SB QST @ ARL $ARLB011
ARLB011 Vanity call sign order
 
ZCZC AG77
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 11  ARLB011
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  February 1, 1995
To all radio amateurs 
 
SB QST ARL ARLB011
ARLB011 Vanity call sign order
 
''Vanity'' Call Sign Order Released
 
The FCC today released its Report and Order in PR Docket 93-305,
amending its rules to provide for a ''vanity'' call sign program.
The new rules are effective March 24.
 
Each new amateur station licensed by the FCC is assigned a unique
call sign through an automated process in accordance with the
sequential call sign system.  To accommodate requests for specific,
''vanity'' call signs, the Commission will use a series of four
''starting gates.''  Gate One will allow a previous holder of a call
sign to apply for that call sign or, where the holder is deceased, a
close relative could apply, even if he or she is not otherwise
eligible to hold the call sign.  Gate Two will allow Amateur Extra
Class licensees to apply.  Gate Three will allow Advanced Class
operators to apply; and Gate Four will open the system to any
licensee, including a club station license trustee applying for the
call sign of a deceased former holder.
 
The Commission will announce the opening of each gate by a Public
Notice.  The first gate will open as soon as the new application
form, FCC Form 610-V, is available and the Commission's licensing
facility is prepared to begin processing the applications.
 
The Commission said opening Gate One first to the small group of
eligible licensees will allow for validation of their procedures and
alert its staff to the need for adjustments.  The following gates
two through four will be opened sequentially ''at such times as it
is clear that the system is ready to accommodate more
applications.''
 
Applications will go to the Commission's contractor, Mellon Bank,
which will accept them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  They will be
processed ''in the order they are received at the processor's work
station.''
 
Applicants will be permitted to request call signs reflecting their
own or other call sign regions.
 
Except for a close relative applying for a deceased licensee's call
sign, or a club station trustee applying with the written consent of
a close relative of a deceased licensee, a vacated call sign will
not be assignable for a two-year waiting period.
 
For clubs, persons not already holding a club station license, as
trustee, must first apply for and receive a license before filing an
application for a vanity call sign.  FCC will begin accepting
applications for new club and military recreation station licenses
on the effective date, March 24.
 
The FCC set aside the one-by-one call sign block until the matter of
assignment of these calls could be addressed in a separate
proceeding.  The ARRL had requested allowance for assignment of
one-by-one call signs to special event stations of national
significance.
 
A 70 dollar fee (7 dollar annual fee, for a ten-year license term)
will have to be paid when requesting a new or renewed vanity call
sign.  The ARRL continues to work for legislation that will enable
the Commission to charge a one-time fee.
 
Copies of the Report and Order are available from League
Headquarters (SASE please).  Details to follow in QST.  
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/EX