A New Structure For Amateur Radio Licensing In The United Kingdom

Press Release - 21 September 2001

The Radiocommunications Agency has today announced a series of changes to the radio amateur licensing regime so as to make it more attractive as a technical hobby. These include:

lowering the Morse Code speed requirement from 12 words per minute (wpm) to 5 wpm for full licensees;

amalgamating some licence categories;

allowing trainees to operate while supervised before passing an examination; and

the introduction of a new Foundation Class licence, from the beginning of 2002, for newcomers to the hobby.

Commenting on the new Foundation licence, Martin Cain, Head of the Radiocommunications Agency's Specialist Sectors Unit said, " There has long been a need to stimulate further interest in amateur radio in the UK. My colleagues and I firmly believe that the Foundation Licence, coupled with the support of existing radio amateurs, will go a substantial way to achieving this aim".

Don Beattie, the President of the RSGB, warmly welcomed agreement on the Foundation licence. "We now have a more accessible entry point for those who want to become radio amateurs. Hopefully many will go on to grow in technical skill and competence through qualifying at the more advanced levels of licensing. I ask all UK amateurs to help make the new Foundation Licence the success it deserves to be".

For full details of the changes, please see the document: A new structure for amateur radio licensing in the UK on the Radiocommunications Agency website at: www.radio.gov.uk/topics/amateur/amateur-index.htm

Notes for editors:

1. Amateur radio offers:

a source of ongoing investigation and innovation in radio communication

a way of drawing people into a technical activity which can result in them pursuing a career in engineering, so enhancing the technical skill base of the United Kingdom

a source of emergency communications at times when conventional communications links are strained or out of action

a contribution to international friendship

a rewarding and challenging leisure activity

2. The Radiocommunications Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, responsible for licensing civil use of the radio spectrum in the UK.

3. The Radio Society of Great Britain is the UK's internationally recognised national society for all radio amateurs.

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