The FCC has said no to a pair of proposals that had asked for the restoration of Morse testing for a qualification to become and hold a United States Amateur Radio license. In a Memorandum Opinion and Order released February 28th, the FCC denied two petitions calling for General or Amateur Extra license applicants to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code.

In the wake of the FCC's actions to do away with Morse testing, two amateurs submitted separate petitions asking the agency to bring back Morse testing. Anthony Gordon, KG6EQM, objected to the FCC eliminating the telegraphy examination element as an examination requirement for the Amateur Extra Class operator license. Russell Ward, W4NI, requested the FCC reconsider its decision for strictly procedural reasons.

In denying both requests the FCC reiterated its prior conclusion that an individual's ability to demonstrate Morse code proficiency does not further the underlying purposes of the Part 97 rules. It appears to be of the opinion that Morse does not accommodate individual contributions to the advancement of the radio art and to enhance the value of the amateur service to the public.

In December 2006, the FCC decided to drop the Morse code requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. At the time the commission decided to drop the Morse Code exam, it said knowing Morse is not necessarily indicative of an individual's ability to contribute to the advancement of ham radio. The agency also said emergency communication today is performed using voice, data or video modes. The agency claims that all of these are much faster than telegraphy.

The FCC said it received roughly 100 comments on the reconsideration request. It says that most were overwhelmingly negative. (RW, ARRL, FCC)

[ARNR]