WPC 2B$J Z CourierCourierCourier BoldCourier Italic@`7X@HP LaserJet 4M (PCL)HPLA4MPC.PRSx  @\?vX@26FZ 3|xCourierCourier Boldrier New (Bold) (TT)Courier New (Italic) (TT)HP LaserJet 4/4M04_1 lpt2HPLAS4.WRSSx  @,,jDX@2v"pkksa8DocumentgDocument Style StyleXX` `  ` a4DocumentgDocument Style Style . a6DocumentgDocument Style Style GX  a5DocumentgDocument Style Style }X(# 29vt+a2DocumentgDocument Style Style<o   ?  A.  a7DocumentgDocument Style StyleyXX` ` (#` BibliogrphyBibliography:X (# a1Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers:`S@ I.  X(# 2 k   aa2Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers C @` A. ` ` (#` a3DocumentgDocument Style Style B b  ?  1.  a3Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers L! ` ` @P 1. ` `  (# a4Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers Uj` `  @ a. ` (# 2x H    a5Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers _o` `  @h(1)  hh#(#h a6Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbersh` `  hh#@$(a) hh#((# a7Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph NumberspfJ` `  hh#(@*i) (h-(# a8Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph NumbersyW"3!` `  hh#(-@p/a) -pp2(#p 2  zTech InitInitialize Technical Style. k I. A. 1. a.(1)(a) i) a) 1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 Technicala1DocumentgDocument Style Style\s0  zN8F I. ׃  a5TechnicalTechnical Document Style)WD (1) . a6TechnicalTechnical Document Style)D (a) . 2wha2TechnicalTechnical Document Style<6  ?  A.   a3TechnicalTechnical Document Style9Wg  2  1.   a4TechnicalTechnical Document Style8bv{ 2  a.   a1TechnicalTechnical Document StyleF!<  ?  I.   2/3a7TechnicalTechnical Document Style(@D i) . a8TechnicalTechnical Document Style(D a) . Doc InitInitialize Document Stylez   0*0*0*  I. A. 1. a.(1)(a) i) a) I. 1. A. a.(1)(a) i) a)DocumentgPleadingHeader for Numbered Pleading PaperE!n    X X` hp x (#%'0*,.8135@8:fx6X@`7X@?xxx,x `7X<R&HHH,D,H6X@`7h@ ?xxx,Nx6Nhez7XH2   X  [X $//MO&O,Amateur Foreign Visitor,PR Dck No 92167,FCC 94274//$ [X  $/1.425 Commission action/$ [X   ?<' Before the 0 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION  ? <LWashington, D. C. 20554 ă FCC 94274 In the Matter of ) )  ?<Amendment of the Amateur Radio ) PR DOCKET NO. 92167  ?<Service Rules to Provide a )  ?<Special Temporary Licensing ) RM7680 Procedure for Visiting Foreign ) Amateur Operators. )  ? <\  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER (Proceeding Terminated) Adopted: October 24, 1994 Released:  ?< xBy the Commission:  ?P<,  I. INTRODUCTION ă  ?<x1. In the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (Notice)?S  ?8<ԍ 7 FCC Rcd 4988 (1992)? in this proceeding, we proposed to amend the amateur service rules to provide a temporary licensing procedure for foreign amateur operators, such as tourists and convention attendees, so that they could operate their amateur stations during brief visits to  ?<our country. For the reasons given herein, this Order terminates the proceeding.  ?<h II. BACKGROUND ă x2. There are two ways that a foreign amateur operator can be authorized to operate an amateur station in the United States. Noncitizens who pass the necessary examinations can receive a tenyear term amateur service license. Citizens of countries whose governments have signed reciprocal operating agreements with the United States may, on the basis of the amateur service licenses issued by their own countries, be issued oneyear permits to operate their amateur stations while they are in the United States.  ?H&< x3. The Notice in this proceeding proposed a temporary licensing procedure that would be administered under the existing"'X,,,."  ?<volunteerexaminer coordinator (VEC) system.xV ?X<ԍ Currently, all amateur operator license examinations are administered in the private sector under the VEC system. The VECs coordinate the efforts of volunteer examiners (VEs) in preparing, administering, and grading examinations. There are 18 VECs and between 20,000 and 30,000 accredited VEs in the United States and elsewhere. They prepare and administer over 100,000 amateur operator examinations annually to 65,00075,000 persons.  The volunteer examiners (VEs) would accept the amateur service licenses of visiting foreign amateur operators as proof of technical and operational competence. Under the proposal, the VEs would administer a short examination on the unique rules governing the amateur service in the United States. Upon certification by the VEs, the foreign amateur operators would have conditional authority from the Commission to operate their stations for a single, consecutive sixtyday period.  ?<,  III. DISCUSSION ă  ?