[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51705-51707]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17226]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 97

[WT Docket No. 05-235; FCC 05-143]


Amateur Service Rules

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the amateur radio service 
rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a telegraphy 
examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio operator license.

DATES: Submit comments on or before October 31, 2005 and reply comments 
are due November 14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WT Docket No. 05-235; 
FCC 05-143, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: [email protected] or phone (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
    For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William T. Cross, 
[email protected], Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure 
Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418-0680, TTY (202) 
418-7233.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Federal 
Communications Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order 
(NPRM), WT Docket No. 05-235, FCC 05-143, adopted July 15, 2005, and 
released July 19, 2005. The full text of this document is available for 
inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC 
Reference Center, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 
20554. The complete text may be purchased from the Commission's 
duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 
12th Street, Suite CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Alternative formats 
are available for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, 
electronic files, audio format), by sending an e-mail to [email protected] 
or calling the Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 
(voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
    1. The Commission initiated this proceeding to amend the part 97 
Amateur Radio Service rules in response to eighteen petitions for 
rulemaking. The petitioners request that we amend the Commission's 
amateur radio service rules to implement revised international Radio 
Regulations that were adopted at the 2003 World Radiocommunication 
Conference (WRC-03). The Commission found that some of the petitions 
have presented sufficient evidence to warrant proposing rule changes, 
and in the interest of administrative efficiency, it consolidated these 
proposals in this NPRM. Specifically, the Commission proposed to amend 
its amateur service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals 
pass a telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio 
operator license.

[[Page 51706]]

I. Procedural Matters

A. Ex Parte Rules--Permit-but-Disclose Proceeding

    2. This is a permit-but-disclose notice and comment rulemaking 
proceeding. Ex parte presentations are permitted, except during the 
Sunshine Agenda period, provided they are disclosed as provided in the 
Commission's rules.

B. Comment Dates

    3. Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's 
rules, interested parties may file comments on or before October 31, 
2005, and reply comments are due November 14, 2005.
    4. Commenters may file comments electronically using the 
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), the Federal 
Government's eRulemaking Portal, or by filing paper copies. Commenters 
filing through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the 
Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html. If multiple docket or 
rulemaking numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, filers 
must transmit one electronic copy for each docket or rulemaking number 
referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, 
commenters should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing 
address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Commenters may 
also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing 
instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should send an e-mail to 
[email protected], and should include the following words in the body of the 
message, ``get form.'' Commenters will receive a sample form and 
directions in reply. Commenters filing through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal http://www.regulations.gov, should follow the instructions 
provided on the Web site for submitting comments.
    5. Commenters who chose to file paper comments must file an 
original and four copies of each comment. If more than one docket or 
rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers 
must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number. All filings must be sent to the Commission's 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 
445 12th Street, SW., Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554.
    6. Commenters may send filings by hand or messenger delivery, by 
commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. 
Postal Service mail. The Commission's contractor will receive hand-
delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's 
Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 
20002. The filing hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. 
Commenters must bind all hand deliveries together with rubber bands or 
fasteners and must dispose of any envelopes before entering the 
building. This facility is the only location where the Commission's 
Secretary will accept hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper 
filings. Commenters must send commercial overnight mail (other than 
U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) to 9300 East 
Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. Commenters should address 
U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail 
to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    7. This document does not contain proposed information collection 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 
104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed 
information collection burden ``for small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief 
Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).

II. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    8. The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires an initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis to be prepared for notice and comment rulemaking 
proceedings, unless the agency certifies that ``the rule will not, if 
promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities.'' The RFA generally defines the term ``small 
entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small business,'' 
``small organization,'' and ``small governmental jurisdiction.'' In 
addition, the term ``small business'' has the same meaning as the term 
``small business concern'' under the Small Business Act. A ``small 
business concern'' is one which: (1) Is independently owned and 
operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) 
satisfies any additional criteria established by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA).
    9. In this NPRM, we propose to amend the amateur service rules that 
presently require a person to demonstrate his or her ability to send 
and receive correctly a Morse code telegraphy message in order to 
qualify for certain amateur service operator licenses. Because ``small 
entities,'' as defined in the RFA, are not persons eligible for 
licensing in the amateur service, this proposed rule does not apply to 
``small entities.'' Rather, it applies exclusively to individuals who 
are taking an examination for an amateur radio operator license. Such 
amendment would be in the public interest because we believe that the 
present requirement is unnecessary and that eliminating the requirement 
would make the amateur service more attractive to individuals with a 
non-pecuniary interest in radio.
    10. In addition, the rules proposed in this NPRM potentially could 
affect publishers of amateur radio examination study material. Based on 
past inquiries and advertisements in communication-related magazines 
from these publishers, we estimate that there are between five and ten 
such publishers. The proposed rule changes, if adopted, would apply to 
individuals rather than publishers and would not result in a mandatory 
change in products offered by publishers of examination study material. 
(Because use of Morse code for amateur service communications would 
still be permitted even if the testing requirement is eliminated, a 
market would still exist for Morse code training material.) Therefore, 
we certify that the proposals in this NPRM, if adopted, will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The Commission will send a copy of the NPRM, including a copy of this 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the SBA. This initial certification will also be published 
in the Federal Register.

III. Ordering Clauses

    11. The Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, 
Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of this Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking and Order, including the Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Certification, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 97

    Communications equipment, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Deputy Secretary.

Proposed Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 97 as follows:

PART 97--AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE

    1. The authority citation for part 97 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 48 Stat. 1066, 1082, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 154, 303. 
Interpret or apply 48 Stat. 1064-1068, 1081-1105, as

[[Page 51707]]

amended; 47 U.S.C. 151-155, 301-609, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 97.501 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  97.501  Qualifying for an amateur operator license.

* * * * *
    (a) Amateur Extra Class operator: Elements 2, 3, and 4;
    (b) General Class operator: Elements 2 and 3;
* * * * *


Sec.  97.503  [Amended]

    3. Section 97.503 is amended by removing paragraph (a), 
redesignating paragraph (b) as an undesignated introductory paragraph, 
and redesignating paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) as paragraphs (a) 
through (c), respectively.
    4. Section 97.505 is amended by removing paragraphs (a)(5) and 
(a)(7) through (9), redesignating paragraph (a)(6) as (a)(5), and 
revising paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) to read as follows:


Sec.  97.505  Element credit.

    (a) * * *
    (1) An unexpired (or expired but within the grace period for 
renewal) FCC-granted Advanced Class operator license grant: Elements 2 
and 3.
    (2) An unexpired (or expired but within the grace period for 
renewal) FCC-granted General Class operator license grant: Elements 2 
and 3.
    (3) An unexpired (or expired but within the grace period for 
renewal) FCC-granted Technician or Technician Plus Class operator 
(including a Technician Class operator license granted before February 
14, 1991) license grant: Element 2.
    (4) An expired FCC-issued Technician Class operator license 
document granted before March 21, 1987: Element 3.
* * * * *
    5. Section 97.507 is amended by removing paragraph (d) and revising 
paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(2) and (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  97.507  Preparing an examination.

    (a) Each written question set administered to an examinee must be 
prepared by a VE holding an Amateur Extra Class operator license. A 
written question set may also be prepared for the following elements by 
a VE holding an operator license of the class indicated:
* * * * *
    (2) Element 2: Advanced, General, or Technician Plus Class 
operators.
* * * * *
    (c) Each written question set administered to an examinee for an 
amateur operator license must be prepared, or obtained from a supplier, 
by the administering VEs according to instructions from the 
coordinating VEC.
    6. Section 97.509 is amended by revising paragraph (f), removing 
paragraph (g), redesignating paragraphs (h) through (m) as paragraphs 
(g) through (l) respectively, to read as follows:


Sec.  97.509  Administering VE requirements.

* * * * *
    (f) No examination that has been compromised shall be administered 
to any examinee. The same question set may not be re-administered to 
the same examinee.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-17226 Filed 8-30-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P