The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a fee for amateur vanity call signs of three dollars per year, to be collected for the entire 10-year term at the time of application for such a call sign.
The beginning date for these fees is September 18, 1995. These fees are the result of a mandate from Congress that the FCC collect fees to recover some of its regulatory costs.
The FCC said that the revenue requirement for amateur vanity call signs is 840,000, dollar(s) and estimates that it will process 28,000 applications for them.
No start date for applications for vanity call signs has yet been announced, and the necessary FCC Form 610-Vs have not yet been released. These fees apply only to vanity call sign applications, not to any other amateur license transaction.
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On July 1, 1995, American Radio Relay League President George S. Wilson III, W4OYI, submitted his resignation from the office he has held since January 1992. Mr. Wilson, who suffered a stroke on February 11, presently is in a rehabilitation hospital in Evansville, Indiana.
Mr. Wilson said that while he has made progress in rehabilitation, his medical condition prevents him from traveling and from devoting the energy required to perform the duties of the office for the remainder of his term, which expires at the January 1996 meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors. He expressed his appreciation to the members of the Board for the opportunity to serve. `'The League has my undying love and support,'' he said.
In accordance with the ARRL by-laws, First Vice President Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV, has been performing the duties of president since Mr. Wilson became incapacitated in February. With Mr. Wilson's resignation, Mr. Stafford becomes president for the remainder of the term. The next ARRL vice president in the order of succession, Jay A. Holladay, W6EJJ, becomes first vice president.
Upon completion of the rehabilitation program in Evansville, Mr. Wilson will return to his home in Owensboro, Kentucky.
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The ARRL has filed comments on a petition for rule making that would allocate 300 MHz of spectrum in the 5-GHz band, an action that would affect the Amateur Radio Service.
The petition, by Apple Computer, Inc., seeks 150 MHz, at 5150 to 5300 MHz, and 5725 to 5875 MHz. Amateurs currently have access to the entire range 5650 to 5925 MHz on a shared basis.
The Apple petition, RM 8653, seeks the spectrum for a new, unlicensed radio service that the League called `'essentially unregulated, save for certain technical rules,'' and that proposes the use of directional antennas and relatively high power, and protected allocation status in shared bands by `'non-technical persons.''
And in defense of the Amateur Radio allocation in the 5-GHz band the ARRL cited activity in a number of metropolitan areas around the US.
The League said the petition doesn't show why 300 MHz is necessary for such a service (and why existing allocations are not sufficient); why existing wireless and wireline services aren't sufficient; and why a proceeding such is this should not wait until current proposals on such services are resolved.
The ARRL also said the petition fails to consider compatibility between the proposed new radio service and other services (including Amateur).
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Four amateurs cited by the Federal Communications Commission for malicious interference on the 2-meter band have had the amounts of their monetary forfeitures adjusted.
The four, all in the New Orleans area, were cited for transmissions made in the spring of 1993. In September 1993 all four received Notices of Apparent Liability from the FCC's New Orleans office. The FCC, after reviewing responses from all four, then issued Notices of Forfeiture in November 1993, all in the amount of 2000 dollars. All four appealed the NOFs.
While these appeals were pending, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the forfeiture guidelines that the New Orleans Field Office had followed in the forfeitures, and on reconsideration, the FCC's Compliance and Information Bureau reduced them.
On July 10, 1995, the FCC issued Orders in all four cases, noting that the cases were based on information provided by the Amateur Auxiliary, and saying that `'use of amateur volunteers for the purposes of monitoring violations in the amateur service is permitted by the (Communications) Act. In fact, the amateur radio community has distinguished itself for its self policing operations.''
The FCC reduced the fine for Joseph F. Richard III, N5JNX, from 2000 dollars to 1000 dollars, rejecting his contention that tape recordings used by the FCC in the case are `'inaccurate or misleading.''
Vernon Paroli, KA5OWW, had his forfeiture amount reduced to 700 dollars, based on his claim of being financially unable to pay the 2,000 dollar forfeiture originally assessed.
The forfeiture amount for Will T. Blanton, N5ROC, was reduced from 2,000 dollars to 1,000 dollars. That of John B. Genovese, WB5LOC, was lowered to 500 dollars, because of the shorter duration of his transmissions.
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