateur service operator license structure contains three classes of
amateur radio operator licenses:
Technician Class, General Class, and Amateur Extra Class. General Class and Amateur Extra Class
licensees are permitted to operate in Amateur bands below 30 MHz, while the
introductory Technician Class licensees are only permitted to operate in bands
above 30 MHz. Prior to today’s action,
the FCC, in accordance with international radio regulations, required
applicants for General Class and Amateur Extra Class operator licenses to pass
a five words-per-minute Morse code examination. Today’s Order eliminates that requirement for General and Amateur
Extra licensees. This change reflects
revisions to international radio regulations made at the International
Telecommunication Union’s 2003 World Radio Conference (WRC-03), which
authorized each country to determine whether to require that individuals
demonstrate Morse code proficiency in order to qualify for an amateur radio
license with transmitting privileges on frequencies below 30 MHz. This change eliminates an unnecessary
regulatory burden that may discourage current amateur radio operators from
advancing their skills and participating more fully in the benefits of amateur
radio.
Today’s
Order also revises the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees by
eliminating a disparity in the operating privileges for the Technician Class
and Technician Plus Class licensees.
Technician Class licensees are authorized operating privileges on all
amateur frequencies above 30 MHz. The
Technician Plus Class license, which is an operator license class that existed
prior the FCC’s simplification of the amateur license structure in 1999 and was
grandfathered after that time, authorized operating privileges on all amateur
frequencies above 30 MHz, as well as frequency segments in four HF bands (below
30 MHz) after the successful completion of a Morse code examination. With today’s elimination of the Morse code
exam requirements, the FCC concluded that the disparity between the operating
privileges of Technician Class licensees and Technician Plus Class licensees
should not be retained. Therefore, the
FCC, in today’s action, afforded Technician and Technician Plus licensees
identical operating privileges.
Finally,
today’s Order resolved a petition filed by the ARRL for partial reconsideration
of an FCC Order released on October 10, 2006 (FCC 06-149). In this Order, the FCC authorized amateur stations
to transmit voice communications on additional frequencies in certain amateur
service bands, including the 75 meter (m) band, which is authorized only for
certain wideband voice and image communications. The ARRL argued that the 75 m band should not have been expanded
below 3635 kHz, in order to protect automatically controlled digital stations
operating in the 3620-3635 kHz portion of the 80 m band. The FCC concluded that these stations can be
protected by providing alternate spectrum in the 3585-3600 kHz frequency
segment.
Action by the Commission on
December 15, 2006, by Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration. Chairman Martin and Commissioners Copps,
Adelstein, Tate, and McDowell.
For additional information,
contact William Cross at (202) 418-0691 or William.Cross@fcc.gov.
WT Docket Nos. 04-140 and 05-235.
– FCC –
News and other information about
the Federal Communications Commission
is available at www.fcc.gov.