SB QST @ ARL $ARLB026
ARLB026 Vanity call change sought
 
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ARRL Bulletin 26  ARLB026
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  March 21, 1995
To all radio amateurs 
 
SB QST ARL ARLB026
ARLB026 Vanity call change sought
 
The ARRL has petitioned the FCC for partial reconsideration of one
aspect of its proposed vanity call sign program.
 
The League has asked that the Commission require that amateurs
requesting vanity call signs in eligibility ''gates'' other than Gate
One specify call sign choices in the call sign region of their
then-current mailing address.  (Gate One is for applicants for a
previously held call sign or the call sign of a deceased relative.)
 
The League said that, reinforced by the comments of a number of
amateurs, it believes that the history of call sign regions and the
nature of Amateur Radio communication indicate that call sign
regions should be retained for vanity call sign applicants.
''Amateurs are in general most supportive of the use of call signs as
a quick means of determining the general location of a station,'' the
League said.
 
The League also said that, because some call sign regions would have
fewer available call signs than others, allowing an ''open field''
would deplete the call sign pools in some regions, ultimately
depriving some applicants who want a call sign in their own region
the opportunity to obtain one.  The ARRL cited in particular the
limited call sign banks in Puerto Rico (KP4), Alaska (KL7), and
Hawaii (KH6), as examples.
 
The ARRL said that otherwise it fully supports the Commission's
vanity call sign proposal, and that it believes sufficient time is
available to consider the League's proposed change before the FCC is
ready to open Gate Two, the first that would be affected.
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