Ofcom Hints at Licence Changes

Ofcom LogoOfcom has hinted at potential changes to the amateur radio licence in their Plan of Work 2023-24 document released at the end of March 2023.

The two notable paragraphs are:

“WTA (Wireless Telegraphy Act) licence simplification. Alongside our move to a new licensing platform, we will review our licensing processes and documentation to ensure we have an efficient approach, reducing the burden on our licensees as far as possible and simplifying their engagement with us. A key part of this program will be our review of Amateur licensing”

“Amateur radio licences review. We will consult on proposals to simplify our licensing framework for amateur radio licensing and incorporate new areas of amateur radio activity. Our aim is to provide clear updated rules which afford radio amateurs greater freedom to operate, drawing on feedback provided by the sector”

What happens next?

It appears that there will be a public consultation in Q1 2023–24 (Between April and June 2023), followed by a statement by the end of 2023.

Update: Consultation was released on 23 June 2023!!

 

 

What could change?

We now know what’s being proposed, so we can remove the speculation. Encouraging to know that some of what we thought might come to pass – has! There were still plenty of surprises though!

Syllabus changes

There is currently a disconnect between the licence (Ofcom) and the syllabus (RSGB). It is RSGB, not Ofcom, that imposes that newcomers to the hobby must understand: resistors in series and parallel, the human hearing range, the height of the Ionosphere and how to draw a block diagram of a transmitter. “Greater freedom to operate” could mean that Ofcom asks RSGB to reduce the focus on electronics, particularly at the lower levels. Most newcomers don’t build their own transmitters, so does a licence holder really need to memorise the resistor colour code or understand Fourier transform?

Could Ofcom decide that the RSGB’s 2019 syllabus changes were excessive? Since the new syllabus rolled out, we’ve seen a steep drop in people moving from Foundation to Intermediate, and with the new Intermediate now containing a significant amount of “Full” theory drop down to make the exam harder, people staying put at Foundation is a worrying trend. Whilst RSGB appears keen on adding in extra theory to our primarily practical hobby, perhaps Ofcom would like to see more people enter the hobby and progress as operators, not theorists.

Foundation to Intermediate Progression
Foundation to Intermediate Progression

Consultation Links

We’d love to hear your own thoughts on what could change, via the comments below! 

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