This just in...
Ofcom has strongly hinted at changes to Amateur Radio licencing in its latest 'Plan of work 2023-24'.
The intro-blub says:
"Over the next year and beyond, our remit will continue to expand to deliver positive outcomes for consumers and the broader economy while minimising potential harms. Already, we have taken on new duties for video-sharing platforms and telecoms security, and the forthcoming Online Safety Bill will give us an important new task and tools for creating a safer life online."
Yeah, whatever, but the interesting bits are, as always, deep in the detail:
“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”
and
“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”.
Well that certainly seems encouraging if extremely vague at the moment. 'New areas of amateur radio activity' suggests that Ofcom have finally woken up to the fact that amateur radio has moved on leaps and bounds in the last few years, and so much of the modern amateur's playground simply doesn't fit onto the 'map' that Ofcom and the RSGB currently have stuck up on their office walls.
And thank goodness for that. I was beginning to think I was stuck in a terrible recurring sepia-tinged nightmare!
There is an interesting and ongoing discussion as to exactly what this could mean over at Essex Ham. What do you think it will entail?
I guess we'll have to wait and see what the 'consultation' throws up. It's due out imminently, and will run until June this year.
More as we have it...
Berni M0XYF
