I would agree with JP. The only other possibility is some would like to drive the ranks of the amateur radio service down to justify taking spectrum from us.
Am I being paranoid? 73 de Scott KD5FBA On Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 3:18 PM JP Pritchard via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: > I’m new to this game, but as far as I am aware, the FCC does very little > to support amateur radio, with the exception of allowing hams to use > certain frequencies. This would appear to be nothing more than a money > grab, having nothing to do with cost of administration, (since it sounds > like most of the administration is automated). They certainly contribute > very little to enforcing their own rules. I don’t mind paying for a toll > road if I’m a user, but a toll road requires constant upkeep and upgrades. > I don’t see the parallel to amateur radio. I hope the ARRL gathers its > forces against this proposal (to the extent that its bylaws allow) and > supports all ancillary efforts to kill this effort. That’s just my initial > thought on the matter. Tell me why I’m wrong. > > > > 73, K5JPP, JP > > > > > > > > f*rom:* BVARC <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *john Parmalee via > BVARC > *Sent:* Saturday, August 29, 2020 2:27 PM > *To:* [email protected]; [email protected]; > [email protected] > *Cc:* john Parmalee <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [BVARC] FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > > *FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees* > > 08/28/2020 > > Amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio license > application if the FCC adopts rules it proposed this week. Included in the > FCC’s fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal and upgrades > to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are > applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and > annual regulatory fees. > > The FCC proposal is contained in a *Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM > <https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-116A1.pdf>)* in MD Docket > 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of the “Repack Airwaves > Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act” of 2018 — the > so-called “Ray Baum’s Act > <https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ141/PLAW-115publ141.pdf>.” > > The Act requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee > structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its *NPRM,* the FCC > proposed application fees for a broad range of services that use the FCC’s > Universal Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio Service that > had been excluded by an earlier statute. The 2018 statute excludes the > Amateur Service from annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees. > > “[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly automated and do not have > individualized staff costs for data input or review,” the FCC said in its > *NPRM.* “For these automated processes — new/major modifications, > renewal, and minor modifications — we propose a nominal application fee of > $50 due to automating the processes, routine ULS maintenance, and limited > instances where staff input is required.” > > The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, > including those for vanity call signs. “Although there is currently no fee > for vanity call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, we find that such > applications impose similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as > new applications and therefore propose a $50 fee,” the FCC said. > > The FCC is not proposing to charge for administrative updates, such as > mailing address changes for amateur applications, and amateur radio will > remain exempt from annual regulatory fees. “For administrative updates > [and] modifications, which also are highly automated, we find that it is in > the public interest to encourage licensees to update their [own] > information without a charge,” the FCC said. > > The FCC also proposes to assess a $50 fee for individuals who want a > printed copy of their license. “The Commission has proposed to eliminate > these services — but to the extent the Commission does not do so, we > propose a fee of $50 to cover the costs of these services,” the FCC said. > > The Ray Baum’s Act does not exempt filing fees in the Amateur Radio > Service. The FCC dropped assessment of fees for vanity call signs several > years ago. > > Deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once the > *NPRM* appears in the *Federal Register.* File comments by using the > FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS > <https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings>), posting to MD Docket No. 20-270. > This docket is already open for accepting comments even though deadlines > have not yet been set. > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >
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