While not knowing the true political background of this issue, and I'm sure
there is a political basis for this issue, in my reading the FCC actions and
I quote:
"The NPRM&O consolidated 18 petitions for rule making from the amateur
community. Several petitioners simply asked the FCC to drop the Morse
requirement, but some--including the ARRL--also 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 what the FCC calls "our
tentative conclusions" in its NPRM&O."
Therefore it would appear to me that the FCC is simply taking action on the
petitions (18) that have been filed. That step is required in their due
process in order to clean out the filing cabinet. Frankly, I wouldn't get
too "heated up" over the issue. As I see things, for those that don't
operate CW then it really won't make any difference. For those that do
operate CW, again, it won't make any difference. What might make a
difference however is the fact that certain individuals that desire to
obtain a ham license will now be able to do so. There will be more hams,
and more utilization of the frequencies presently available and thus our
collective ability to hold on to what we got. That sole fact is vastly
important.
73
Bob, K4TAX
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