[AMRadio] Fw: ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC's Application Fees Proposal

Wed Oct 28 21:04:11 EDT 2020

If I may, yes, I and many other hams can afford to spend tons of money on
our hobby.

 However, as a VE I test many young people who can not afford to do so.

If you are a pilot, did you buy a Learjet immediately after obtaining your
pilot’s license?  Probably not I would suspect.

If you obtained your drivers license at 16, did you (not mom and dad) buy a
brand new luxery car?  Most of us would say no.

Please understand I am not trying to start an argument here.  I merely
point out that not all hams can afford multi-thousand dollar rigs.  They
start out with older, less expensive rigs and long for something better,
just like we did when we were kids.

Maybe some of us older hams who have benefitted financially from the
knowledge our hobby gave us should offer to pay the license fees for the
kids as an incentive to study and pass the test?  Nothing like incentive is
there?

And frankly, if we don’t continue to recruit more youngsters into our hobby
we won’t have it much longer as the commercial interests look at our
numbers to potentially use any decline against us when lobbying against us
to take our frequencies.

Okay I’m taking my 78 year old tired body down from the soapbox now.  I
wish all of you the best.

73,
Bob, K5INW

On Wed, Oct 28, 2020 at 6:21 PM W. Harris <nbcblue at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hams can spend thousands of dollars on plastic radios and tower/antenna
> systems but can't afford a $50 renewal fee ever ten years? Really?
> Bill - K5MIL
> ________________________________
> From: amradio-bounces at mailman.qth.net <amradio-bounces at mailman.qth.net>
> on behalf of w5jo at brightok.net <w5jo at brightok.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 7:17 PM
> To: AM Radio List <amradio at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: [AMRadio] Fw: ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly
> Opposing FCC's Application Fees Proposal
>
> Everyone should take note .
>
> Jim
> W5JO
>
>
>
> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB031
> ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC's
> Application Fees Proposal
>
> ZCZC AG31
> QST de W1AW
> ARRL Bulletin 31  ARLB031
> From ARRL Headquarters
> Newington CT  October 28, 2020
> To all radio amateurs
>
> SB QST ARL ARLB031
> ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC's
> Application Fees Proposal
>
> ARRL will file comments in firm opposition to an FCC proposal to
> impose a $50 fee on amateur radio license and application fees. With
> the November 16 comment deadline fast approaching, ARRL urges
> members to add their voices to ARRL's by filing opposition comments
> of their own. The FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) MD Docket
> 20-270 appeared in the October 15 edition of The Federal Register
> and sets deadlines of November 16 to comment and November 30 to post
> reply comments, which are comments on comments already filed.
>
> The NPRM can be found online at, https://tinyurl.com/yyk8f2yp .
>
> ARRL has prepared a Guide to Filing Comments with the FCC which
> includes tips for preparing comments and step-by-step filing
> instructions. File comments on MD Docket 20-270 using the FCC's
> Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).  The instructions can be
> found online at, http://www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal .
>
> Under the proposal, amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for
> each amateur radio application for new licenses, license renewals,
> upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. The
> FCC also has proposed a $50 fee to obtain a printed copy of a
> license. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such
> as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees. Amateur Service
> licensees have been exempt from application fees for several years.
>
> The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
> (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions
> of the "Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern
> Services Act" of 2018 - the so-called "Ray Baum's Act." The Act
> requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee
> structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its NPRM, the FCC
> proposed application fees for a broad range of services that use the
> FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio
> Service. The 2018 statute excludes the Amateur Service from annual
> regulatory fees, but not from application fees. The FCC proposal
> affects all FCC services and does not single out amateur radio.
>
> ARRL is encouraging members to file comments that stress amateur
> radio's contributions to the country and communities. ARRL's Guide
> to Filing Comments includes "talking points" that may be helpful in
> preparing comments. These stress amateur radio's role in
> volunteering communication support during disasters and emergencies,
> and inspiring students to pursue education and careers in
> engineering, radio technology, and communications.
>
> As the FCC explained in its NPRM, Congress, through the Ray Baum's
> Act, is compelling regulatory agencies such as the FCC to recover
> from applicants the costs involved in filing and handling
> applications.
>
> In its NPRM the FCC encouraged licensees to update their own
> information online without charge. Many, if not most, Amateur
> Service applications may be handled via the largely automated
> Universal License Service (ULS). The Ray Baum's Act does not exempt
> filing fees in the Amateur Radio Service, and the FCC stopped
> assessing fees for vanity call signs several years ago.
>
> See also "FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees,"
> reported by ARRL in August, at,
>
> http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-proposes-to-reinstate-amateur-radio-service-fees
> .
>
> A summary page of the proceeding can also be found online at,
> http://www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal .
> NNNN
> /EX
>
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