License Leader Ham Radio Prep Strongly Opposes FCC Proposal to Raise Cost of Amateur Radio Licenses from free to $50

The steep raise in fees will impact amateur radio operators and students by making licensing exclusive, rather than inclusive.WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA, USA, October 1, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — One of the nation’s leading providers of amateur radio license education is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to toss out plans for a steep increase in fees for ham radio licenses.

Ham Radio Prep is requesting licensed amateur radio operators, its students, and those who have successfully used its curriculum to attain amateur radio licenses to protest the FCC’s decision to start charging $50 for 10-year ham radio licenses that are currently free of charge.

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, issued in August’s FCC Docket 20-270, calls for public comments on the agency’s proposal to begin charging not only for ham licenses, but also $50 for vanity call signs and an additional $50 to have a paper copy of their license mailed to them.

With an extraordinarily high rate of unemployment in the United States, Ham Radio Prep believes the exorbitant fees being proposed for ham radio licenses would make the service exclusive, rather than inclusive. Vanity call signs are where hams select from available call signs for their on-air identification, much like vanity license plates are used on vehicles. While vanity call signs aren’t as necessary as ham licenses, the FCC could realize some income from providing the service, but not at a high rate of $50.

According to Chuck Gysi, Ham Radio Prep’s Communications Manager,
amateur radio is a personal radio service, not commercial. As such, amateur radio operators realize no income potential from having a ham radio license, unlike commercial broadcast stations – or even a two-way radio system operated by a business for efficient dispatch purposes.

Read more – EINPressWire: