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The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 43
November 4, 2005
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==>NEW FOUNDATION LICENSE, AMATEUR REGULATORY CHANGES INTRODUCED
IN AUSTRALIA
Australia has introduced an entry-level Foundation Amateur Radio license
and
established a new overall licensing and certification structure. The
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) put the new
regulations
into effect October 19. Other rule changes combined Novice and Novice
Limited licensees into a new Standard license class, and all Limited,
Intermediate and Unrestricted licensees are now Advanced licensees with
full
amateur privileges. Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) President
Michael
Owen, VK3KI, welcomed the "long-awaited" changes--in particular
the new
Foundation license--and expressed the hope that they would encourage
newcomers.
"We also know that there will be many amateurs operating on the 40
and
20-meter bands for the first time with those bands available to Standard
licensees," he said. "We urge all amateurs to make all these
newcomers
welcome." Owen also praised ACMA for what he called its
"cooperative
approach" in establishing examination standards and procedures.
The first Foundation license was issued October 21 to Amanda Gray, who
requested the call sign VK4FRST before knowing that hers was, indeed,
the
first Australian Foundation license issued. ACMA has adopted the
distinctive
and unusual four-letter suffix starting with "F" for all VK
Foundation
licensees.
Foundation licensees will have limited access to 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters
as
well as the entire 2 meter and 70 cm bands using voice modes or
"hand-keyed"
CW only (ie, no keyboard or computer-generated code). Licensees will be
permitted to run up to 10 W on SSB and 3 W on AM, FM and CW--although
the
WIA wants ACMA to increase that limit to 10 W as well. Foundation
licensees
may only use commercially manufactured transmitters. The new license is
similar to the Foundation class license that's been available in Great
Britain since 2002.
In addition to creation of the new Foundation license, ACMA amended
Australia's Amateur Radio regulations to regulate by necessary bandwidth
rather than by emission mode. The new rules permit the use of any
emission
mode with a bandwidth not exceeding 8 kHz.
Said Owen: "The WIA believes that these changes to the Australian
amateur
license structure will strengthen our hobby and encourage many more
people
to become licensed radio amateurs." More information is on the ACMA
Web site
<
http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65690:STANDARD::pc=PC_1256>.