( < x4. The proposal in this proceeding addressed a need that visiting foreign amateur operators have for a convenient procedure by which they obtain authority to operate their amateur stations while they are here in the United States on brief visits. The comments did not dispute the need for an expeditious procedure. They did, however, raise practical and other problems in connection with such authorization. Some commenters are concerned, for example, that language barriers may pose a problem  ?h<for VEs in verifying the foreign license.hV ?<ԍ Comments of The American Radio Relay League, Inc. (ARRL) at 8. The ARRL has requested that its latefiled comments be accepted because ARRL officers were involved in meetings relating to this proceeding late in the day that these comments were due. The results of those meetings affected the position adopted by  ?<the ARRL in response to the Notice. Because of those late meetings, the comments could not be timely filed. We believe that the ARRL has shown good cause for the acceptance of the late comments, and in the interest of a complete record, its request  ? <is granted. See also the comments of Carl Zelich at 1, Earl S. Mead at 1, and Anchorage Amateur Radio Club, Inc. VEC at 1. The ARRL also sees the authorization procedure as burdensome for VEs and questions "8h,**"Ԍ ?<whether the VEC system should be used for this purpose.( V ?X<ԍ Comments of ARRL at 79. The ARRL also states at page 7 that, under the proposal, the VEs would be issuing "United States license documents, with no participation on the part of the Commission in determining operator qualifications at all." That would not be the case. The authority to operate would come from the rule which authorizes the amateur station of the visiting  ?<foreign amateur operator to transmit. See proposed rule  ?<Section 97.5 which was set forth in the  Notice in this proceeding. The role of the VE would be merely to issue a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) to the foreign visitor. The CSCE would be visible proof of the foreign visitor's conditional license authority to operate the station in  ? <the United States. See proposed rule Section 97.529(c).  ĸ Other commenters are concerned that authorizing operation by visitors  ?<from countries that do not currently have reciprocal agreementsx V ?<ԍ Section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  310(c), authorizes the Commission to issue permits to aliens, licensed by their governments as amateur operators, to operate their licensed amateur stations in the United States provided that there is a bilateral or multilateral reciprocal agreement in effect between the United States and the alien's government. with the United States might reduce the incentive for those  ? <countries to enter into such agreements.\ V ?<ԍ Comments of W. H. Guin at 1, and Carl Zelich at 2.\ x5. The ARRL believes that the best way to satisfy the need for a convenient licensing procedure is to establish an international system for reciprocal licensing and suggests the  ?<International Drivers License as a model.MV ? <ԍ Comments of ARRL at 11, 12, and 14.M Stephen R. Hutchins recommends that the Commission allow amateur operators from countries with whom the United States has reciprocal agreements, and amateur operators whose licenses convey conditions authorized by the Conference of Europeenne des Administrations de la Post et Telecommunication (CEPT), to operate their amateur stations in  ? <the United States.  V ?`"<ԍ Comments of Stephen Hutchins at 4. Mr. Hutchins urges the Commission to adopt a proposal that he filed March 13, 1991, (RM7680), to allow CEPT licensees to operate in the United States. Mutual recognition of the licenses of CEPT member countries and nonmember countries may be considered at some future date. Such recognition requires coordination with the Department of State as well as international negotiations. Rather than retaining Mr. Hutchins' rule making petition in a pending status while we pursue such international negotations, we believe that it is advisable to dismiss it without prejudice. "0,**"Ԍ ?<ԙh IV. CONCLUSION ă  ?< x6. In light of concerns expressed by the commenters, we have decided not to amend the amateur service rules as proposed. We recognize, however, the need for a convenient licensing procedure for visiting foreign amateur operators and have noted the suggestions in the comments for alternative means of licensing visiting foreign amateur operators. We will, therefore, continue to explore other ways by which the need can be met. In particular, we will work to ensure the reciprocal treatment of United States amateur operators whether through bilateral or multilateral arrangements.  ? << V. ORDERING CLAUSES ă x7. Accordingly, pursuant to the authority contained in 47 U.S.C.  154(i), IT IS ORDERED that this proceeding IS TERMINATED. x8. In addition, for the reasons discussed above, rule making petition RM7680, filed by Stephen R. Hutchins, IS DISMISSED without prejudice. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William F. Caton Acting Secretary x  ?X<