The FCC has turned down a
petition for reconsideration filed by Jeffrey Siegell, WB2YRL, after it denied
his original petition to grant Extra Class CW privileges to Advanced Class
license holders. The Virginia
amateur's logic behind the request was that all holders of Advanced Class
licenses (which have not been issued since 1999 but may be renewed) have passed
Morse code exams, while Extra Class licensees no longer need to prove code
proficiency in order to earn all amateur operating privileges.
The Commission said in
its initial denial, and reiterated in its November decision not to consider the
petition for reconsideration, that back in 1999, it specifically rejected
suggestions to automatically upgrade Advanced Class licenses to Extra Class,
"concluding that it would be inappropriate for these licensees to 'receive
additional privileges without passing the required examination elements.'
"
The current decision said
the question had been revisited in 2005 and that the basic reasoning behind it
had not changed then and has not changed now. "Consequently," the
decision continued, "we conclude that the (Mobility) Division correctly
dismissed your petition for rulemaking, and we deny your petition for
reconsideration." The Mobility Division of the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau has responsibility for amateur service rules under the current FCC organizational
structure.