ARS License Numbers
 

These are the numbers of current, unexpired
amateur radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the percentage of
the total number of active licenses that
class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice - 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of November 15, 2006:

Novice - 23,974 (3.7%) [decrease of 25,355]
Technician - 287,981 (43.9%) [increase of 82,587]
Technician Plus - 34,334 (5.2%) [decrease of 94,526]
General - 131,685 (20.1%) [increase of 19,008]
Advanced - 70,373 (10.7%) [decrease of 29,409]
Extra - 108,192 (16.5%) [increase of 29,442]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 322,315 (49.1%) [decrease of 11,939]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 310,250 (47.3%) [increase of 19,041]

Total all classes - 656,539 (decrease of 18,253)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new
Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced licenses
are no longer issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all existing
Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of
2010, the number of Technician Plus licenses will drop
to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as
Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

ARS License Numbers
 

ARS License Numbers
 

These are the numbers of current, unexpired
amateur radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the percentage of
the total number of active licenses that
class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice - 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of December 2, 2006:

Novice - 23,801 (3.6%) [decrease of 25,528]
Technician - 288,922 (44.0%) [increase of 83,528]
Technician Plus - 33,644 (5.1%) [decrease of 95,216]
General - 131,409 (20.0%) [increase of 18,732]
Advanced - 70,183 (10.7%) [decrease of 29,599]
Extra - 108,154 (16.5%) [increase of 29,404]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 322,566 (49.2%) [decrease of 11,688]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 309,746 (47.2%) [increase of 18,537]

Total all classes - 656,113 (decrease of 18,679)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new
Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced licenses
are no longer issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all existing
Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of
2010, the number of Technician Plus licenses will drop
to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as
Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

ARS License Numbers
 

These are the numbers of current, unexpired
amateur radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the percentage of
the total number of active licenses that
class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice - 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of December 15, 2006:

Novice - 23,712 (3.6%) [decrease of 25,617]
Technician - 289,703 (44.1%) [increase of 84,309]
Technician Plus - 33,310 (5.1%) [decrease of 95,550]
General - 131,280 (20.0%) [increase of 18,603]
Advanced - 70,015 (10.7%) [decrease of 29,767]
Extra - 108,244 (16.5%) [increase of 29,494]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 323,013 (49.2%) [decrease of 11,241]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 309,539 (47.2%) [increase of 18,330]

Total all classes - 656,264 (decrease of 18,528)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new
Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced licenses
are no longer issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all existing
Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of
2010, the number of Technician Plus licenses will drop
to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as
Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

ARS License Numbers
 

These are the numbers of current, unexpired
amateur radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the percentage of
the total number of active licenses that
class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice - 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of December 31, 2006:

Novice - 23,632 (3.6%) [decrease of 25,697]
Technician - 290,126 (44.2%) [increase of 84,882]
Technician Plus - 32,886 (5.0%) [decrease of 95,974]
General - 131,216 (20.0%) [increase of 18,539]
Advanced - 69,914 (10.7%) [decrease of 29,868]
Extra - 108,219 (16.5%) [increase of 29,469]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 323,012 (49.2%) [decrease of 11,242]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 309,349 (47.2%) [increase of 18,140]

Total all classes - 655,993 (decrease of 18,799)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new
Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced licenses
are no longer issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all existing
Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of
2010, the number of Technician Plus licenses will drop
to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as
Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

ARS License Numbers
 

ARS License Numbers
 

John Smith I wrote:
wrote:
...

I make no move to dispute those figures.

I only wonder how accurate those figures are (and due to mistakes in
accounting those figures, and not yours in getting them), or how many
are not still in the living world with us.

The figures are derived directly from the FCC database. They're not
counted by hand,
eliminating that source of error.

The number who have died or who are completely inactive and will not
return to amateur
radio is completely unknown. Those folks will disappear by attrition,
which can take up to
10 years.

My purpose in posting these numbers for the past several years is to
have a record of the changes in US amateur license numbers that always
uses the same method of counting, *and* is not dependent on anything
but preservation of Usenet archives.

Happy New Year!

N2EY

ARS License Numbers
 

ARS License Numbers
 

John Smith I wrote:
wrote:
John Smith I wrote:
wrote:
...
Happy New Year!

N2EY


And, HAPPY NEW YEAR! to you, sir.

Thanks

Don't get me wrong. You do us a service by posting these figures.

Thnaks again.

Hmmm. You may, indeed, have more faith in the FCC figures than I do.
However, I do not dispute the figures.

Only wonder about them ...

What do you wonder about?

They are simply the number of licenses in the FCC database.

Of course a certain percentage of amateurs shown in the database
are dead, but their families have not notified FCC of the fact, and
their licenses will stay in the database and in the license counts
until they expire.

And a certain percentage are held by amateurs with health problems
such that they will never again be on the air, yet again their licenses
will stay in the database for years.

And a certain percentage are held by amateurs who, for a variety of
reasons,
have lost interest such that they will never again be on the air, yet
again their licenses
will stay in the database for years.

In the latter two examples, the licensee may renew the license even
though they don't use it. All it takes is a few clicks on the FCC
website, or the proper form, envelope and stamp. A well-meaning friend
or family member could do all the paperwork and simply get the licensee
to sign or OK the renewal, and there's another decade for one license.

So there's an unknown percentage of licenses in those numbers that are
temporarily or permanently inactive, yet they're still counted.

A couple of decades ago, back when the license term was five years, it
was required that the licensee certify that they'd actually used their
amateur license a certain amount, and could still pass the license
tests. All that is long gone.

ARS License Numbers