" wrote in
ups.com:
NPRM 05-143, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would eliminate
morse code test element 1 from all amateur radio license
examinations was supposedly released on 15 July 2005. It is
marked "approved" as of 19 July 2005. A scanned copy of that
NPRM was marked "received" by date stamp as 20 July 2005 and
introduced to WT Docket 05-235 supposedly on 15 July 2005...but
did not appear to anyone accessing the ECFS until 21 July 2005.
NPRM 05-143 is clearly marked as to the Comment Perior being "60
Days after published in the Federal Register." That's on the first
page and page 25 of that 30-page NPRM document.
One problem: NPRM 05-143 HAS NOT BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER AS OF THE MORNING OF 30 AUGUST 2005! A month and a half
has elapsed since the middle of July, 1962 Comments have been filed
on WT Docket 05-235 as of 29 August 2005.
Access the Federal Register Contents page through GPO at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont05.html
Noticeably missing is ANY filed Comment from the ARRL. In fact,
NO organization except for one local 23-member "DX club" has filed
anything under WT Docket 05-235. No Code International Executive
Director Carl Stevenson has stated that NCI will not make any
Comment for NCI until after the NPRM has been published in the
Federal Register. The ARRL has been very noticeably present at
every other amateur radio docket proceding before the FCC...but
not yet on NPRM 05-143.
The ARRL was opposed to revision of ITU-R Recommendation S25, in
particular S25.5 making it mandatory for all administrations to
test for morse code proficiency for any license having below-30-
MHz operating privileges. The IARU was for the revision, being
its principal author of change which was voted in at WRC-03. In
the two years since WRC-03 (July of 2003), the ARRL has generally
appeared ambivalent on morse code testing with the exception of
their Petition RM-10867 of 18 March 2004. RM-10867 called for a
retention of morse code testing for Amateur Extra class
licensees. RM-10867 was DENIED in NPRM 05-143.
From there on, it is speculation. The Comment period on NPRM
05-143 in WT Docket 05-235 has NOT OFFICIALLY STARTED. No notice
has yet been made in the Federal Register. There have been 1920
Comments already filed with the FCC on that Docket. Are these to
be rendered "useless" for consideration because of no Federal
Register notice given before they were filed? [see the Title
Block of NPRM 05-143 as well as page 25, item 54, for the period
of Comments and Replies to Comments]
Further speculation - fueled by suspicion - is that some sort of
behind-the-scenes "stonewalling" is going on...perhaps by
lobbyists urging the FCC to delay the Federal Register notice.
Of all the possible organizations having sufficient "clout" to
lobby the FCC, the ARRL is pre-eminent, retaining the services of
both a communications-law firm and a professional lobbying firm
in the District of Columbia area.
Yes, speculation is only speculation, no proof. However, time
is elapsing and a month and a half has gone by since the release
of NPRM 05-143 and NO notice in the Federal Register. That is
out of the ordinary procedure of the FCC. The legality of such
delay is not known. We taxpayers can't peer far enough into the
inner workings of the FCC (or its lobbyists) to know for sure.
It may be that the failure to make notice in the Federal Register
is a human error, a lapse of duty performance. If so, it could
be corrected easily...but we ordinary citizens don't know. If so,
there still remains a question on whether or not 1920 filed
documents will be considered by the FCC on issuing a final
Report and Order in regards to that NPRM. Will those be a useless
effort by over 1700 citizens commenting?
I doubt if the League have that much pull, although they probably would if
they could. Someone certainly got s25 kept off the ITU docket for years,
otherwise the international code test requirement would have gone in 1993
or thereabouts, so sandbagging has certainly been a part of this.