SB QST @ ARL $ARLB002   
   ARLB002 FCC Dismisses Two Petitions from Radio Amateurs   
      
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   ARRL Bulletin 2  ARLB002   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington CT  January 6, 2017   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   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   
   Gladstone, Missouri, had asked the Commission to amend the rules to reduce the   
   number of Amateur Radio operator classes to Technician, General, and Amateur   
   Extra by merging remaining Novice class licensees into the Technician class   
   and all Advanced class licensees into the Amateur Extra class. In a somewhat   
   related petition, Jeffrey H. Siegell, WB2YRL, of Burke, Virginia, had   
   requested that the FCC grant Advanced class license holders Morse code   
   operating privileges equivalent to those enjoyed by Amateur Extra class   
   licensees.   
      
   "Thus, Mr. Siegell's proposed rule change is subsumed within the changes Mr.   
   Whedbee requests, so our analysis is the same for both proposals," the FCC   
   said in dismissing the two petitions on January 5.   
      
   The FCC streamlined the Amateur Radio licensing system into three classes -   
   Technician, General, and Amateur Extra - in 1999. While it no longer issues   
   new Novice or Advanced class licenses, existing licenses can be renewed, and   
   Novice and Advanced licensees retained their operating privileges.   
      
   "The Commission concluded that the three-class structure would streamline the   
   licensing process, while still providing an incentive for licensees to advance   
   their communication and technical skills," the FCC recounted in its dismissal   
   letter to Whedbee and Siegell. It specifically rejected suggestions that   
   Novice and Advanced class licensees be automatically upgraded to a higher   
   class, concluding that it would be inappropriate for these licensees to   
   "receive additional privileges without passing the required examination   
   elements." The FCC cited the same reason in 2005, when it denied requests to   
   automatically upgrade Technician licensees to General class and Advanced   
   licensees to Amateur Extra class, as part of a wide-ranging proceeding.   
      
   The FCC said the two petitions "do not demonstrate, or even suggest, that any   
   relevant circumstances have changed that would merit reconsideration of those   
   decisions."   
      
   Whedbee had argued that automatically upgrading current Novice and Advanced   
   classes would simplify the rules and reduce the Commission's costs and   
   administrative burden, but the FCC said Whedbee provided no evidence that an   
   administrative problem exists. "Moreover, such benefits would not outweigh the   
   public interest in ensuring that amateur operators have the requisite   
   incentive to advance their skill and technical knowledge in order to   
   contribute to the advancement of the radio art and improvement of the Amateur   
   Radio Service," the FCC said.   
      
   "The Commission has already concluded that it will not automatically grant   
   additional privileges to the discontinued license classes," the FCC said.   
   "Consequently, we conclude that the above-referenced petitions for rulemaking   
   do not warrant further consideration at this time."   
      
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