Subj : Other Ham Radio News (1)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Oct 04 2019 08:27 pm
FCC Dismisses Three Petitions for Rule Making Filed by Radio Amateurs
10/03/2019
The FCC has dismissed petitions for rule making filed in 2018 by three
radio amateurs. All of the petitions were put on public notice earlier
this year and comments invited.
Edward C. Borghi, KB2E, of Farmington, New York, and Jeffrey Bail, NT1K,
of West Springfield, Massachusetts, submitted very similar petitions
seeking changes in how the FCC grants Amateur Radio vanity call sign
applications. Borghi's Petition (RM-11834), would have prohibited vanity
applicants from requesting call signs not designated for the applicant's
geographical region, with exceptions under the rules governing call signs
previously held by family members. Borghi complained that applicants had
to compete with "out-of-area people for the few 1 X 2 or 2 X 1 or catchy
2 X 3 call signs available in their area of residence."
Bail's Petition (RM-11835) asked that the FCC give residential preference
in competing applications to applicants whose listed FCC address is
within the same district/region as the applied call sign. He cited
limited availability and increased demand for 1 X 2 and 2 X 1 call signs.
The FCC dismissed both petitions in a single letter.
"The Commission does not limit applicants for vanity call signs to
requesting call signs assigned to the region of the applicant's mailing
address, except for call signs designated under the sequential call sign
system for Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean Insular Areas, and Pacific Insular
Areas," the FCC pointed out. "When the Commission established the vanity
call sign system in 1995, it rejected a proposal to restrict vanity call
sign applicants to call signs designated for the region in which the
applicant resides," because it would restrict a given applicant's choice
of vanity call signs to 10% or less of those otherwise assignable.
The FCC also noted that a limitation based on an applicant's place of
residence "could easily be circumvented by using a mailing address in
another call sign region."
In denying the petitions, the FCC concluded that no need exists to
require vanity call signs to correspond to a licensee's mailing address,
"given that call signs do not automatically change when a licensee moves,
and a licensee's mailing address is not necessarily the location from
which he or she is transmitting."
"The Commission rejected this proposal again in 2010 for the same reasons,"
the FCC said. "The records before us do not demonstrate any changed
circumstances or other reason that would warrant revisiting this decision."
The FCC further pointed out that vanity applications received on the same
day are handled by a random selection batch process, making it impossible
to identify in-region vanity call sign applications and process them ahead
of other applications for the same call sign."
The FCC also turned away a Petition (RM-11833) from Jerry Oxendine, K4KWH,
of Gastonia, North Carolina, who asked the FCC to clarify that states and
localities should have no authority to regulate Amateur Radio with respect
to enacting "distracted driving" statutes. Oxendine argued that such
statutes violate FCC rules on scope and operation of equipment by
licensees; violate the intent of the FCC and Congress with respect to
Amateur Radio's role in disasters, and hinder emergency operations using
mobile equipment.
In denying the request, the FCC took issue with Oxendine's assertion that
the strong federal interest in promoting Amateur Radio communication
should preempt distracted driving laws. The FCC said it received about
20 comments supporting Oxendine's petition.
"Laws that prohibit talking on handheld communications devices while
driving do not preclude, or unreasonably obstruct mobile use of handheld
two-way radios," the FCC said in denying Oxendine's petition. "These laws
apply to the use of handheld devices while driving. A driver can comply
with these laws by using a hands-free attachment or by parking the vehicle
prior to using a handheld device, both of which are contemplated by our
rules regarding two-way radios."
The FCC said, "The record before us does not demonstrate that state and
local laws that prohibit talking on handheld devices while driving stand
as an obstacle to amateur communications or actually conflict with
federal law in any way." The FCC further noted the lack of any express
preemption or argument that Congress has "occupied the field" of
regulation with respect to distracted driving statutes.
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