[Fists] FCC eliminates Morse requirement

[nancy at tir.com]

>From the FCC Web site:

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.