[OH-KY-IN] FW: FCC Poised to Cut Vanity Call Sign Fee by More Than 40 Percent

[Bruce Vanselow N8BV]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <w8lly at sbcglobal.net>
To: "Miami Valley Amateur Radio Bulletin Board" <MVARBB at febo.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:53:20 -0400
Subject: [mvarbb] FW: FCC Poised to Cut Vanity Call Sign Fee by More Than
40 Percent
-----Original Message-----
From: mailman-bounces at febo.com [mailto:mailman-bounces at febo.com] On
Behalf
Of Rick Slone
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 5:38 PM
To: mvarbb-owner at febo.com
Subject: FCC Poised to Cut Vanity Call Sign Fee by More Than 40 Percent
 

Hello all,
This was on the ARRL website this afternoon (4/19/07).
 
Rick AF8T 
 
FCC Poised to Cut Vanity Call Sign Fee by More Than 40 Percent NEWINGTON,
CT, Apr 19, 2007 -- The FCC has proposed reducing the regulatory fee to
obtain or retain an Amateur Radio vanity call sign by more than 40
percent
starting later this year. In a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)
released April 18, "Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for
Fiscal
Year 2007," in MD Docket 07-81, the Commission is proposing to cut the
fee
from its current $20.80 to $11.70. If ultimately adopted, that would mark
the lowest fee in the history of the current vanity call sign program. 
 
"In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we propose to collect
$290,295,160
in regulatory fees for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, pursuant to Section 9 of
the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended," the FCC said. "These fees are
mandated by Congress and are collected to recover the regulatory costs
associated with the Commission's enforcement, policy and rulemaking, user
information, and international activities." 
 
Regulatory fees are collected in advance to cover the term of the license
and are submitted at the time of application, the FCC points out.
Comments
on the proposals outlined in MD Docket 07-81 are due May 3. Reply
comments
are due May 11. 
 
The Commission is obligated to collect nearly $290.3 million in
regulatory
fees during FY 2007 to fund its operations. "Consistent with our
established
practice, we intend to collect these regulatory fees in the
August-September
2007 time frame in order to collect the required amount by the end of the
fiscal year," the FCC said. 
 
Regulatory Fee Roller Coaster 
 
The vanity call sign fee has fluctuated over the years, but even the
current
fee is far lower than the $70 the FCC first announced in its 1994 Report
and
Order. The fee subsequently was reduced to $30 for the initial rounds of
vanity call sign filers in 1996. Over the 11 years of the program, the
fee
has varied from a low of $12 to a high of $50. 
 
The FCC indicates in the NPRM that it anticipates some 14,700 Amateur
Radio
vanity call sign "payment units" or applications during the next fiscal
year. 
 
Vanity Fee Due for New, Renewal Applications 
 
The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for
a
new vanity call sign but upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new term.
The first vanity call sign licenses issued under the current Amateur
Radio
vanity call sign program that began in 1996 came up for renewal last
year. 
 
Those holding vanity call signs issued prior to 1996 are exempt from
having
to pay the vanity call sign regulatory fee at renewal. That's because
Congress did not authorize the FCC to collect regulatory fees until 1993.
Such "heritage" vanity call sign holders do not appear as vanity
licensees
in the ULS Amateur Radio database. 
 
Amateur Radio licensees may file for renewal only within 90 days of their
license expiration date. All radio amateurs must have an FCC Registration
Number (FRN) before filing any application with the Commission.
Applicants
can obtain an FRN by going to the ULS and clicking on the "New Users
Register" link. You must supply your Social Security Number to obtain an
FRN. 
 
ARRL Processes License Renewals, Including Vanities 
 
The ARRL VEC will process license renewals for vanity call sign holders
for
a modest fee. The service is available to ARRL members and nonmembers,
although League members pay less. Routine, non-vanity renewals continue
to
be free for ARRL members. Trustees of club stations with vanity call
signs
may renew either via the ULS or through a Club Station Call Sign
Administrator, such as ARRL VEC. 
 
League members should visit the "ARRL Member Instructions for License
Renewals or Changes" page, while the "Instructions for License Renewals
or
Changes" page covers general renewal procedures for nonmembers. There's
additional information on the ARRL VEC's "FCC License Renewals and ARRL
License Expiration Notices" page. 
 
License application and renewal information and links to the required
forms
are available on the ARRL Amateur Application Filing FAQ Web page. The
FCC's
forms page also offers the required forms. 
 
(arrl)
 
 
 
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