From ARRL:
\nSB QST ARL ARLB002
\nARLB002 FCC Dismisses Two Petitions from Radio Amateurs<\/p>\n
The FCC has turned down two petitions filed in 2016, each seeking
\nsimilar changes in the Part 97 Amateur Service rules. James Edwin
\nWhedbee, N0ECN, of Gladstone, Missouri, had asked the Commission to
\namend the rules to reduce the number of Amateur Radio operator
\nclasses to Technician, General, and Amateur Extra by merging
\nremaining Novice class licensees into the Technician class and all
\nAdvanced class licensees into the Amateur Extra class. In a somewhat
\nrelated petition, Jeffrey H. Siegell, WB2YRL, of Burke, Virginia,
\nhad requested that the FCC grant Advanced class license holders
\nMorse code operating privileges equivalent to those enjoyed by
\nAmateur Extra class licensees.<\/p>\n
“Thus, Mr. Siegell’s proposed rule change is subsumed within the
\nchanges Mr. Whedbee requests, so our analysis is the same for both
\nproposals,” the FCC said in dismissing the two petitions on January
\n5.<\/p>\n
The FCC streamlined the Amateur Radio licensing system into three
\nclasses – Technician, General, and Amateur Extra – in 1999. While it
\nno longer issues new Novice or Advanced class licenses, existing
\nlicenses can be renewed, and Novice and Advanced licensees retained
\ntheir operating privileges.<\/p>\n
“The Commission concluded that the three-class structure would
\nstreamline the licensing process, while still providing an incentive
\nfor licensees to advance their communication and technical skills,”
\nthe FCC recounted in its dismissal letter to Whedbee and Siegell. It
\nspecifically rejected suggestions that Novice and Advanced class
\nlicensees be automatically upgraded to a higher class, concluding
\nthat it would be inappropriate for these licensees to “receive
\nadditional privileges without passing the required examination
\nelements.” The FCC cited the same reason in 2005, when it denied
\nrequests to automatically upgrade Technician licensees to General
\nclass and Advanced licensees to Amateur Extra class, as part of a
\nwide-ranging proceeding.<\/p>\n
The FCC said the two petitions “do not demonstrate, or even suggest,
\nthat any relevant circumstances have changed that would merit
\nreconsideration of those decisions.”<\/p>\n
Whedbee had argued that automatically upgrading current Novice and
\nAdvanced classes would simplify the rules and reduce the
\nCommission’s costs and administrative burden, but the FCC said
\nWhedbee provided no evidence that an administrative problem exists.
\n“Moreover, such benefits would not outweigh the public interest in
\nensuring that amateur operators have the requisite incentive to
\nadvance their skill and technical knowledge in order to contribute
\nto the advancement of the radio art and improvement of the Amateur
\nRadio Service,” the FCC said.<\/p>\n
“The Commission has already concluded that it will not automatically
\ngrant additional privileges to the discontinued license classes,”
\nthe FCC said. “Consequently, we conclude that the above-referenced
\npetitions for rulemaking do not warrant further consideration at
\nthis time.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From ARRL: SB QST ARL ARLB002 ARLB002 FCC Dismisses Two Petitions from Radio Amateurs The FCC has turned down two petitions filed in 2016, each seeking similar changes in the Part 97 Amateur Service rules. James Edwin Whedbee, N0ECN, of…<\/span><\/p>\n