Post by Renae/k9do on Feb 12, 2007 17:16:56 GMT
FCC Now Processing Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign
Backlog
NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 9, 2007 -- The FCC has resumed processing new Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications. An initial stab at whittling down the backlog began February 8 -- five weeks to the day after the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) issued the last vanity call sign prior to the resumption. The Commission stopped processing new vanity call sign applications received on or after December 18 while it readied the Universal Licensing System (ULS) vanity application software to accommodate a December 15 rule change to discourage the filing of multiple applications for the same call sign. The FCC has continued to accept new vanity applications and to process vanity renewals. According to a WTB staff member, speaking on background, the Commission could wrap up backlog processing and be back on track by next week.
"We've resumed processing, and by next week we'll be caught up," said the staffer, who conceded that the FCC's ULS software had not been fully tested to ensure it could deal with the multiple-applications issue when the new rule's December 15 effective date rolled around. "We knew the date was coming, but the software wasn't quite ready." The staff member indicated the Commission could complete processing of applications that have been sitting in the queue as early as Monday, February 12. Under normal circumstances, vanity applications submitted on January 22 would have been issued February 9.
The Commission just today removed the January 11 ULS Web site advisory announcing the new vanity call sign processing hiatus. So far, the WTB appears to have granted some 125 vanity call sign applications submitted between December 18 and December 22. Another 500 or so applications remain in the queue.
The FCC this week also issued a public notice to announce the formal implementation of the multiple applications rule, ยง97.19(a)(1), effective February 8. The notice said the ULS would limit individuals to filing only one vanity call sign application on the same day. "In the case where an applicant files multiple vanity call sign applications on the same day, only the first-filed application will be considered for the process, and the additional applications will be dismissed," the FCC said. "This new process will eliminate the possibility of an applicant having more than one application for the same call sign being considered on any one day."
The WTB staff member told ARRL that while the FCC knew the ULS software wasn't ready to handle multiple applications on December 15, it went ahead and processed vanity application receipts for December 15, 16 and 17 after determining that no one had filed multiple applications on those dates. The December 18 applications did include at least one such application, however.
"Once we received multiple applications for the same call sign, we knew we had to suspend processing," the FCC staffer explained.
The Commission is likely to receive an avalanche of new vanity call sign applications after February 23, when elimination of the Morse code examination requirement is expected to spur a massive influx of license upgrades.
The FCC is processing new vanity call sign applications now in the queue in the order they were received. Typically, it takes 18 days from the time the FCC receives a vanity application until the call sign is issued -- or the application is denied. The current vanity call sign fee, payable for new applications as well as renewals, is $20.80 for the 10-year license term.
Backlog
NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 9, 2007 -- The FCC has resumed processing new Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications. An initial stab at whittling down the backlog began February 8 -- five weeks to the day after the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) issued the last vanity call sign prior to the resumption. The Commission stopped processing new vanity call sign applications received on or after December 18 while it readied the Universal Licensing System (ULS) vanity application software to accommodate a December 15 rule change to discourage the filing of multiple applications for the same call sign. The FCC has continued to accept new vanity applications and to process vanity renewals. According to a WTB staff member, speaking on background, the Commission could wrap up backlog processing and be back on track by next week.
"We've resumed processing, and by next week we'll be caught up," said the staffer, who conceded that the FCC's ULS software had not been fully tested to ensure it could deal with the multiple-applications issue when the new rule's December 15 effective date rolled around. "We knew the date was coming, but the software wasn't quite ready." The staff member indicated the Commission could complete processing of applications that have been sitting in the queue as early as Monday, February 12. Under normal circumstances, vanity applications submitted on January 22 would have been issued February 9.
The Commission just today removed the January 11 ULS Web site advisory announcing the new vanity call sign processing hiatus. So far, the WTB appears to have granted some 125 vanity call sign applications submitted between December 18 and December 22. Another 500 or so applications remain in the queue.
The FCC this week also issued a public notice to announce the formal implementation of the multiple applications rule, ยง97.19(a)(1), effective February 8. The notice said the ULS would limit individuals to filing only one vanity call sign application on the same day. "In the case where an applicant files multiple vanity call sign applications on the same day, only the first-filed application will be considered for the process, and the additional applications will be dismissed," the FCC said. "This new process will eliminate the possibility of an applicant having more than one application for the same call sign being considered on any one day."
The WTB staff member told ARRL that while the FCC knew the ULS software wasn't ready to handle multiple applications on December 15, it went ahead and processed vanity application receipts for December 15, 16 and 17 after determining that no one had filed multiple applications on those dates. The December 18 applications did include at least one such application, however.
"Once we received multiple applications for the same call sign, we knew we had to suspend processing," the FCC staffer explained.
The Commission is likely to receive an avalanche of new vanity call sign applications after February 23, when elimination of the Morse code examination requirement is expected to spur a massive influx of license upgrades.
The FCC is processing new vanity call sign applications now in the queue in the order they were received. Typically, it takes 18 days from the time the FCC receives a vanity application until the call sign is issued -- or the application is denied. The current vanity call sign fee, payable for new applications as well as renewals, is $20.80 for the 10-year license term.