SB QST @ ARL $ARLB021
ARLB021 FCC Says "No" to Lifetime Amateur Radio Licenses

ZCZC AG21
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 21  ARLB021
> From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  June 24, 2016
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB021
ARLB021 FCC Says "No" to Lifetime Amateur Radio Licenses

The FCC has denied the petition of an Arizona radio amateur, who had petitioned
for lifetime Amateur Radio licenses. Mark F. Krotz, N7MK, of Mesa, had filed
his Petition for Rule Making (RM 11760) with the FCC last November, and the FCC
invited public comments in February. Krotz wanted the FCC to revise Part 97.25
of its rules to indicate that Amateur Radio licenses are granted for the
holder's lifetime, instead of for the current 10-year term. Hundreds of radio
amateurs commented on the petition, but the FCC was not swayed by those
favoring the idea.

"Based on our review of the record, we are not persuaded that the petition
discloses sufficient grounds for the requested rule change," the FCC said in a
June 21 Order. "Krotz's primary argument is that extending the term of amateur
licenses to the lifetime of the holder would reduce the Commission's
administrative and personnel costs, but it is not clear to us that the proposal
actually would enhance administrative efficiency." That's because the vast
majority of license renewals are submitted online and processed automatically
by the Universal Licensing System (ULS), "with minimal staff involvement," the
Order said.

The Order can be found on the web in PDF format at,
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2016/db0622/DA-16-707A1
.pdf .

The FCC said it had further reduced its overhead by no longer routinely mailing
out paper licenses. "[I]f license terms were extended to the holder's lifetime,
we likely would receive more cancellations on account of the licensee's death,
which are labor-intensive, because staff must carefully verify the deceased's
identity and licenses in order to guard against erroneous cancellations," the
FCC said in its Order, signed by Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Deputy
Mobility Division Chief Scot Stone.

Krotz argued that the General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL) already is
issued on a lifetime basis, but the FCC said that's not a comparable situation,
because an Amateur Radio license is both an operator's license and a station
license, "and there is no Commission precedent for issuing a lifetime station
license."

In 2014 the FCC granted lifetime credit for examination elements 3 and 4, but
applicants seeking relicensing under that provision still must pass examination
element 2. The FCC pointed out in its Order that this was done to address the
concerns of commenters that a licensee who had not renewed also may not have
maintained or expanded his or her knowledge and skills.

NNNN
/EX

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