Fw: FCC License Restructuring

[Gene Holcombe]

This was just sent me by a member of the Jackson, MS ARC, of which I am
pleased to be a member.  Perhaps this will answer a lot of questions we have
had.  Happy New Year!!!

Gene  N5ZDF
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill McLarty <bmclarty at trustmark.com>
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Date: Thursday, December 30, 1999 3:43 PM
Subject: FCC License Restructuring


>
>
>This is hot off the CQ Magazine website.
>
>More than a year after it first proposed
>     reducing the number of amateur license classes
>     and asked hams for input on code speed
>     requirements, the Federal Communications
>     Commission (FCC) handed down its restructuring
>     decision on the final business day of 1999. Here
>     is a summary of changes, which are effective as
>     of April 15, 2000: * There will be only three
>     license classes, Technician, General, and
>     Amateur Extra, with a single written exam
>     element for each grade of license. * There will
>     be only one code exam -- at 5 words per minute
>     (wpm) -- for licenses with HF privileges
>     (General and Extra). * No new Novice, Tech-Plus,
>     or Advanced Class licenses will be issued after
>     April 14. However, hams who now hold these
>     licenses will retain all of their current
>     operating privileges, and will be able to modify
>     &/or renew their licenses indefinitely.
>     Tech-Plus hams will be renewed as Technicians,
>     but will retain their HF operating privileges. *
>     There will be no "refarming" of the ham bands as
>     proposed by the ARRL. This means that current
>     Novice and Advanced Class subbands will remain
>     as they are, so there will be no expansion of
>     frequency privileges for any ham without passing
>     an upgrade exam or showing credit for all
>     necessary exam elements (more on this later).
>     There will also be no changes in the callsign
>     groups. * There will be no automatic upgrades,
>     even for hams who qualify based on past credit.
>     Even if no additional exams are required, a ham
>     will have to apply for an upgrade at a VE
>     (Volunteer Examination) session. * There will be
>     only three written exam elements, one for each
>     new class of license. Decisions on structuring
>     the new exam elements will be made by the
>     Volunteer Examiner Coordinators' Question Pool
>     Committee (QPC), which will be given even
>     greater authority in designing and administering
>     amateur exams. * The much-abused disability
>     waiver for 13- and 20-wpm code tests is
>     eliminated (since there will no longer be any
>     13- or 20-wpm code tests) * The changes will
>     take effect on April 15, 2000. This will give
>     the QPC time to create new exams, and will give
>     publishers time to get new license manuals into
>     print before the new structure is put into
>     place. In addition, it will give tens of
>     thousands of hams with partial credit toward one
>     of the new license classes the opportunity to
>     pass the remaining element(s) before the new
>     tests begin, possibly requiring re-examination
>     on certain topics. The full text of the Report
>     and Order will be posted here as soon as we get
>     it.
>
>

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