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<H1>FCC backs decision to drop morse requirements for amateur operator licenses
</H1>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>In December 2006, the FCC decided to drop the Morse code
requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>This week, the agency said it's sticking by that decision
and denied two requests from individuals who asked that Morse Code proficiency
continue to be a requirement for ham licensees.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>At the time the commission decided to drop the Morse Code
exam, <STRONG><U>it said knowing Morse is not necessarily indicative of an
individual's ability to contribute to the advancement of ham radio</U>. The
agency also said <U>emergency communication today is performed using voice, data
or video modes - all much faster than telegraphy</U></STRONG><U>.</U></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Two petitioners asked the FCC to reconsider; <STRONG>one
said the requirement should be retained so ham operators can act <U>as a
strategic reserve in case of an emergency</U>.</STRONG> The commission
<STRONG><U>was not persuaded that eliminating the telegraphy exam would affect
national security or emergency communications</U></STRONG>.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Another petitioner wasn't sure the commission actually saw
his request because he had trouble filing electronically. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The FCC said all comments were considered, no matter how
they were filed, before it made a decision.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The FCC said it received roughly 100 comments,
"overwhelmingly" negative.</FONT></P>
<P><A href="http://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0100/t.11628.html"
target=_blank><FONT
face=Verdana>ttp://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0100/t.11628.html</FONT></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Our thanks to <STRONG>Mike Terry</STRONG> for alerting us
to this item</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Fonte: </FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>