[QCWA] FCC Proposes Dropping Morse Code

[Pete Kemp]

FCC Proposes to Drop Morse Code Requirement for All License Classes

NEWINGTON, CT, July 20, 2005--The FCC has proposed dropping the 5 WPM Morse 
code element as a requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license of any 
class. The Commission recommended the change to its Part 97 Amateur Service 
rules in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making 
(<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-143A1.pdf>NPRM) 
in WT Docket 05-235. Any rule changes proposed in the NPRM would not become 
final until the FCC gathers additional public comments, formally adopts any 
changes to its rules and concludes the proceeding by issuing a Report and 
Order (R&O) spelling out the changes and specifying an effective date. 
That's not likely to happen for several months. The FCC declined in its 
NPRM to go forward with any other suggested changes to Amateur Service 
licensing rules or operating privileges beyond elimination of the Morse 
requirement.

"Based upon the petitions and comments, we propose to amend our amateur 
service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a 
telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio operator 
license," the FCC said in its NPRM, released July 19. This week's NPRM 
consolidated 18 petitions for rule making from the amateur 
community--including one from the ARRL--that 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 the FCC's proposals in 
response to those petitions.

The Commission said it believes dropping Element 1--the 5 WPM Morse 
examination--would "encourage individuals who are interested in 
communications technology, or who are able to contribute to the advancement 
of the radio art, to become amateur radio operators." The FCC said it also 
would eliminate a requirement it believes "is now unnecessary and that may 
discourage" current licensees from advancing their skills, and that it 
would "promote more efficient use" of current Amateur Radio spectrum.

The FCC cited changes in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations 
adopted at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 as the primary reason 
to go forward with eliminating Morse code as an Amateur Radio licensing 
requirement in the future. Among other changes, WRC-03 deleted the Morse 
testing requirement for amateur applicants seeking HF privileges, leaving 
it up to individual countries to determine whether or not they want to 
mandate Morse testing. Several countries already have dropped their Morse 
requirements.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said he was not surprised that the FCC 
proposed altogether scrapping the Morse code requirement. The League and 
others had called for retaining the 5 WPM requirement only for Amateur 
Extra class applicants. Sumner expressed dismay, however, that the FCC 
turned away proposals from the League and other petitioners to create a new 
entry-level Amateur Radio license class.

"We're disappointed that the Commission prefers to deny an opportunity to 
give Amateur Radio the restructuring it needs for the 21st century," he 
said. "It appears that the Commission is taking the easy road, but the easy 
road is seldom the right road."

Sumner said ARRL officials and the Board of Directors would closely study 
the 30-page NPRM and plan to comment further after they've had the 
opportunity to consider the Commission's stated rationales for its proposals.

In 2004, the ARRL filed a Petition for Rule Making asking the FCC to amend 
Part 97 to complete the Amateur Service restructuring begun in 1999 but 
"left unfinished." The League called on the FCC to create a new entry-level 
license, reduce the number of actual license classes to three and drop the 
Morse code testing requirement for all classes except for Amateur Extra. 
Among other recommendations, the League asked the FCC to automatically 
upgrade Technician licensees to General and Advanced licensees to Amateur 
Extra. In this week's NPRM, the FCC said it was not persuaded such 
automatic upgrades were in the public interest.

The FCC said it did not believe a new entry-level license class was 
warranted because current Novice and Tech Plus licensees already can easily 
upgrade to General. "We also note that, if our proposal to eliminate 
telegraphy testing in the amateur service is adopted," the FCC continued, 
"a person who is not a licensee will be able to qualify for a General Class 
operator license by passing two written examinations, and that a person who 
is a Technician Class licensee will be able to qualify for a General Class 
operator license by passing one written examination." The FCC said it does 
not believe either path to be unreasonable.

The FCC also said that it's already addressed some of the other issues 
petitioners raised in its "Phone Band Expansion" (or "Omnibus") 
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-79A1.doc>NPRM in 
WT Docket 04-140. In that proceeding, the Commission proposed to go along 
with the ARRL's <http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/refarm/>Novice 
refarming proposal aimed at reallocating the current Novice/Tech Plus 
subbands to provide additional phone spectrum. Under the plan, Novice/Tech 
Plus licensees would be granted CW privileges in the current General CW 
subbands.

A 60-day period for members of the public to comment on the FCC's NPRM in 
WT 05-235 will begin once the NPRM appears in the Federal Register. Reply 
comments will be due within 75 days of the NPRM's publication in the 
Federal Register.

(Tnx to ARRL. webpage)