What this means is that if you get a Technician
Class license now, it will likely be converted
into a General Class license with HF SSB
priviledges in the future, without any need for
Morse Code testing, or General Class written
testing.

A smart person would get his or her HAM Tech
license now, instead of waiting and having what
will likely be a tougher test later.

TEXT FOLLOWS
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League Files "A Plan for the Next Decade" with FCC
NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 28, 2004--The ARRL has filed a Petition for Rule
Making asking the FCC to amend its Part 97 rules to complete the
Amateur Service restructuring the Commission began in 1999 but left
unfinished. The League wants the FCC to create a new entry-level
license, reduce the number of actual license classes to three and drop
the Morse code testing requirement for all classes except for Amateur
Extra (see "ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF
Access"). The ARRL says its petition follows in the footsteps of
changes in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations adopted
at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003. Among those changes,
WRC-03 deleted the Morse testing requirement for amateur applicants
seeking HF privileges and left it up to individual countries to
determine whether or not they want to mandate Morse testing. While
several countries--including Germany, the UK and Australia--already
have dropped their Morse testing requirements, the ARRL emphasized in
its petition that Morse code is not the primary issue at hand.

"Changes in Morse telegraphy are one aspect of the proposal, and it
would be insufficient for the Commission to address those issues in a
vacuum," the League said, calling its licensing proposal "a plan for
the next decade." The ARRL said that plan's overall intention is "to
encourage newcomers to the Amateur Service and to encourage those who
enter its ranks to proceed further on a course of technical
self-training and exposure to all aspects of the avocation."

Last fall various parties filed a total of 14 Morse-related petitions
with the FCC. Several called on the Commission to drop the Morse
requirement altogether, while others proposed to keep and even expand
the requirement or put forth various license restructuring schemes of
their own. The petitions, RM-10781-10787 and RM-10805-10811, attracted
thousands of comments from the amateur community.

Beyond the Morse question, the ARRL says, the time is right--now that
WRC-03 has finished its work--to follow through on the restructuring
process the FCC began with its 1999 restructuring Report and Order (WT
98-143). Among other things, that landmark Order, which became
effective April 15, 2000, reduced the number of Morse code test
elements from three to a single 5 WPM requirement for all license
classes offering HF privileges.

Although the US has revised amateur licensing requirements several
times since 1917, the ARRL pointed out, "there has not been a
comprehensive restructuring of both licensing requirement and
corresponding operating privileges in many years." The League said the
FCC declined to address operating privileges in its 1999 Report and
Order but put off the job for a later date because it was still
constrained by the Morse requirement in the Radio Regulations. The
ARRL said, however, that the FCC in 1999 "issued an invitation to the
amateur community" to complete the work it had begun.

While just dropping the Element 1 (5 WPM) Morse requirement may seem
to be a "simple plan," the ARRL said, it fails to address the critical
need for an entry-level ticket other than the Technician. The
Technician license, the League said, "is for too many a 'dead end' to
what might otherwise be an active, progressive interest in Amateur
Radio, technical self-training and incentive-based educational
progress in the many facets of the avocation."

The ARRL said its proposed entry-level license--being called "Novice"
for now--would establish "a portfolio of operating privileges
consistent with an examination that would not include material that is
inappropriate or irrelevant at the entry level." It would require
passing a 25-question written examination--but no code test--and offer
limited HF phone, image, CW and data privileges.

"This structure provides a true, entry-level license with HF and other
operating privileges which will both promote growth in the Amateur
Service and integrate newcomers into the mainstream of Amateur Radio,"
the ARRL told the FCC. "It will better introduce newcomers to more
seasoned licensees who will assist them."

The League proposal also would consolidate current Technician and
General licensees into General class without further examination.
Future General applicants would not have to pass a Morse code test,
but the written exam would remain the same. Current Advanced licensees
would be merged into Amateur Extra class without further testing, and
the Extra exam would remain intact.

Advanced licensees already have passed the now-deleted 13 WPM Morse
examination. The ARRL proposal would retain the Element 1 Morse exam
for Extra class applicants. It also would provide Element 1 credit for
anyone who had ever passed at least a 5 WPM Morse test, whether or not
they're now licensed.

"The differences between the [Advanced and Extra] license classes are
so minimal as to amply justify the one-time upward merger," the League
said. While it agreed with the FCC's 1999 assertion that ability to
demonstrate increased Morse proficiency "is not necessarily indicative
of that individual's ability to contribute to the advancement of the
radio art," the League contended that retaining an "extremely minimal"
and "rudimentary" 5 WPM Morse requirement for Amateur Radio's top
license class is appropriate.

The ARRL said its overall plan dovetails with the FCC philosophy and
goals stated in the 1999 Report and Order--to simplify the license
structure and streamline the licensing process. The League said its
plan would implement licensing requirements and privileges that are in
harmony with each other and is designed to attract and retain
"technically inclined persons, particularly the youth of our country"
and encourage them to advance in areas "where the United States needs
expertise."

"Now, the issue is not merely whether there should or should not be
Morse telegraphy as an examination requirement," the ARRL said, "but
rather what is the best overall approach for positioning the Amateur
Service for future growth and incentive-based self-training."

A copy of the ARRL's Petition for Rule Making is available on the ARRL
Web site. The FCC has requested that individuals refrain from
contacting or attempting to comment to the FCC on the ARRL's
restructuring proposal before the FCC issues a Rule Making (RM) number
for the ARRL petition and invites public comments on it. Until that
happens, it is premature to comment to the FCC.