[SEDXC] FCC ELIMINATING MORSE CODE EXAM REQUIREMENTS

[w4gkf at chazcone.com]

Wonder what happened to (my) Advanced class license?!??

Chaz W4GKF

At 08:45 PM 12/15/2006, Ed Tanton wrote:
>Text straight from FCC's website...
>
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                   NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
>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 at fcc.gov.
>
>WT Docket Nos. 04-140 and 05-235.
>
>­ FCC ­
>
>News and other information about the Federal Communications Commission
>is available at <http://www.fcc.gov/>www.fcc.gov.
>
>
>Ed Tanton
>
>website: http://www.n4xy.com
>
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>--------------------------------------------------
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